Leadership

Amy Stornaiuolo, Ph.D., Faculty Director
Dr. Stornaiuolo is the Faculty Director of the Philadelphia Writing Project and an associate professor in the Literacy Studies Program at Penn GSE. With an explicit focus on designing equitable and humanizing conditions for learning, Dr. Stornaiuolo centers her work around building sustainable, long-term partnerships, collaborating with communities and partners to enact meaningful change for educational justice, and designing and engaging in participatory and innovative digital methodologies. A former writing teacher in four-year and community colleges in California and member of the Bay Area Writing Project, her research has focused on how people use digital technologies to write, communicate, and participate in the world. Some of her projects have explored the integration of digital technologies in schools, school makerspaces, the development of online composing tools and student-facing analytics, adolescents’ digital and data practices, and teachers’ facilitation of literature discussions online. Read more about Dr. Stornaiuolo on her Penn GSE faculty page.

Jen McLaughlin Cahill, Ph.D., Director
Dr. McLaughlin Cahill (she/her/hers) is the Director of the Philadelphia Writing Project and Lecturer of Educational Practice in the Literacy Studies Program at Penn GSE. She is committed to reimagining schools as ethical spaces of creativity, inquiry, and growth for all students inclusive of race, ethnicity, culture, ability, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, and beyond. Her research interests include sociocultural approaches to literacy development, critical literacy, and queer-inclusive pedagogies. As a long-time middle and high school teacher in NYC, Dr. McLaughlin Cahill authored literacy curricula at every grade level. She was devoted to a collaborative community of practice and professional development, spending several summers learning at the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, and gathering colleagues to present their innovative, research-based literacy practices at local and national education conferences. Read more about Dr. McLaughlin Cahill on her Penn GSE faculty page.

Diane Waff, Ed.D., Director Emerita 
Dr. Waff is the Director Emerita of the Philadelphia Writing Project and a recently retired Professor of Practice at Penn GSE. Dr. Waff, a literacy educator, specializes in working closely with secondary and community college teachers in all subject areas to establish professional learning communities and habits of reflective practice, leading to innovations in curriculum and instruction that increase students’ access to higher levels of literacy learning. Through curriculum and professional development initiatives, she facilitates positive change in school cultures, transforming schools into communities of learners, creating teaching and learning opportunities to empower administrators, teachers, and students to realize school reform goals. Read more about Dr. Waff on her Penn GSE faculty page.