Meet the Team

Akane Zusho | Professor

Akane Zusho is a Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. Her award-winning research focuses on empowering students and teachers to transform the learning environment from one where only some students feel competent, think, and learn to one where all students feel competent, think, and build deep and flexible understandings. To that end, she has written extensively on the intersection of culture, achievement motivation and self-regulated learning (SRL), and has conducted numerous studies exploring the relation of cultural, cognitive, and motivational processes to learning. With Rhonda Bondie, she is a co-author of the textbook, Differentiated Instruction made Practical.

Alfatah Moore | Doctoral Candidate and Research Assistant

Alfatah Moore is a Research Assistant in the READS Lab, a research-based collaborative initiative to identify and scale adaptive solutions for improving children’s literacy learning opportunities and outcomes. His interests include the science of reading, interventions for struggling readers, and instructional and pedagogical guidance for teachers. As a Ph.D. candidate, Alfatah focuses on the design of effective reading interventions for K-12 students. He has directly taught students as a reading clinician and has led LEA and district-wide initiatives to deliver interventions at scale.

Amanda Taylor | Sr. Associate Director, Reach Every Reader

Amanda Taylor is Sr. Associate Director of Reach Every Reader where she oversees the day-to-day strategy and operations and is a member of the leadership team. Her professional experience includes more than 15 years at Harvard where she has held a wide-range of administrative roles including within faculty affairs, executive education, and degree program administration. Prior to Reach Every Reader, Amanda spent eight years with the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program at HGSE. There, she collaborated with the program’s founding faculty to create the systems, curricular experiences, and student support services for the then new program. She subsequently facilitated the development and execution of an alumni network strategy. Amanda has a master’s degree in management from the Harvard University School of Extension, a master’s degree in music from Indiana University, and bachelor’s degrees in English and music from Boston University.

Aminisha Ferdinand | Teaching Artist, KID smART

Anna Grace Butler | ReadNet Project Coordinator

Anna Grace Butler is the ReadNet Project Coordinator. She is also on the Project Management team for the Reach Every Reader Project at Florida State University. Anna Grace received her MSW in Clinical Social Work from Florida State University after obtaining her BA in Child Development and Family Studies from Berry College. Anna Grace joined the Florida Center for Reading Research in 2018 as Dr. Yaacov Petscher’s Executive Assistant. She has been on the Reach Every Reader Project since its first year in multiple capacities from Data Collector to Graduate Assistant before joining as faculty in 2023. Her primary interests include childhood trauma, mental health, and early learning assessment and intervention.

Anna Slavin | Associate Learning Designer, READS Lab

Anna Slavin is an Associate Learning Designer at READS Lab. Her interests include equitable elementary literacy interventions, methods of student engagement, and teacher support systems. Prior to READS Lab, she was a K-4 classroom teacher for nearly a decade. She also taught and designed interdisciplinary curricula in museums, including the American Museum of Natural History and the de Young. Anna holds an MS.Ed in Museum and Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education, a B.A. from Vassar College, and a Massachusetts Teaching Certification for Grades K-6.

Annie Lewis | Senior Project Coordinator

Annie Lewis is a Senior Project Coordinator at Reach Every Reader where she contributes to communications management, administrative support, and event planning.  Before joining Reach Every Reader, Annie spent several years supporting college student development through international student programs, academic support programs, and higher education administration. From 2018-2019, she travelled 12 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as a Bonderman Fellow to explore how the U.S. education system can better create student-centered programs that holistically meet the needs of learners. Annie holds a Master of Education degree in Human Development and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English from the University of Washington.

Anyeli Matos | Research Assistant

Anyeli Matos (An-Je-Li) is a proud Afro-Dominican, born and raised in the Dominican Republic. Her experiences as an immigrant and first generation college graduate drive her passion for education reform. She started her professional journey in finance publishing and swiftly made the shift to the education sector. Most recently, Anyeli led the charter schools office at the New York City Department of Education. In this role, she led the policy, finance, school level support, special education operations and authorizing of 280+ charter schools serving ~140k students including ~25k students with disabilities. She advocated and worked on building equitable systems and policies within district, often creating new pathways for collaboration and strategies in support of all students. Special Education was a priority focus including strengthening the per pupil billing structure and codifying special education procedures and policies for the sector. She is a product of New York City public schools, graduated from Binghamton University with a degree in Sociology and economics and most recently completed an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). She is excited to return to HGSE to pursue a Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.).