Meet our Team:
Professional. Credible. Respected.
Dr.Charles Dana Hall
Co-Founder & Chief Academic Officer
Dr. Hall provides the experience and expertise to meaningfully impact literacy-based PD and student achievement. In addition to working for years as a classroom teacher, instructional coach and district coordinator, he was also Colorado’s state literacy specialist. During that time, Dr. Hall directed and facilitated the work of over 100 educators as they collaborated to translate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into a sample curriculum. These samples serve as resources for districts’ voluntary-use, providing options for differentiating and sequencing the concepts, skills, and content of the CCSS across a course or year.
In addition to his work on the CCSS, Dr. Hall helped lead the development of Colorado’s Strategic Literacy Plan in 2012. This plan serves as a guiding document for all the Colorado Department of Education’s efforts to support the state’s districts, schools and communities. These invaluable learning and leadership experiences provided a deep understanding of the standards and help underpin the curriculum development and policy implementation work of SLC; including continued work in helping educators develop curricula to meet their students’ needs. This keen understanding allows SLC to not only provide quality PD but help schools and districts get impressive results.
Dr. Krista Morrison
Director of Literacy & Learning
Dr. Morrison holds a doctorate in education from the University of Colorado in Leadership in Educational Equity with an emphasis on instructional leadership. She has worked in education and school reform at both school and district levels since 1999. Dr. Morrison has worked as an English teacher, school and district-based literacy coach, and literacy consultant. Her expertise includes English language arts curriculum, assessment systems, and standards alignment, Response to Intervention, disciplinary literacy, and literacy instruction in STEM environments. She has experience training teachers and instructional leaders on the CCSS across the United States and supporting instructional and curricular alignment of these standards. Dr. Morrison has extensive experience collaborating with district leaders to develop strategic and responsive professional development plans that include implementation benchmarks, job-embedded supports, and plans to maintain and sustain new learning beyond the life of any project for both administrators and teachers.
Her high school literacy coaching program was showcased at a Colorado literacy coaching panel in Douglas County, Colorado in 2007. Krista is a Denver Writing Project fellow, an affiliate of the National Writing Project. She has co-authored an ACT preparation book titled, ACT 36: Aiming for the Perfect Score. Her work on discussion-based classrooms has been published in the Colorado Reading Council Journal (2006, 2007). As an instructor for the University of Colorado Denver, Krista taught the Colorado Reading Project for two summers working with teachers across various disciplines to support reading in the content areas. Her interest and work in disciplinary literacy led to her dissertation research project on Disciplinary Literacy Apprenticeship in secondary science in a STEM context.
Josh Fallin
Literacy Consultant: School Turnaround Specialist
Josh is a seasoned educator and leader with over 15 years of experience in Title I schools, focusing on literacy development, educational innovation, and data-driven instruction. He has a proven track record of enhancing student outcomes through high-quality instructional resources (HQIR) and evidence-based teaching strategies. Josh holds multiple certifications in Elementary Education, Special Education, and Linguistically Diverse Education. He also possesses a TOEFL license and has been extensively trained in the science of reading through the LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) program for over a decade.
As a school administrator, Josh has successfully led multiple turnaround schools to achieve “green” status on the state school performance framework. He holds advanced degrees in School Leadership from Harvard University and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver. Josh has led numerous year-long professional development initiatives, delivering impactful sessions on topics such as the science of reading, classroom management best practices, student engagement, cultivating a growth mindset, and literacy interventions.
Josh excels at using data-driven instruction to help schools and teachers maximize learning outcomes, fostering a culture of academic excellence and continuous improvement.
Natalie Rodriguez
Literacy Consultant: Classroom Coach
Ms. Rodriguez brings 12 years of experience in education. Working as a classroom teacher for 8 of those years. While also serving as the Gifted and Talented coordinator for her school for 6 of those years. Ms. Rodriguez was also the building instructional coach working alongside SLC to provide the teachers with data-driven professional development in literacy to drive instruction. Working one on one with teachers to provide Scientifically Based Reading Research to guide their instruction to best serve all of their students in literacy. In 2019, she earned her masters degree in educational administration from Grand Canyon University. Through many practicums in the program, it allowed her to log many hours in the classroom working with teachers and providing feedback. Ms. Rodriguez has a wide range of skills and strategies she has used to help reach and work with all teachers to help them grow and become more confident educators.