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Best of Texas: Family Literacy

Learn from peers about best practices and innovative ideas being put into action at literacy programs across our great state. Best of Texas aims to bring local experts together to share their wisdom and experience – and maybe help us all avoid a few pitfalls along the way.

Thank you so much for your interest!

This event is now over.

This online panel discussion will be held on:

Thursday, November 21, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (CT).

The Zoom room will open at 9:50 AM.

Please arrive on time – the Zoom room will close to late arrivals 30 minutes after the session begins.

ABOUT THIS SESSION

We’ll hear from Fran-Victoria Stephens (Story Square) who will share important information about the generational impact of family literacy.

Other guests will include Anjela Martinez and LeeAnn Jennings (Harris County Public Library) to give us a strong understanding about how public libraries are making a difference.  

Guests this month:

Stephens, Fran-Victoria

Fran-Victoria Stephens
Founder & President
Story Square

Fran-Victoria Stephens is a former attorney and journalist who became the Founder and President of Story Square, Inc. – an evidence-based education social enterprise. After the pandemic, when she witnessed firsthand how parents faced the daunting task of serving as their children’s primary resource for education, she decided parents needed to experience the mission and spirit of Story Square on a larger stage. So, in 2022 she expanded the organization’s work and began Story Square’s Lit with Families Texas Family Literacy Festival, which takes place annually at downtown Houston’s Discovery Green.

Fran-Victoria is an impact addict and obsessed with the impact today’s small actions have on enduring change for our future. She is an avid researcher, writer, civil rights and education advocate, lecturer, and a self-proclaimed neoteric. She specializes in building new things. From idea generation, process design, implementation, and then evaluation, she has created lectures, programs, and Story Square with a focus on operationalizing her passion and education in civil rights law. These vehicles that carry out her passion serve her personal mission: to academically open minds and spiritually speak to hearts. Her hope is that her work widens our imaginative capacity to excavate new pathways for equity that lead to a collective, interdependent freedom. 

Martinez, Anjela

Anjela Martinez
Assistant Manager, Youth Services
Harris County Public Library

Anjela Martinez is the Youth Services Assistant Manager at Harris County Public Library. She has over a decade of experience in public libraries and leads system-wide literacy programs like Summer Reading and Growing Readers at HCPL.

Anjela grew up in libraries and understands the importance libraries play in fostering literacy and lifelong learning. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, baking, traveling, and going on adventures with her dog Lobo. 

Jennings, LeeAnn 300px

LeeAnn Jennings
Youth Literacy Services Specialist
Harris County Public Library

LeeAnn Jennings is the Youth Literacy Services Specialist for Harris County Public Library. LeeAnn is a former school teacher who made the switch to public libraries in 2017. She helps coordinates HCPL’s county wide youth literacy programs such as Book Buddies, Tournament of Books, Growing Readers, and the Summer Reading Program.

As someone with dyslexia, LeeAnn was a struggling reader in school until she discovered the mythical “one book” that turned her into an avid reader- and now she helps other children discover their book! LeeAnn enjoys reading, crafting, and playing pretend with her Dungeons and Dragons group.

Host:

Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker

Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker
Executive Director
Literacy Texas

Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker joined Literacy Texas in January 2024, after a successful run as the Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties, a small non-profit that made a big impact on the Texarkana community during her tenure. Dr. Walker helped the organization find financial stability and expanded innovative academic and workforce program options for adult learners at her center. She and her team launched the first 100 Families Alliance in Texas, and this innovative approach to holistic support for students led to impressive growth in enrollment and goal completion rates for those she serves.

Dr. Walker was a first-generation college student who personally knows the powerful role that education plays in helping change the course of a person’s life. This passion has fueled a career in education that has spanned two decades and impacted thousands of students. She is a certified Texas teacher and principal, and she has worked in both adjunct faculty and staff positions in higher education. She has also led professional development trainings for teachers and administrators and served as a public speaker. She earned a doctorate in education leadership from Texas A&M University–Texarkana, and her dissertation research focused on the importance of holistic support for adult learners. She holds a master’s degree in education administration from Texas A&M University–Texarkana, and she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of North Texas. Dr. Walker also attended Texarkana College and was a graduate of Liberty-Eylau High School. 

This online learning session is offered free of charge to Texas nonprofit professionals who work in the fields of adult and family literacy.

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Special thanks to:

Fran-Victoria Stephens

Anjela Martinez

LeeAnn Jennings

The Texas Workforce Commission

Checked/updated 11/25/24

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