Oona Abrams
A graduate of The College of Mount Saint Vincent and Manhattanville College, Oona teaches English at Chatham High School. Oona has presented and collaborated with colleagues at the NCTE, CEL, NJCTE, NJWA and EdTechNJ conferences, and she has been a guest blogger for NCTE and The Nerdy Book Club. She served as editor of English Leadership Quarterly from 2014 until 2018. Professional learning is one of her greatest passions, and attending #nErDCampMI and #nErDCampLI inspired her to launch #nErDCampNJ as her Genius Hour professional development project in 2017. She lives with her husband and sons in northern New Jersey. |
Juli-Anne Benjamin
Juli-Anne is a veteran educator who has dedicated her life to educating children, primarily in urban schools in Brooklyn, New York City and currently in Newark, NJ. A highly qualified teacher and life-long learner, she has been trained by Columbia University's Teachers College Instructional Coaching cycles in workshop methodologies and small group instruction as well as Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. She champions read alouds in literacy lessons, and grounds instructional practices in building culturally responsive classroom libraries as a pathway to ensure children have the right to read and receive excellent literacy instruction. Juli-Anne is the proud and humble founder of #EdCampNewark (NJ) and #EdCampBROOKLYN, marrying her commitment and dedication to teacher leadership as a way to deliver to students the most effective instruction, rich with their voice and choice. She works tirelessly within social justice and equity frameworks to include teachers of color into emerging and democratic professional learning spaces, and is overjoyed to join the nErDCampNJ family and honored to be of service as an organizer. |
Sarah Mulhern Gross
Sarah Mulhern Gross is a National Board certified English teacher at High Technology High School. She is a contributor to The New York Times Learning Network and her writing has appeared in Scientific American, ASCD, the Nerdy Book Club blog, The New Jersey English Journal, and The Washington Post's Answer Sheet. Sarah has presented for NCTE, NJCTE, NJCEL, NJEA, The New York Times, Fordham University’s Summer Literacy Institute, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the New Jersey Science Teachers Association. She serves as a board member for curiousSciencewriters, which provides a platform for publishing student science writing. Her passion is the intersection of literacy and science, particularly science communication and nature-deficit disorder, and she is currently pursuing a Masters degree in biology through Project Dragonfly. |
Julia Guthrie
Julia Guthrie is a 4th grade teacher at Notre Dame Academy in Palisades Park, New Jersey who is currently serving as New Jersey’s Non-Public Teacher of the Year for the 2018 school year. She recently received her Masters in Teaching from Felician University and is proud to serve as her school's language arts department chair. You can find her writing in Catholic Teachers Magazine and The Nerdy Book Club Blog. Julia's greatest passion is helping to build supportive reading communities for students. She is pleased to have the opportunity to do just that both here and with EdCamp RCAN. |
Nicole Mancini
Nicole Mancini teaches fifth grade English Language Arts at Bedminster Township School District. She graduated Washington College in 2002 as a triple major in English, education, and gender studies and earned a Masters of Science in Education; she has a Reading Specialist degree from Monmouth University. Nicole has served as a member of Bedminster Township School's Gifted & Talented Advisory Council, Technology Committee, Teacher of the Year Committee, and English & Language Arts Literacy Curriculum Committee. Nicole has presented various workshops on technology, reading instruction, and engagement. She has also led the faculty's professional book club for the district. In addition to teaching, Nicole is a freelance writer, a member of the International Literacy Association, an ambassador for Flipgrid, and someone who enjoys staying current on the latest trends in the field of children's literature. |
Emily S. Meixner
Emily S. Meixner is an associate professor of English Education and the coordinator of the secondary English education program at The College of New Jersey. Dr. Meixner regularly teaches undergraduate courses on ELA reading/writing pedagogy as well as graduate and undergraduate courses on children’s and young adult literature. Dr. Meixner presents frequently at local and national conferences and has contributed both essays and reviews to the Nerdy Book Club blog. Her scholarship has been published in Radical Teacher, The ALAN Review, Voices from the Middle, English Leadership Quarterly, and Multicultural Perspectives. |
Steve Tetreault
Steve is a 20 year veteran English teacher at the William R. Satz Middle School in Holmdel, NJ. He graduated from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, four times - most recently with a Master of Information degree and school library media specialist certification. He writes a monthly blog for AASL’s Knowledge Quest website, and has been published in School Library Connection’s online and print magazines. Steve has been a participant and workshop leader at EdCamps across New Jersey, both for teachers and librarians. He’s spoken at ISTE and Techspo. He’s a proud member of ALA, NJLA, AASL, NJASL, and YALSA. He firmly believes that school libraries are a vital part of a solid educational environment. He loves books, and loves sharing that passion for reading with students. He and his wife live in central New Jersey. |
Denise Weintraut
A graduate of Camden County College and Rutgers University-Camden, Denise Weintraut revels in teaching 8th-grade English Language Arts at the Berlin Borough School District. As a former ELA interventionist, she believes in the profound power of reading to elevate one’s future, and she is passionate about developing lifelong readers who think critically about their communities. She serves on the boards of the West Jersey Reading Council and the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English, where she also serves as the Membership Chair and Fall Conference Co-Chair. A self-proclaimed tech geek, she is always up for a challenge and is committed to elevating those around her. She has presented at area conferences including WJRC, NJCTE, Summer D.I.V.E., and NJAMLE, and she hosts a monthly #CoffeeEduNJ in Cherry Hill. She believes that books and chocolate are a natural pairing that should be savored together. |
Larry Zuares
Larry Zuares is an instructional coach for the Pemberton Township School District. Prior to becoming an instructional coach, Larry served as the K-5 technology teacher, for Collingswood Public Schools. In 2009, Larry earned his B.A. in Psychology from Georgian Court University and is dual-certified in Elementary and Special Education. He helped organize #nErDCampNJ in 2018 and 2019, EdCampHAT in 2017, EdCampPenn in 2016, and frequently attends EdCamps in the NJ/PA area. Larry is recognized as an Apple Learning Specialist and a Seesaw and Buncee Ambassador. He enjoys partnering with teachers to create meaningful learning experiences for all learners to inspire inquiry, foster curiosity, encourage creativity, and build critical thinking skills. |