Yolanda L. Dunston North Carolina Central University, USA

Yolanda L. Dunston has 21 years of experience in pre-K–12 and higher education. She earned a BA, in Elementary Education, a MEd in Special Education—Literacy Studies, and a PhD in Literacy all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a tenured Associate Professor at North Carolina Central University in the Department of Curriculum Instruction in the School of Education. Her focus is on effective teaching for both preservice and practicing teachers, particularly in the area of literacy. She has been a teacher at the preschool and elementary level, a private consultant for struggling middle and high school students, and an adjunct instructor at UNC–Chapel Hill teaching undergraduate emergent and early literacy courses. Yolanda is a contributing author for the text Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Educating Traumatized Children Pre-K through College. She currently coordinates the Elementary Education program, teaches undergraduate and graduate methods courses in literacy, facilitates the student teaching seminar, and supervises student teachers in the field.