She started in the field more than 10 years ago as a bilingual (Spanish) Kindergarten teacher. Katie completed her undergraduate schooling at Loyola University Chicago (2002) and then received her Masters in Instructional Leadership (2006) and her PhD inLiteracy, Language, and Culture (2011) from University of Illinois at Chicago.Throughout her tenure at UIC Katie worked as research assistant on three Early Reading First grants, where she developed and refined her skills as a PDpresenter and instructor, researcher, and writer. Her research and service focus on early literacy and technology integration, with a primary focus on listening comprehension.