ERIN CONWAY

Erin completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UW-Madison. Erin is fluent in English and Spanish. She began her professional career as a bilingual teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District. Her desire to seek a deeper understanding of her students and foster intercultural connections in the field of education lead her to accept a Peace Corps assignment in Guatemala.

 

For the past ten years, Erin has worked both teaching and training teachers in Guatemala, including Atitlan Multicultural Academy, and most recently Erin worked as the Director of Literacy Staff Training and Curriculum Development with Child Aid, a position which prepared her both to provide insight into the development of key materials and curriculum related to literacy organizations as well as an understanding of the process related to building and managing a nonprofit organization, working with board members, staff and volunteers. For Child Aid, Erin wrote and edited three manuals for teacher, librarian and staff training.She took advantage of learning backstrap weaving that she currently employs as a construct to analyze teaching. Experiences include writing, implementing and adapting teacher coaching practices for diverse learners in professional development sessions with teachers and other educational staff. This research also plays a major role in her writing, implementing and adapting curriculum for diverse literate and illiterate language learners.

 

Throughout the years spent in Guatemala, Erin started and managed her own non profit, Weave. Hope. Inc., in order to promote literacy in the Mayan village of Santa Catarina Palopó. She was responsible for all fundraising and donor communication as well as program development and library staff training.

 

Erin worked as Program Manager with The Literacy Connection, a literacy nonprofit that provided services to adults pursuing their own self and academic improvement goals in northern Rock County.  She managed day to day operations as well as curriculum development and volunteer tutor coaching that included a quarterly newsletter Tutor Tips. Erin also completed Americorps service in a state wide initiative, Play & Read.  This early literacy program was part of a DPI collaboration to enrich family literacy in communities through local libraries.  Currently Erin applies her skills and experiences in her home community working in her local library and consulting on multicultural outreach programs.  She continues to explore the diverse definitions of “teachers”, their characteristics and student centered coaching in a variety of contexts.  Erin works as a Positive Youth Development Educator for University of Wisconsin Madison, Extension Rock County.