Margie Gillis

Margie is a Certified Academic Language Therapist who has been teaching children of all ages to read for over 40 years. She became interested in reading while at the University of Connecticut where she studied with Isabelle Liberman. She became certified as an Academic Language Therapist at the Dean Learning Center with Aylett Cox and at Teachers College with Judith Birsh. Subsequently, she received her Doctorate of Education from the University of Louisville in Special Education where she began her work training teachers of reading.

In 2009, Margie founded Literacy How, Inc. to provide professional development opportunities for teachers on how best to implement research-based reading practices in the classroom. As president of Literacy How and as a Research Affiliate at both Fairfield University and Haskins Laboratories, Margie creates new opportunities to empower teaching excellence.

In 2010, Margie founded the Anne E. Fowler Foundation to continue the work of her mentor Anne Fowler. The Foundation supports scholarships for teachers to earn their sixth year degree in Reading and Language Development at Fairfield University.

Margie has worked at the policy level with the CT state legislature and the Connecticut State Department of Education to pass bills that support evidence-based reading instruction as well as policies that support the identification and treatment of dyslexia.

She is the co-founder and former president of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, the former president of the CT Branch of the International Dyslexia Society, a board member of the Dyslexia Society of CT, New Alliance Foundation, and the Alliance. She is also an executive board member of the Academic Language Therapist Association.

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