Leila Ahvarhoush
Bio coming soon!
Fallon Farokhi
Fallon Farokhi was raised in Lawrence, Kansas and attended the University of Kansas for her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She continued her studies at Indiana University in a master’s degree in Library and Information Science. Her career as an educator has taken her from Lawrence, to Shawnee Mission, Turner (KCK), University School in Bloomington (IN), Edith Bowen Laboratory School at Utah State University, Maria Montessori Academy (N. Ogden, Utah), Junction City Middle School (Kansas), and back to Shawnee Mission schools. She has been a classroom teacher in grades 4-9, taught an undergraduate education course in classroom management at Utah State, and she has been a school library media specialist in Kansas for 7 years in both elementary and middle school settings.
She is an advocate for literacy, intellectual freedom, community connections and inquiry-based learning. You can find her blogging at The Story Spectator and contributing to educational conversations worldwide on her social media accounts (Twitter @ffarokhi, Instagram @thestoryspectator).
She is an advocate for literacy, intellectual freedom, community connections and inquiry-based learning. You can find her blogging at The Story Spectator and contributing to educational conversations worldwide on her social media accounts (Twitter @ffarokhi, Instagram @thestoryspectator).
Annie Gnojek
Annie Gnojek has been a music educator and professional flutist in the Lawrence and Kansas City area for 20 years. In that time she has maintained a private flute studio of over 30 students ranging from 5-75 years of age. Her students have won numerous competitions at the local, state and national level over the years and many have gone on to pursue degrees in Music Education and Flute Performance. In addition to her private teaching, Annie has also been an adjunct professor at both Ottawa University and Benedictine College.
Beyond her teaching career, Annie has also been a member of the professional flute, oboe and piano trio Allegresse for the past 16 years. Allegresse has performed countless concerts across the United States and abroad. She is also the co-founder of the Lawrence community flute choir, the Rock Chalk Flutes, which will have their debut performance in April of 2022. Annie holds both a bachelor and masters degree in Flute Performance from the University of Kansas.
Beyond her teaching career, Annie has also been a member of the professional flute, oboe and piano trio Allegresse for the past 16 years. Allegresse has performed countless concerts across the United States and abroad. She is also the co-founder of the Lawrence community flute choir, the Rock Chalk Flutes, which will have their debut performance in April of 2022. Annie holds both a bachelor and masters degree in Flute Performance from the University of Kansas.
Madeline Herrera
Madeline Herrera grew up in the midwest and has wanted to be an educator since she was 12 years old. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from KU School of Education. Her Masters degree is in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, an area she became passionate about at a young age. Madeline is known for her high level of student engagement and strong classroom culture. She credits these close bonds to dynamic project-based learning units she designs with current students in mind. Collaboration with professionals in areas outside of education is standard practice for her as she creates her units of study. She has taught in both elementary and middle school settings, rural and urban, as a classroom teacher as well as an English Language Acquisition Specialist.
Karen A. Jorgensen
Karen A. Jorgensen joined the Lawrence community and the KU School of Education and Human Sciences faculty in August, 2005. As a constructivist, student-centered educator, Karen has taught all elementary grade levels in multi-grade classrooms at an inquiry-based elementary school in Minnesota. Karen is also a language educator and staff member for 17 summers with the Concordia Language Villages. Karen’s areas of advocacy and passion include equity- and social justice-based education, identifying and supporting areas of strength and those for instruction and practice in literacy, and using research and pedagogy together to inform instructional decision-making.
Karen A. Jorgensen earned her B.A. in Elementary Education and Scandinavian Studies from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Karen’s master’s degree work was completed at Høgskolen i Hamar (Norway) in the areas of Norwegian linguistics, literature and language. Her Ph.D. in the dual program areas of literacy education and second languages and cultures education was conferred by the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. As a Teaching Professor at KU, Karen prepares undergraduate elementary preservice teachers to teach literacy and instructs online master’s degree courses for reading specialists in grades PK – 12+.
Karen A. Jorgensen earned her B.A. in Elementary Education and Scandinavian Studies from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Karen’s master’s degree work was completed at Høgskolen i Hamar (Norway) in the areas of Norwegian linguistics, literature and language. Her Ph.D. in the dual program areas of literacy education and second languages and cultures education was conferred by the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. As a Teaching Professor at KU, Karen prepares undergraduate elementary preservice teachers to teach literacy and instructs online master’s degree courses for reading specialists in grades PK – 12+.