Gail Verdi

Affiliation

Kean University

Biography

Dr. Gail Verdi is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching and Coordinator of Kean's Graduate TESOL Program. Dr. Verdi established Kean’s Tomorrow’s Teachers program in 2017, a dual-credit program for high school students considering teaching as a career. She has grown the program to include 13 districts across New Jersey. Her research interests include literacy development, process writing, urban education, second language education, and the influence second languages and dialects have on student success. She has presented on these topics at local, national, and international conferences. She is Co-PI on a 1.2 million dollar NSF Noyce Grant awarded in 2023: Culturally Responsive Education of STEM Teacher Candidates with Dr. Laura Lorentzen, Dr. Louis Beaugris, and Patricial McDermitt. She also serves on NABE’s Research and Assessment SIG as an Executive Board member. Her most recent publication is titled “Educating Educators to Integrate Inclusive Design across a 4-Year CS Degree Program” (with Letaw, L., Garcia, R., Morreale, P., Garcia, H., Noa, G.) in progress. Dr. Verdi received a Ph.D. in English Ed/Applied Linguistics and an M.A. in TESOL from NYU. She also has a B.A. in Elementary Education/Early Childhood from Seton Hall.