The Literacy Architects is led by founder and managing director Seema Tejura. Seema has over twelve years of experience leading students, teachers, and leaders towards literacy success, influencing over 150,000 students in 350+ schools. She has held various positions in urban school districts, including reading specialist, literacy coach, reading/language arts director, and chief academic officer.

Seema has rolled out the Common Core State Standards to elementary schools in the District of Columbia, changed mindsets in Dallas by showing teachers the power of students citing evidence from the text to support their answers, made the case for writing instruction at every grade level, and raised student achievement through teacher use of close reading modules and text sets. She has structured the inaugural year for two instructional coaching programs and has implemented countless district-wide initiatives. She has experience leading literacy programs for general education, ESL, and special education students.

Seema holds master’s degrees in reading and education leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University and The George Washington University. She is also a reading specialist, Wilson® Dyslexia Practitioner, and Certified Academic Language Practitioner (CALP).

In her free time, Seema enjoys exploring her neighborhood on foot and traveling.

Caitlin is a Science of Reading Specialist and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University. She has held various positions in rural and urban school districts, including elementary classroom teacher, literacy interventionist, gifted and talented teacher, RTI coordinator, strategic planning board member, and Title Services program coordinator.

Caitlin prioritizes evidence-based best practices within the MTSS framework, while making research both accessible and approachable to educators. Her belief that literacy is a civil right and a prerequisite for survival and success within our society influences her work designing professional development and social media content for The Literacy Architects.

When not working, you can find Caitlin curled up with a book and a dog, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, or enjoying the majesty of the San Juan mountains.

Amy has worked in the field of education for over fifteen years. She began her career as a third grade teacher and after several years of working with struggling readers, she was inspired to pursue a reading specialist endorsement. She completed her Masters degree in reading education from the University of Virginia in 2009. Since that time, she has served in various roles as a reading coach, reading specialist, and literacy course facilitator.

In addition to working with small groups of students in an intervention setting, Amy spends her time collaborating with classroom teachers across her school division about their literacy instruction and providing professional development for teachers, administrators, and parents. She recently coordinated and led a team in the design and implementation of an early literacy curriculum guide aligned with the science of reading. Her dedication and work with early literacy earned her the 2021 Educator of the Year recognition. Her expertise includes dyslexia, Orton-Gillingham, the science of reading, and structured literacy. Amy has a passion for sharing the what, why, and how of evidence-based literacy instruction with others.

Meet Donielle Houston, TLA Virtual Assistant! Donielle is from Philadelphia and has been a virtual assistant for four years. Prior to becoming a VA, Donielle was a realtor and music educator for after-school programs and performing arts camps. Donielle considers herself a lifelong learner, and is constantly finding new ways to bring top-notch experiences to her clients- TLA included!

Donielle’s favorite part about working for TLA is using her tech skills to support an organization that’s equipping today’s educators to help students achieve more than ever before.

When Donielle isn’t hard at work, you might find her writing songs, singing, or having a laugh with her husband and son.

Maygan has ten years of experience working in the field of education. During that time, she has held various roles, including elementary classroom teacher, instructional technologist, and professional development content creator/facilitator.

Additionally, Maygan is a published children’s book author. Her book “So You Think You Want To Be A Superhero?” was released in December 2022.

Her latest role as a marketing and outreach specialist for The Literacy Architects allows her to share the importance of evidence-based literacy instruction with her fellow educators. Maygan holds a Bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Old Dominion University and a Master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Liberty University.

Hannah is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the education community via Teach for America and comes to us with 15 years of experience in English Language Arts and literacy. She has worked as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and is currently a consultant who specializes in co-creating cohesive, relevant, research-backed literacy programming and supporting ELA teachers via teacher-driven professional learning. Hannah is inspired to do this work because of her belief that all people deserve access to joy, and she has experienced time and time again the capacity of learning to bring joy. Regardless of place or time, she’s remained passionate about and committed to ensuring that positive, engaging, curiosity-inducing, relevant, humanrigorous, student-centered ELA learning opportunities are accessible to all young people.

When she’s not working you can find her devouring YA fantasy, napping, gardening, cooking, being outside and soaking up every moment of being with her wonderful family.

Amanda Muhammad is a mindfulness-based stress management & psychological safety consultant in Dallas, TX. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Business Psychology and holds a Master’s in Organizational Leadership and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Leadership. Amanda is a certified Mindfulness Trainer, Compassion Fatigue Trainer, and yoga instructor.

Amanda facilitates a variety of training, hosts mindfulness training, and serves as a resilience coach with her company, Mako Mindfulness. She’s had the opportunity to share her practice with a number of individuals, organizations, schools, and companies across the country.