Nancy Hennessy, M.Ed.

Nancy Hennessy is an experienced teacher and administrator who currently works as a literacy consultant. While in public schools, she provided leadership for innovative programming for students and professional development for educators. Nancy has designed and delivered keynote addresses and multiple virtual and live professional learning events including workshops, podcasts, and training courses on the science of reading, structured literacy & dyslexia. Most recently, reading comprehension has been her focus. She is the author of the book, The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning of Text. Nancy has also written the chapter, Working with Word Meaning: Vocabulary Instruction, in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Skills (4^th edition). While serving as a national trainer for Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, she co-authored LETRS, Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text Comprehension (2^nd edition) with Louisa Moats. Nancy is a past president of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and a recipient of IDA’s Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award. She was recently honored with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s 2023 Impact Award.