BRT Researcher, Leilani Sáez, Promoted to Research Assistant Professor

BRT Researcher, Leilani Sáez, Promoted to Research Assistant Professor

September, 2016

The University of Oregon recently recognized Dr. Leilani Sáez’s contributions to research and practice with a promotion to the Research Professor ranks. “The promotion marks an important milestone for Dr. Sáez here at UO in that it moves her to the most prestigious of trajectories available for career NTTF research faculty,” explains BRT Co-Director Julie Alonzo. “Leilani’s work as Principal Investigator on Project Iceberg and the pivotal role she has played in the development of the Learning Receptiveness Assessment, as well as her success publishing in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at well-respected research conferences were among the many reasons she was successful in being moved to the Research Professor ranks.”

Dr. Sáez obtained her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Riverside (2004), with an emphasis in cognitive processing and learning disabilities. Her research focuses on the interaction between student cognitive functioning, classroom behaviors, and academic skill level contributors to learning difficulties. She has written and presented on reading skills development and measurement, and the impact of working memory functioning on achievement.

Prior to joining BRT, Leilani led the development of a K-12 comprehensive reading assessment system, instructed pre- and in- service K-12 teachers, and taught students with learning disabilities. Currently, she is developing a tablet-based Learning Receptiveness Assessment (LRA) tool designed to screen early risk for learning difficulties through a multi-time point measurement of emergent academic skills, learning-supportive behaviors, and working memory cognitive functioning. She is currently in the second year of a five-year OSEP-funded project using the LRA to develop implementation strategies and resources for facilitating data-based decision-making to prevent reading disabilities across the preschool-kindergarten transition.

“Leilani is one of the strongest project managers I’ve ever met. She is incredibly well-organized, detail-focused, and committed to quality,” adds Dr. Alonzo. “We are very fortunate to have her as part of the BRT team.”

Congratulations, Leilani, on your recent promotion!