Research Staff
Laura Justice
Lab Director
Laura Justice, PhD., is a clinical speech-language pathologist and applied researcher in early childhood language and literacy development, communication disorders, and educational interventions. Dr. Justice directs the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. Dr. Justice's research activities have been supported by grants from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the International Reading Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the U. S. Department of Education. Her research on early language and literacy has received awards from the International Reading Association (Distinguished Finalist, Dissertation of the Year), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Editor's Award, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology), and the Council for Exceptional Children (Early Career Publication Award). Dr. Justice is currently the Principal Investigator of three randomized clinical trials supported by the USDOE's Institute for Education Sciences that focus on preschool literacy and language acquisition, to include a field-initiated research grant, a preschool curriculum evaluation research grant, and a reading scale-up grant. She is Editor, EBP Briefs. http://speechandlanguage.com/ebp/ She is also a volunteer speech-language pathologist with the Ukraine Special Needs Orpahanages Fund. www.specialorphans.org
Laura Slocum
Project Director
Email: lslocum@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-4093
Laura Slocum is the Project Director for Preschool Experiences in Rural Classrooms (PERC), a federally-funded research study investigating how early school experiences impact young children's language and literacy development. Laura received her B.A. in English from Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH) and holds duel Master's Degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH) and Higher Education and Student Affairs (The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH). Laura is a certified clinical Speech-Language Pathologist with research experience in traumatic brain injury and phonological acquisition. She is passionate about early intervention and dreams of someday opening a family and children's resource center. When Laura is not managing the PERC project, you can find her on the soccer field or tennis court, playing the piano, or baking homemade bread. Laura is finishing her doctoral degree in Multicultural and Equity Studies in Education with a concentration in Disability Studies at The Ohio State University.
Rashaun Geter
Project Director
Email: rgeter@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-3215
Rashaun Geter is the Project Director for Sit Together & Read 2 (STAR 2), a federally-funded research study that seeks to examine book reading practices of teachers and parents with children. He hails originally from Toledo, Ohio and has come to reside in Columbus by way of a brief stint in Chicago, Illinois. A graduate of the University of Dayton (B.S. Elementary Education) and Miami University (M.Ed. Educational Psychology - Human Development & Learning), Rashaun has a broad background including childcare and education, desktop publishing and marketing, and program administration in higher education.
Rashaun is a Star Trek the Next Generation fan (the one with Captain Jean Luc Picard for those not up on their Star Trek and, no, he does not dress up in said attire and/or attend conventions...ahem), Apple/Mac aficionado, and technology "geek." Educational interests include: educational, social, cognitive, and evolutionary psychologies (discovering relationships among them) and ultimately learning how to play the piano. Rashaun wishes to pursue his Ph.D. while at OSU in the near future.
Karie Wilson
Project Director
Email: kwilson@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 292-3492
Karie Wilson is the Project Director for Speech Therapy Experiences in Primary Schools (STEPS). This project brings her into contact with Speech Language Pathologists from across Ohio. She is excited to partner with these specialists and to investigate which therapy practices work best for young students.
Previously, Karie was a Research Project Coordinator based in Eugene, Oregon. During this time, she managed four federally-funded projects related to reading and mathematics interventions for primary school children. Karie also spent 5-years teaching in public elementary schools. She has an M.S. in Special Education.
During her free time, Karie enjoys traveling and exploring her new home state of Ohio.
Shayne Piasta
Research Faculty
Email: shayne.piasta@gmail.com
Phone: (614) 688-4454
Shayne Piasta is a developmental psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. She graduated from Florida State University and the Florida Center for Reading Research PIRT program in 2008. Her research interests include early and emergent literacy skill development, evidence-based practices for promoting literacy development, and educational research design and analysis. Shayne is currently involved in many PLLL projects, including evaluations of the STAR, Read It Again!, and CHATT programs.
Jill Pentimonti
Research Faculty
Email: jpentimonti@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-8151
Jill Pentimonti is a doctoral student in the Reading and Literacy in Early and Middle Childhood program at The Ohio State University. She is currently a Graduate Research Associate at the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. Her research interests include; child/teacher interactions during shared book reading, children's exposure to different genres of text and interventions to increase emergent literacy acquisition in at risk populations.
Ying Guo
Research Faculty
Email: yguo@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-4454
Ying Guo, Ph.D., is Educational Psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. She graduated from Florida State University in 2008. Her research interests include emergent literacy, including topics related to curriculum development and assessment; teacher development, education and expertise in literacy instruction; second language process; bilingual research. She is currently working on the PLL projects including Sit Together and Read in Early Childhood Special Education (STAR-2) and Preschool Education in Rural Settings (PERC).
Katherine Glenn-Applegate
Email: kglenn@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-8151
Katherine Glenn-Applegate is a doctoral student studying early childhood education, and a research fellow in the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. She primarily works on STAR 2, collecting, managing, and analyzing data. She has written and presented on artfulness in young children's oral narratives, and the historical implications of child care on modern day early childhood policy. Her current research interests focus on the obstacles that prevent families from accessing high-quality child care, and varying perceptions of "quality" held by different stakeholders in early childhood education. Prior to joining the P3L team, she taught young children for five years in New Hampshire and Boston. She loves camping, hiking, Motown, and her dog Mavis.
Jaclyn Dynia
Email: dynia.1@osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-8151
Jaclyn Dynia is a first year doctoral student studying Reading and Literacy in Early and Middle Childhood, and is a research fellow in the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. She primarily works on the project STAR 2, collecting, managing, and analyzing data. She is currently writing on preschool teachers' professional development and use of print referencing and she will present on this topic in the summer. Her current research interests focus on book reading in special education classrooms and the effects of the environment on book reading outcomes. Prior to joining the P3L team, she taught at a private school for children with Autism and she still works there as a reading tutor. She also continues to work on home ABA teams with two teenagers with Autism. In her free time, she enjoys Cleveland Browns football, running, and spending time with her brother and sister.
Lisa Baldwin-Skinner
Field Assessor
Email: lbaldwin-skinner@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-4009
Kim Thompson
Field Assessor
Email: kthompson@ehe.osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-4009
Kim Thompson is a Field Assessor at the Preschool Language and Literacy Lab. She is currently working with the STAR-2 (Sit Together And Read) program, interacting with children at their schools and visiting children and caregivers at their homes. Kim graduated from Kenyon College and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Tufts University. She enjoys working with children in a variety of educational settings and has many years of experience writing and producing instructional materials for children ages 4-14 in the area of literacy and language arts. Kim lives in Delaware, Ohio with her husband and two daughters.
Charla Forsty
Field Assessor
Email: forsty.1@osu.edu
Phone: (614) 688-4009
Charla Forsty comes to the STAR-2 Program with a diverse background of educational experiences. Since graduating from Wittenberg University, she taught and tutored math and languages to students of all age levels, and was employed for two years in Korea, teaching English as a Second Language. She loves working with children and is excited to see the benefits that the STAR-2 reading brings to preschoolers and their families. Her hobbies include traveling, learning, and working with wood. Charla lives with her husband in Pickerington.