About me
Carla Burrell Stanford is the Director of Instructional Design at ReadingUniverse.org, where she specializes in translating complex literacy research into practical, classroom-ready tools for daily use. With over 30 years of experience in education, her mission is grounded in the belief that every teacher deserves access to the essential knowledge required to teach a child to read effectively.
Early in her career, Carla Burrell Stanford experienced a pivotal realization: she had not been formally trained in the specific mechanics of reading instruction. After gaining and implementing this transformative knowledge, she became a dedicated advocate for teacher training. This led her to co-found Reading Is Essential for All People (REAP), a nonprofit organization that has successfully trained more than 1,900 educators in evidence-based literacy practices. Her current work at ReadingUniverse.org focuses on helping teachers understand the "what," "why," and "how" of research-grounded instruction, a mission she views as deeply personal and fundamental to student success.
Based in the United States, she continues to bridge the gap between academic research and practitioner application, ensuring that educators are empowered with the skills she once had to seek out for herself.
