Our Team
We are a group of educators, coaches, school leaders and implementation experts who offer professional development on evidence-based practices for teaching writing, rooted in evidence-based practices such as Structured Written Expression and SRSD.
A recent randomized-control trial study led by an independent prominent research team found that Releasing Writers’ (formerly thinkSRSD) professional development achieved a .72 effect size gain when the students of teachers trained in our approach were compared to those who were not. Full schools working with us see an average of 7.02% ELA proficiency increase.
Dr. Leslie Laud
Founder and Director of think SRSD
Who is Dr. Leslie Laud?
Dr. Leslie Laud, founder and director of Releasing Writers (formerly think SRSD) since 2014, is a leading international authority on how to scale the science of writing which includes approaches such as Structured Written Expression and SRSD, providing schools with evidence-based professional development to transform writing instruction.
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Dr. Leslie Laud pioneered using the science of writing, particularly SRSD, as a teacher in 2008 and began publishing peer-reviewed studies on the science of writing. She now keynotes at national education conferences, and has served as a Principal Investigator on major federally funded grants from IES and EIR which studied how to adapt evidence-based approaches such as SRSD for wide-scale
She is also the author of Executive Skills & Writing (Guilford Press, 2025). This book integrates the broad science of writing framework into a user-friendly framework for bringing the science of writing to their classrooms easily.
Following her doctoral training at Columbia University in system-wide school change, Dr. Laud now leads Releasing Writers’ national team of PD providers, partners multiple state education agencies and collaborates with leading experts in the science of writing instruction and assessment. What began in a handful of classrooms has now reached thousands of schools, districts, and state systems.
Dr. Leslie Laud’s work bridges research and practice—helping schools translate the science of writing into practical, scalable classroom solutions that improve student outcomes.
Allison Lienert
Allison Lienert, a national expert in the science of writing, particularly Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), serves as a senior content developer and professional development leader at Releasing Writers. Trained by Dr. Steve Graham while at Vanderbilt University and by Dr. Karen Harris while teaching at Currey Ingram School, she specializes in helping educators translate evidence-based writing strategies and the science of writing to the classroom.
Amy Thomas
Amy Thomas, a national trainer for Releasing Writers, brings over a decade of experience delivering professional development on Structured Written Expression and Self-Regulated Strategy Development. Starting in 2013, she used these evidence-based practices as a classroom teacher, then led a districtwide grant-funded rollout to bring the Science of Writing to over 50 classrooms. Given her professional successes with this work, she was selected by the Colorado Department of Education to train teacher cohorts in structured literacy practices aligned with the science of reading. Now a school principal, Releasing Writers is fully implemented in all classrooms in her school.
Dr. Susan O’Neil
Dr. Susan O’Neil is a nationally respected instructional leader and longtime advocate for the science of writing. Dr. O’Neil used Implementation Science frameworks to support adopting the science of writing, including Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), in her own school then across 50 schools when she became Deputy Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools. With over 40 years of experience in literacy, special education, and school transformation, she delivers Releasing Writers leadership training to school leaders nationwide, presents at national conferences, and publishes research on effective, equity-centered instruction.
Dr. Meg Hutchinson
Dr. Meg Hutchinson supports schools with using evidence-based practices, specializing in how these can make learning easier for students with language disorders. She learned the Releasing Writers framework from Dr. Leslie Laud at a PD in 2014 and has been using the approach regularly since then with her students. She now serves as a content developer and leads PDs for schools around the nation and world. Meg specializes in helping teachers translate evidence-based practices to their unique settings.
Shelby Gale
Shelby Gale is a middle school educator and national trainer with Releasing Writers, where she leads professional development and develops instructional content that helps teachers see how they can integrate the science of writing with their own curriculum. A 7th grade teacher who has used Releasing Writers in her classroom for over six years, Shelby has nearly doubled her students’ ELA proficiency scores on state assessments—and is even more inspired by how confident and empowered her students have become as writers. Shelby also leads the Releasing Writers Fellowship Project.
Tamar Moskowitz
Tamar Moskowitz, founder of TSB Consulting, also serves as a national trainer and curriculum developer with Releasing Writers. She began using this approach nearly a decade ago as a classroom teacher and continues to apply this evidence-based approach in her private tutoring practice. In her role as a school director and instructional coach, Tamar led professional development and coached educators in implementing the science of writing—improving student writing outcomes while also building their ability to self-regulate and find joy in writing.
Amy Janoch
Amy Janoch, a National Trainer for Releasing Writers, brings nearly 15 years of experience in training and supporting educators with the implementation of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). Her journey began in 2012 when, as a literacy coach, she attended Dr. Laud’s professional learning, the led its adoption and district-wide teacher training in her own district. Through her extensive work in coaching and supporting teachers, Amy has consistently observed remarkable improvements in students’ writing abilities and a significant increase in teachers’ confidence in guiding students’ growth as writers.
Releasing Writers Professional Development Providers
Dr. Mary Alpaugh
Researcher and Professor at Glendale Community College
Kelly Vasey
Literacy Coach, East Providence, RI
(former)
Heidi Zollman
Literacy Coordinator, Sanborn, NH
Dr. Joyce McIver
Clinical Associate Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin
Jess Macedo
Reading Teacher, Cumberland, RI
Dr. Maggie Luma
Chief of Staff, Harless Center; WV DE
Our Story
How Releasing Writers Grew From a Single Classroom to a National Movement
Beginnings
Dr. Leslie Laud discovered SIM (Strategies Instruction Model) and SRSD (self-regulated strategy development) and the theory of self-regulated learning in 1991 during her doctoral work with Dr. Lyn Corno, an early pioneer in self-regulated learning research. Dr. Laud then joined the early ‘Science of Writing’ researcher community and began contributing to the evolving research base, publishing her outcomes in peer-reviewed journals.
Launch
After seeing impact with her own students and in the growing number of schools she supported that all achieved ELA proficiency gains, Dr. Laud committed full time to studying and scaling the ‘Science of Writing’. By 2011, she was partnering widely with leading literacy organizations, offering the first ever online course and began to support statewide initiatives (TN, CT, WV, RI). She continued to publish empirical studies and popular pieces, co-authored with researcher colleagues.
Current Work
Dr. Laud founded Releasing Writers (formerly think SRSD) in 2014 with the mission to use implementation science to address continuing barriers to scaling the Science of Writing. Dr. Laud secured prestigious large federal grants from IES and EIR, serving as a Principal Investigator to study and test how to adapt and evolve methods such as SRSD to better address barriers schools face in trying to adopt it, balancing fit & fidelity. The focus also evolved to include the broader goal to raise ELA proficiency overall.
Our Mission
At Releasing Writers, we believe in the transformative power of effective writing instruction. Our mission extends beyond just teaching strategies; we aim to build a vibrant community where educators can share experiences, insights, and best practices. Whether you are a seasoned educator or just starting your journey, our resources are designed to empower you to create impactful learning experiences. Dive into our suite of multi-media materials, engage with fellow educators, and discover innovative ways to implement think SRSD in your classroom. Together, we can foster a culture of writing excellence that inspires both teachers and students alike.
Additional Experts Who Advise Us
Dr. Sharlene Kiuhara
Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Utah
Dr. Charles Haynes
Professor, MGH Institute of Health Professions
Dr. Stephen Ciullo
Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Texas State University
Dr. Kristie Asaro-Saddler
Associate Professor & Division Director for Special Education, University of Albany
Dr. Michael Herbert
Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Dr. Gary Troia
Associate Professor of Special Education at Michigan State University
Dr. Leslie Rogers
Assistant Professor of Special Education at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
About Us
Releasing Writers is the community of teachers and researchers who use and study practical applications of the Science of Writing. We offer in-person professional development and e-learning courses taught by teachers with decades of experience using our framework. Since offering the very first open enrollment course in SRSD in 2008, our group has grown to lead courses on multiple evidence-based practices for teaching writing and to integrate these.