Professional Learning Team
Linnea Oosterman, Professional Learning Assistant
Brenda Buzzell, M.Ed., BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY® Coordinator, provides instruction for the 6-hour Applied Training and the 3- credit undergraduate course. She is a co-author of the online BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY 12-hour course and organizes mentorships and parent workshops. She received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Vermont and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Union Institute & University She has been an educator for over 30 years working with children, early care and education providers, and parents. A former first grade teacher, she has over 21 years of classroom experience teaching children to read. She also presents trainings on the Vermont Early Learning Standards within the VT Northern Lights Core Curriculum, is board chair of her local school district, and active on state committees to promote quality early education. Brenda joined SCLL as a BUILDING BLOCKS' mentor in 2003.
Nancy Clements, M.A., CCC-SLP, Social Thinking® and Communications Program Manager joined the Stern Center in 2004. Nancy has pioneered the development of an in-depth social thinking program based on the ILAUGH model of Social Thinking® and Social Thinking Vocabulary (Winner), including developmentally based groups, coaching and consultations off-site, and a 3-credit graduate course in partnership with Saint Michaels College. She created Camp Compass, a unique total immersion social thinking summer experience, that continues to be offered through the Stern Center during the summer. After completing the Clinical Mentorship at the Center for Social Thinking in 2008, the Advanced Clinical Internship through Michelle Winner in 2009, Nancy was invited to and is now part of the Social Thinking Training Collaborative for the Northeast. Nancy provides consultation and presentations across the United States.
Jackie Earle-Cruickshanks, M.A., M.S., Distinguished Language Specialist and Diagnostician, performs evaluations and consultations for students of all ages. She received a Master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Connecticut with a concentration in learning disabilities and a Master’s degree in school psychology from St. Lawrence University. Experienced as a special and regular educator, as well as a school psychologist, she has been working at the Stern Center for over ten years. Jackie has directed the instructional clinic and professional development programs, including the Vermont Lab School initiative.
Juliet King, Ed.M., Professional Learning Provider, provides workshops and consultation for educators in all areas of literacy as well as individulized instruction for students of all ages. She received her Bachelors of Arts degree in the double majors of English Literature and Elementary Education from Skidmore College, and her Masters of Education degree in Language and Literacy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2001. Juliet has provided individualized instruction for students with a variety of learning styles since entering the field of education. She enjoys using her experiences with individualized instruction to support classroom teachers and other specialists within schools as they consider methods for providing research-based best practices within their instructional settings.
Janna Osman, M.Ed., Program Director for Professional Learning, comes to the Stern Center having spent 8 years as the Learning Disabilities Consultant at the Vermont Department of Education.She graduated with a Masters in Education from Saint Michael’s College, majoring in Special Education with a concentration on Learning Disabilities. She spent 18 years as a special education practitioner and 12 years as a practicum coordinator at St. Michael's College. Her collaboration with the Stern Center, in her role with the DOE, led to the development of The VT Lab School, and a Tier 3 assessment and instruction design for students with learning disabilities. Her new position at the Stern Center enables her to design and provide outreach professional learning opportunities for educators and families, to enhance the lives of all learners, on both a state and national level. 
Ellen Rogers, M.Ed., Upper Valley Liaison of the Stern Center's White River Junction office, holds a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Assessment from Norwich University and earned dual BS degrees in Elementary Education and Early Education from Plymouth State University. She was named as one of Vermont’s Outstanding Teachers and was nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. She is recognized as a Cambridge Who’s Who as an honored lifetime member. Ms. Rogers has served as a mentor for the Stern Center for Language and Learning Building Blocks Program. She has also been traveling the state the past four years as a Lab School Mentor, a 90 minute middle to high school structured language program, for the Stern Center. She is an educator with over a decade of classroom teaching experience in early elementary and has served as mentors for both public and private school teachers. She worked as a preschool teacher, classroom teacher, reading specialist, a speech and language assistant, and a one-on-one instructor at the Stern Center beginning in 2000. She has training in both Orton-Gillingham and is a Wilson Reading Program Trainer.