About Us
Reading Guides and Lesson Plans: Reading Guides and Lesson Plans were written and edited by Kathleen Hicks, Jennifer Lola McClelland, Peter Van Coutren, Mike Adams, Amanda Marinelli, Nicole Nixen, Karyn Riedell, Kent D. Nielsen, Elizabeth Dern, Christina Harney, Laurel Cox, Jessica Guyette, and Jeffrey Yeager. Longer form Lesson Plans were written by Ken Butler and Richard White, both of whom had years of experience teaching Steinbeck in the middle-school classroom setting.
Context: Content was written by Susan Shillinglaw, Richard White, Robert B. Harmon, and Jeanette Rumsby. Susan Shillinglaw, an internationally recognized Steinbeck scholar, serves as editor and curator of the Context section.
English-Language Learning: Dr. Katya Karathanos, Assistant Professor in the Lurie College of Education at SJSU, wrote the section on using Steinbeck with English-Language Learners (ELLs) and provided valuable curriculum review.
Site Design and Development: Susan Shillinglaw and Katie Rogers were responsible for early site research and recommendations. Mohammed Khasimi, while the Webmaster at Associated Students SJSU built an early prototype of the site. Matt Jecha, student web assistant, consulted on information design and built most of the Reading Guides pages of the first Steinbeck in the Schools site while an undergraduate student in the Davidson College of Engineering at SJSU. Jack Levitt, drafted the initial information design for the site, edited video, and built many of the pages. Richard White created navigation and loaded all content to the second generation of the Steinbeck in the Schools site utilizing an SJSU hosted site development tool. Sydney Spruiell developed the current site, which included an analysis of other sites; proposal of new site structure, navigation, and graphic elements; and coding.
Daniel Lanza Rivers (they/them) has served as Director of the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies since the Fall semester of 2021 and has lead the effort to create the current generation of the Steinbeck in the Schools Site. Daniel is faculty in Humanities (American Studies) and English & Comparative Literature at San José State University, where they teach courses on U.S. literature, Cultural Studies, and the Environmental Humanities. Daniel’s scholarship examines cultural practices of imagining “nature” and California environments, as well as the material and ecological impacts these practices have had on CA’s human and nonhuman inhabitants.
Susan Shillinglaw, former Director of Center for Steinbeck Studies and renowned Steinbeck expert is the curator of the Steinbeck in the Schools Context content, editing the work of others and creating original content.
Sydney Spruiell, a graduate of the SJSU BFA Graphic Design Program is the site’s webmaster.
Natalie Wollenweber currently a graduate student at SJSU assists with the development and entry of new content to the Site.
Janice Zelaya is the Administrative Support Coordinator for the Steinbeck Center and is responsible for the day-to-day support of site users and contributors.
Dr. Paul Douglass, former Director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies and Professor in the Department of English & Comparative Literature, provided vision and guidance to the project from its inception, leading the development effort of the first generation of the site.
Sstoz Tes, former Administrative Assistant for the Center for Steinbeck Studies, shepherded the project through its early stages, lining up most of the scholars and teachers who contributed content to the site.
Nick Taylor, previous Director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies, contributed his computer-programming expertise to the development of the second generation of the site, managed the process to update the context sections and creation of the longer form lesson plans; and lead the effort to expand the project's reach.
Sabrina Nichols, former Administrative Assistant for the Center and was responsible for the day-to-day support of site users and contributors.
Jim Levitt has been involved in most aspects of the site’s development since its creation.
Ted Cady has provided vital input on site functionality, content and User Experience.
Jeff Holmes has played a key role in assisting the audience growth for the site.