The SSSR Nominations Committee is proud to present to you the following candidates for the SSSR Board Member position.
Nicole Conrad
Professor, Saint Mary’s University
I am a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. My research combines longitudinal and experimental designs to examine relations between reading and spelling, and how orthographic learning occurs during both. I joined SSSR in 1999 as a graduate student at McMaster University and I have presented my research at all but six conferences since then. I have contributed to the society in numerous ways over the years: I have served on the editorial board of the SSSR journal since 2012 and on the communications committee since 2016. I served as local coordinator for the 2017 conference in Halifax. Since 2018 (and continuing into the 2020 conference) I have jointly organized the early career researchers’ pre-conference, advocating for the inclusion of skill development workshops (e.g., Knowledge Mobilization/Research Impact, Longitudinal Data Modeling) that would appeal to both early and mid-career researchers. I have enjoyed experiencing and contributing to the growth and development of this organization over the years, as I have found my experiences very valuable. As board member, I would like to share my experience to facilitate the future growth and development of the organization, providing a voice for mid-career researchers.
Fiona Kyle
Senior Lecturer, University College London
I am the director of The Literacy and Deafness Development Research Lab (The LADDER Lab) at the Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL), UCL, and a visiting associate professor at the Reading Research Centre, University of Stavanger, Norway. My research explores literacy development in deaf and hearing children and how different language experiences and backgrounds (use of spoken language, sign language or cochlear implants) shape literacy outcomes and underlying processes. My longitudinal studies have demonstrated the important role of speechreading, vocabulary and phonological skills in successful reading. I am also interested in reading interventions for struggling readers and I have been involved with several adaptations of GraphoGame. I went to my first SSSR conference in 2000 when I was working as a research assistant and I remember being amazed by how friendly and welcoming SSSR was. I became a member of SSSR in 2004 during my doctoral studies and I have been attending regularly since. Becoming involved with the SSSR preconference in 2018 and taking over as joint organiser in 2019 has given me a wonderful opportunity to meet and mentor the next generation of reading researchers. SSSR was invaluable for my early career as it facilitated several research collaborations, and it would be an honour to give back to SSSR by becoming a board member and continuing to support early career researchers. In addition to being passionate about open science and replication in reading research, I am keen to help SSSR expand and welcome future reading researchers while maintaining the collegiate feel to SSSR conferences.