Dr. Jessica Murdter-Atkinson is an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at the University of North Texas. Previously, Jessi was an elementary school teacher in central Texas, working with students in grades Pre-K through fifth grade for fifteen years. More recently, she was an elementary instructional coach. Jessi earned her Bachelor, Master's, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on literacy studies. In her time at UT, she worked as a field supervisor, teaching assistant, assistant instructor, and graduate research assistant. Jessi's areas of research interest include early literacy, coaching and mentoring preservice teachers, and culturally sustaining approaches to literacy instruction.