Susan Cowles teaches basic skills to adults in a welfare reform program at Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, Oregon. She was named a Literacy Leader Fellow by the National Institute for Literacy. During 1996-1997, Susan created curricular materials for use of Internet-based resources in teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on adult literacy learners and instructors. She also coordinated a technology team of adult basic skills instructors from various geographic regions and literacy program throughout Oregon. Information about the curricular materials and fellowship findings can be found at http://www.nifl.gov/susanc/inthome.htm

Susan has also been active in staff development initiatives at the state, regional, and national levels, especially in the areas of mathematics education, teaching basic skills in real-world contexts, and incorporation of technology into adult literacy instruction. Susan is a founding member and Vice-President/President Elect of the Adult Numeracy Network (formerly the Adult Numeracy Practitioners Network). This group, an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, seeks to improve the quality of mathematics instruction in adult literacy programs. She served as the convenor of the Oregon Study Group for the ANPN planning grant for adult numeracy standards and reform in mathematics instruction, funded by the National Institute for Literacy. Susan has also participated in the videoconferences, "Adult Numeracy Instruction: A New Approach", and "Integrating Technology into the ABE/GED Curriculum", both produced by the National Center on Adult Literacy and the PBS Adult Learning Service. In addition, Susan taught and wrote curricular materials in a family literacy project at Linn-Benton Community funded by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Her earlier professional experience includes teaching at the middle school and high school levels.

Susan is a graduate of the University of Southern California, B.A. History, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi. She received a Master of Arts in Education from Stanford University, where she participated in the Secondary Teacher Education Project, a project funded by a Ford Foundation Challenge Grant to improve teacher education and preparation. She credits her Stanford experience as a major influence on her work in teaching, curricular design, and staff development.

Susan's interests include reform initiatives in mathematics teaching, the use of technology in teaching and learning, and the incorporation of materials from science, geography, and history into basic skills instruction. She loves to travel (in reality as well as electronically), read, and dance the tango.