Meet the Team

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
What I like the most about Rollins is our impact on Cox Campus, where anyone can access our courses. All these courses have been created and developed to support parents, caregivers, teachers, or directors.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Coming from a different country with a foreign language and culture, plus having two dual language learners at home, is helping to understand the importance of providing the right supports to every single child based on their needs. Now, I have the opportunity to advocate for them.

Laura Bollman is an education leader focused on equity, access and opportunity. She has served as a nonprofit executive, lead project designer and director, social sector consultant and classroom teacher. Bollman is skilled in developing and implementing strategy, evaluating and achieving complex goals, and leading broad and diverse stakeholders toward a shared vision. Prior to her role at the Rollins Center, Bollman served as the President and CEO of the State Charter School Foundation of Georgia (SCSF), where she built and launched the statewide foundation, recruited and supported its Board of Directors and created the strategic plan to guide the future of the organization. Previously, Bollman served as the Director of Program Design and Implementation for the CF Foundation in Atlanta, where she led ducators, architects, students and families to design, construct and open a state-of-the-art high school to complete the cradle-to-college education pipeline in Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood. Bollman worked to replicate this model as a Community Development Advisor for Purpose Built Communities, and provided coaching and consulting to civic, business and neighborhood leaders across the country. Bollman began her education career as a 6th grade social studies teacher at Charles R. Drew Charter School as a Teach For America corps member. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Wellesley College and her master’s degree in education from Harvard University with a focus on policy and management.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
The brilliant team at Rollins and Cox Campus make our shared work of literacy and justice for all not only possible, but also joyful. The Cox Campus, powered by the experience and expertise of our team, is the most scalable and sustainable antidote to our literacy crisis. I love that when science leads the way, children everywhere can be on a path to a life of self-determination.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Simply put, I believe that access to excellent educational opportunities is a fundamental right and equitable access should be afforded right now, if not sooner. Every person is born with unlimited human potential; excellent education and equitable opportunities help ensure we can each become who we are meant to be.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love that my job is creative and meaningful at the same time! My colleagues are outstanding, knowledgeable, and supportive.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Every child deserves an equal opportunity to the best education. When all children are given the chance to thrive, there are more lightbulb moments which brightens the world.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love the people that I work with, such great and positive energy. I also love that fact that daily we are transforming peoples lives!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I believe that each person should have the opportunity to receive a quality education no matter race or demographic background….we should all have access to the same world that we all live in! Education is freedom and we should all have that obtainable goal.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus because the mission is one of great importance for creating equity. Cox Campus is a tool that can be used to break the paywall that has kept educators from the knowledge and skills needed to provide a high-quality education for ALL children.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about education equity because it aligns with my belief that ALL children possess gifts and qualities that can make the world a better place. Inequity has stifled our growth as a society because we are limiting opportunity which in turn places limitations on everyone’s potential.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
Rollins is a collaborative and powerful think tank fueled by partnerships with experts, creative and solution-oriented teammates, and access to the latest research and science of reading. Empowering others to put the science of reading to work in their classrooms day in and day out and watching classroom practices transform is a thrilling adventure!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because literacy is the language of opportunity! Providing every student access to reading instruction based on the science of reading will ensure that all students have access to a life of choice.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love the Rollins team and our shared purpose and work to create a world where EVERY child can read!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Educational equality should not be confined to race, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, creed, etc. And as such, we all deserve access to incredible education.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I enjoy being able to do all the things I love to do in my professional career, including empowering teachers, making research-based practices practical and instilling the love of reading in all children. Not to mention, I get to work alongside talented and passionate colleagues.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
The quality of education children receive directly correlates to their quality of life years down the road, especially their early education. Therefore, it’s critical that all educators understand and address barriers students face by creating inclusive and equitable classrooms. We hold the power to shape children’s’ futures.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love the opportunity to learn every day from and alongside a team of passionate people. I am grateful to have the opportunity to advocate for young dual learners every day. We want to send a strong message that first language and culture are gifts and must be seen as assets. My absolute favorite part of the work are the moments I get to be with young children having meaningful conversations, sharing stories, and tuning-in to their world.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
My passion for educational equity builds from my experience as a classroom teacher, teaching in classrooms that included dual language learners from all over the world (Somalia, Ethiopia, Mexico, Burma, Afghanistan and many other places). I am inspired by the relationships with the children I taught and the many I’ve had the joy of meeting in my work with Rollins. When I read heartbreaking statistics about illiteracy in our country, I think about the real children I know and how much better they deserve. I dream for them and with them of choice-filled lives where they are empowered to think critically, freely express themselves, and advocate for themselves and others.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love being able to provide high-quality instruction and resources to educators across the nation. I also appreciate collaborating with like-minded colleagues who share similar passions regarding language and literacy.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because it provides access for ALL!

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working with so many inspired and inspiring educators who are committed to providing equitable education and address the opportunity gap for all learners. I am particularly committed to our mission of supporting all child-facing adults through research-based, reponsive, and justice-oriented resources widely and freely available on Cox, democratizing access and evidenced-based curriculum.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Truth-telling education that positions children as the change-makers that they are is our collective hope. Every opportunity taken to foster teacher and child agency, voice, autonomy, and criticality is a substantive move toward healing and creating a more just world.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working for Rollins and the Cox Campus because I enjoy being a part of creating an ecosystem where teachers, families, caregivers, healthcare workers, and leaders can come together and create the healthy and nurturing environment needed in order to support children’s language and literacy development.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because I believe all children have the right to an excellent education that allows them to reach their full potential and we as adults must work together to create the systems and environments needed for this to be true.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I truly enjoy collaborating with the passionate experts in Rollins. I also enjoy empowering families with our practical, research-based Cox Campus strategies.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Educational equity allows every child an opportunity to succeed regardless of social location and circumstance.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love being a catalyst for change in eradicating illiteracy in our communities and all over the world. It gives me great joy to encourage and provide the tools of the science of language and literacy in every adult involved in a child’s ecosystem, ensuring all children will be afforded the opportunity to choose their own path in life. I am also grateful to work collaboratively, alongside a group of individuals, with varied strengths, backgrounds, perspectives, and talents that are all committed to the same vision.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am extremely passionate about all children being able to access the same educational rigor and resources regardless of their race, ethnicity, income, or language. It is unjust for children to be disproportionately impacted by the lack of exposure and language rich environment because of the zip code in which they reside. I am committed to building a child’s deep reading brain. Challenging children to think critically, develop comprehension skills, and become comfortable with verbal expression equips them with the essential tools to be successful in our society.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love knowing I’m working every day to construct accessible pathways to equitable education for growing minds. It is deeply rewarding to engage in work that aligns with your mission.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Harnessing the power of education has the ability for any person regardless of where they start in life to open doors to the future like nothing else. We should all want to put that power, in it’s fullest magnitude, in the hands of the next generation.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
The enthusiasm, determination, and heart for service that my colleagues bring to their work makes me proud to be a member of this team!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Education truly does have the power to change the world and in the words of Dr. Anthony Muhammad, “Equity can never become a reality in education if it’s viewed as charity instead of professional obligation.”

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
What I love most about working for the Rollins Center is the diverse work culture and how we honor and celebrate everyone’s uniqueness. I love how Cox Campus has a variety of free resources and tools accessible and available for me to be productive and successful in my work.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I’m passionate about educational equity because education is the one thing that once it’s earned and it can never be taken. Therefore, when education is offered and provided to all, we all win. It becomes a common ground we all can stand on to live productive lives, address critical matters, and bring about impactful change for all.

Dr. Lee-James is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist and published author with expertise in language development, language disorders, and literacy in the context of linguistic differences and socioeconomic disadvantage. In her current role as the Director of the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School, Lee-James is responsible for working collaboratively with community-based organizations and key stakeholders to impact language and literacy achievement for our most vulnerable children. Before joining the team at the Atlanta Speech School, Lee-James had the privilege of training and mentoring graduate level speech-language pathologists as a member of the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty at Adelphi University in New York. Lee-James holds a B.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Michigan State University and a M.S. in Speech Pathology from West Virginia University. She explored language differences and disorders at Louisiana State University for post-graduate work, and received her Ph.D. from Georgia State University.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
What I love most is the mission – it’s lofty, radical, and rooted firmly in equity and social justice.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I’m passionate about educational equity because it is a basic human right. For far too long, children have been robbed of their right and access to a prosperus life and therefore society at-large continues to be disadvantaged – it’s time to change this reality and ensure that every child is on path to living lives of self-determination.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
Everyday I look forward to the opportunity to connect, collaborate and serve coaches, directors and educators working in early childhood education. I love hearing anecdotes about the growth children have made and cherish the opportunities to engage with children in class! Lastly, I love being a part of a team that is so dedicated to supporting our smallest learners, educators, families and beyond!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I believe every child deserves the opportunity to become their best and full selves, no matter where they’re from. Together we can help create change and ensure that children have access to high quality and equitable education.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
Through the Rollins Center, I have the privilege to serve and collaborate with educators, instructional coaches, district-level leaders, and my fellow colleagues to develop sustainable systematic change in literacy instruction. It lights up my day when educators feel empowered through knowledge, and they incorporate what they have learned in order to empower their students. I am so proud that the Cox Campus breaks down the paywall and propels this mission to the ends of the Earth so all children can access their dreams.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because ALL children have a right to access their full potential. Evidence-based language and literacy practices give students the power to lead self-determined lives regardless of socioeconomic background or learning difference.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I’ve been with the Rollins Center since 2016. I absolutely enjoy collaborating with educators and empowering them to reach all children.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I'm passionate about educational equity because all children deserve to develop the knowledge and skills they need to be engaged and become productive members of society.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working together with my colleagues to bring each Cox Campus course to life. I’ve always been a very independent worker, but I wouldn’t be able to do any of this on my own. It takes a collaborative effort, and finding my place on the Rollins/Cox Campus team has been a joy.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I think it has to do with growing up in the deep south, a region where educational equity is oftentimes difficult to find. Although I have been fortunate in my own educational opportunities, I know that many others have not been. If my work can make any sort of difference in improving this problem, I will be forever proud.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working for Rollins because I get to do meaningful work that makes a difference.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Education equity is the foundation for every person to succeed.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love that the practices found on Cox Campus make such a huge impact on children, and that they can be implemented with any curriculum, in any setting. Watching teachers and coaches feel empowered to make change, as well as getting excited about their children’s language and engagement with books is my favorite part of this work!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
All children deserve the chance to develop to their full potential, and to have every opportunity to succeed. Working with our youngest students, at a time when the brain is making so many new connections daily, is a powerful way to impact lives and give children those opportunities as they grow.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working for Rollins because every day I can make a positive impact on educators as we work collaboratively to build language-rich ecosystems, in which, ALL children can thrive and have quality learning opportunities.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because ALL children deserve to have the same access to resources and quality education to develop their knowledge and skills so that they are successful and prepared to thrive in our society.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
Doing work that has an immediate, positive impact on children and makes a difference in their lives.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Realizing educational equity for our children is an essential component of repairing generations of systemic injustice across our country.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
As a granddaughter of an illiterate grandfather and a first-generation degree earner, I understand firsthand the impact and importance of language and literacy development. So, being part of the Rollins team allows me the opportunity to do necessary and meaningful work, helping to eradicate illiteracy. This work adds to my joy, and promoting teaching strategies that benefit our earliest learners on their journey to becoming lifelong readers is why I love working for Rollins and its Cox Campus!

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Grounding my passion for educational equity is my belief that representation matters, and every child deserves the very best learning environments and conditions. One in which they are confident in knowing their teacher and other trusted adults will see them and their specific needs uniquely and value them nonetheless so that our communities are places that respect and accept diversity.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
The language and literacy work that we embark on and our commitment to ensuring we eradicate illiteracy for all children.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
All children deserve to have the same opportunities independent of where they live, their family socio-economic status, race or ethnicity.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love the participatory learning culture that the Cox campus offers while providing professional development to support teachers’ understanding and instructional practices to foster children’s language and literacy development.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity to ensure that each student has given the resources, and opportunities to achieve their fullest potential in 21st century.

Dr. Payne’s focus is on ensuring the successful integration of the science of early brain development and language nutrition across the perinatal and pediatric continuum. Payne is a developmental behavioral neuroscientist and systems leader dedicated to building systems that work for babies and families, with over 10 years of experience facilitating cross-disciplinary collaborations in public, private and academic sectors. She was a contributing architect to the development and implementation of Georgia’s statewide public-private Talk With Me Baby (TWMB) collaborative and has strategically extended the impact of the TWMB initiative across the state through collaborative management, stakeholder engagement, workforce development, program evaluation, data-informed decision making, and technical assistance. Payne has nearly 20 years of experience in early neuroanatomical, social, emotional, and cognitive development, and holds a Master of Science in Neurobiology and Anatomy from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, TX, and a Ph.D. in Psychology, Neuroscience and Animal Behavior from Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love supporting families so they realize the power they have in building their babies’ brains, language skills and socio-emotional development.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Healthy brain development isn’t a privilege. And there’s no secret code to unlock it that only certain people can know or do. Everyone has the power to have loving, brain-building conversations with babies.

Shenikia Robinson supports the development and fidelity of Rollins’ Birth to 5 Coaching Model. Robinson’s background focuses on early childhood education and mentoring/coaching early learning professionals. Robinson serves as a model and leader in demonstrating how to professionally manage change using best practices in coaching, for both internal and external audiences. Early in her career, she worked at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, as the Early Childhood Director. Robinson holds a B.S. degree in Child Development/Family Studies and a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education. She has also received her coaching endorsement.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
What I love most is the opportunity to provide children with a choice filled life.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Every child deserves justice and the opportunity to live a life full of opportunities.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love that our work is research based, empowering and available to all for free! Being a part of something that is changing lives is very rewarding.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Equitable education creates learning environments where every child receives the support and resources that they need in order to be successful in school and in life.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love knowing that the work we are doing is equipping teachers and leaders on a global scale with the necessary tools to help all students unlock the code of text and become lifelong readers and learners.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Every child has the right to learn to read. Access to high-quality education enables us to engage as members of a global society where we learn, grow, empathize, reflect, communicate and advocate for ourselves and others.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working with such an amazing team that truly cares about advancing and progressing child outcomes. I really enjoy being a part of the learning and transformational process as I work alongside Coaches, teachers, children, and others within the ecosystem.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Equality is a foundational core value for me. I believe that every child should be offered the same access and opportunity when it comes to education. I also believe that I have as much to learn and gain from those that I work with and teach as they do from me.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I love working for Rollins because I consider myself a lifelong learner and at Rollins, we stay abreast with current data and research, which allows us to implement best practices for educators, families, and children! Additionally, I enjoy collaborating with partners in order to provide a strong language and literacy foundation for all children in environments that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because I truly believe that all children, everywhere, deserve the same access to high quality and science-backed classroom instruction.

Dr. Nitza Vega-Lahr is a bilingual developmental psychologist with expertise in children’s socioemotional development and learning in the early years, and special interest in the developmental trajectory of young emergent bilinguals. As Director of Dual Language Learners at Rollins, Dr. Vega-Lahr spearheads the Center’s efforts to bring about transformative outcomes for young dual language learners through their access to equitable learning environments that recognize their strengths and promote their bilingualism and biliteracy. During her tenure at Rollins, she has contributed significantly to the design of Cox Campus courses, particularly in the B-5 track. Nitza was Director of the Georgia Coalition for Dual Language Learners and has served on various state-level committees developing policy recommendations regarding culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Prior to joining Rollins, Nitza was on the faculty at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, serving as Principal of the Debbie Institute, an early learning center for research, training, and service affiliated with the Dept. of Pediatrics. Dr. Vega-Lahr has had an extensive career in early childhood education as a researcher, administrator, consultant, and online professional learning designer. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the Florida International University.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
I enjoy the sense of shared commitment to our mission, and the persistence with which we, as a professional community, pursue this mission.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Our systems are filled with barriers that prevent children from becoming their best selves. I am passionate about bringing down those barriers, and transforming children’s learning environments, so every child can experience the joy of learning and gain access to a world of opportunities.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
Everyone here truly understands that the best way to achieve our common goal is through collaboration and teamwork. Just as there is a community outside that we service, there is also a community within the Rollins Center working hard to revolutionize the availability of tools and methodologies designed to provide equity in education.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
Education is the foundation of every idea that turned into something that changed the world. Every child should have the opportunity to learn to communicate effectively and confidently in order to potentially effect change based on their unique life experiences.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
What I love most about the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus is that our mission is to ensure that every child reaches their full potential by supporting teachers and parents.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
I am passionate about educational equity because equity is about meeting the needs of all children regardless of their circumstances.

Dr. Wallen is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and former clinical associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at Georgia State University. She has over 20 years in the field and has clinical areas of expertise in pediatrics; parent/caregiver education; and sociolinguistics. Dr. Wallen earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Oakwood University. She holds a Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Speech and Language Science from The Ohio State University. As an academic, Dr. Wallen has taught courses related to clinical practice, language development, and fluency disorders. She also served as the Director of Admissions and Director of Satellite Clinical Programs, which provided community-based learning and service opportunities for students through partnering with organizations in the Atlanta community and beyond, including the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, the Global Village Project, Refugee Family Literacy, Thomasville Heights Elementary School, and the LENA Organization. Dr. Wallen’s research interests include language development/disorders in culturally- and linguistically-diverse populations (including second language/dialect acquisition) and acoustic phonetics.

What do you love most about working for the Rollins Center and its Cox Campus?
Working at Rollins allows me to do the collaborative work that is necessary to make systemic change and bring language and literacy research to the people.

Why are you passionate about educational equity?
My ancestors were systematically denied access to education because of the color of their skin. The fact that there are still so many people in this country that continue to be denied equity in education is a testament to the need to do something different. I believe that I owe it to my ancestors to be part of the movement that rethinks and redesigns the system so that educational equity is a reality for all.