Diane Waff has been named director emeritus, Amy Stornaiuolo has been named faculty director, and Jen McLaughlin Cahill has been named director of the Philadelphia Writing Project (PhilWP).

Dr. Waff joined the writing project in 1991 while working as a School District of Philadelphia (SDP) English and special education teacher and became director in 2010. Amid significant personnel changes, including Penn GSE’s new dean Katharine O. Strunk and new SDP superintendent Tony Watlington, and Drs. Stornaiuolo and McLaughlin Cahill joining PhilWP, Dr. Waff wants to offer continuity and will remain involved for a transition period.

This academic year, Dr. Waff will work closely with Drs. Stornaiuolo and McLaughlin Cahill on three key areas: developing and sustaining projects for students and educators, building grant writing and fundraising to support and expand programming, and expanding and strengthening professional development in the School District of Philadelphia schools and community partnerships.

After building close ties across the Penn and Philadelphia communities, Dr. Waff will continue to liaise between PhilWP and its partners. She will focus on professional development and expanding ties with local partners, including the SDP, institutions like the Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History and the African American Museum, and Penn partners such as GSE’s Office of School and Community Engagement, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Penn Museum, Teachers Institute of Philadelphia, and GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.

Among her many professional accomplishments, Dr. Waff led PhilWP in receiving an NEH grant from the National Writing Project’s Building a More Perfect Union, recognizing PhilWP’s work to support teachers using digital historical records and current publications.

As director emeritus, Dr. Waff would like to expand PhilWP’s local programs, including a new collaboration providing writing support for kindergarten and first grade teachers at two SDP schools, the Henry C. Lea Elementary School and the Andrew Hamilton School, and tutoring at the Lea School. She also envisions expanding PhilWP’s signature annual conference, the Celebration of Writing and Literacy, with its current partners, including the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia, GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, and the Penn Museum, as well as new collaborations.

Amy Stornaiuolo, an associate professor in the division of learning, teaching and literacies and chair of literacy studies in Penn GSE, has long admired PhilWP’s programs and its role in local and national dialogue about writing and supporting educators. She has served on the project’s advisory board for over a decade and now, as faculty director, is positioned to help shape the program’s future.

“PhilWP is a thriving, vibrant community of educators with deep roots and histories in Philadelphia schools, and I am so fortunate to have this opportunity to support and participate in those efforts,” Dr. Stornaiuolo noted.

In partnership with Drs. Waff and Cahill, Dr. Stornaiuolo hopes to expand some of PhilWP’s existing programs and partnerships, including Kid Writing, the Black Girls Literacies Project, the Digital Discourse Project, and Project Write, and work on digital writing and how generative artificial intelligence will reshape writing and instruction.

Additionally, she hopes to expand partnerships within Penn GSE and SDP schools, particularly around early elementary literacy, and bring PhilWP resources to more schools.

“Our work with Kid Writing, for example, is a powerful means of supporting early literacy and reading development and has shown promising results,” Dr. Stornaiuolo said. “We would love to expand that program.”

After 22 years as an English teacher in New York City public middle and high schools, Dr. McLaughlin Cahill brings significant classroom experience to her new role as director of the Philadelphia Writing Project. The program reflects her commitment to education, literacy, and supporting educators as a seasoned practitioner.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to keep doing work I deeply care about, which includes amplifying voices of practitioners, teachers, practitioner researchers, and children and young adults,” said Dr. McLaughlin Cahill, a lecturer in educational practice.

Since joining Penn GSE in July, Dr. McLaughlin Cahill jumped headfirst into programming, including summer events and the program’s recent Celebration of Writing and Literacy conference. She said PhilWP’s impact is evident across the Philadelphia community, including youth programs, teacher development and training, and providing grants.

Dr. Cahill McLaughlin will work closely with Drs. Waff and Stornaiuolo and plans to absorb their institutional knowledge. She aspires to continue PhilWP’s commitment to literacy and writing to build bridges and advance public education.

“I want to center the voices of the teachers and the work they’re doing with their children and young people,” she said. “Writing is such a powerful form of amplifying the voices of the people who are not always centered in educational research or discourse to impact their new community directly.”