Cosmos Literacy is fortunate to have the internationally recognized literacy experts Dr. James Flood and Dr. Diane Lapp as its chief literacy advisors. The esteemed Dr. Flood and Dr. Lapp have collaborated on innumerable publications and have advised a variety of educational technology companies on educational pedagogy and literacy issues, including Lightspan, Inc., Compass Learning, and Jostens Learning.

James Flood Ph.D.
	Former IRA board member James Edward Flood dies James Edward Flood, noted educator, literacy researcher and advocate, and former International Reading Association board member, died Sunday, July 15, 2007, after a three-year battle with myelodysplasia syndrome. Flood chaired and co-chaired many committees of the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Council of Researchers in Education, and the National Reading Conference. His numerous educational awards include recognition as the outstanding teacher educator in the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University (SDSU), the distinguished research lecturer in the Graduate Division of Research at SDSU, and a member of the California and international reading halls of fame. Flood also was president of the National Reading Conference, and served six years as a co-editor of California’s literacy journal, The California Reader. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, 357 Clermont Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238, or to Health Sciences High and Middle College (HSHMC), 8888 Balboa Ave., #150, San Diego, CA 92123. HSHMC will create the James Flood Reading Room for students. All donations in his name will be used to purchase books. His family may be contacted c/o The Flood Family, 6545 Norman Lane, San Diego, CA 92113. Flood attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn; completed a bachelor of arts degree in English at Catholic University, Washington, DC; a master’s in English Education at New York University; and was awarded his PhD in language and literacy from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. Flood began his teaching career as a high school English teacher and administrator in New York and New Hampshire. He was a graduate assistant at Stanford, a professor at Boston University, a distinguished professor at San Diego State University, and received a Fulbright fellowship to Portugal. July 17, 2007, Reading Today, International Reading Association, posted by Louise Ash
Diane Lapp, EdD
	Dr. Lapp, who was raised in Warren, Ohio, has taught in elementary and middle schools. Prior to joining the San Diego State University (SDSU) faculty, she was a tenured member of the Education faculty at Boston University. She has served as a consultant, supervisor, and evaluator for public school reading/language arts programs throughout the U.S. She has co-authored with Dr. James Flood several college textbooks and many curriculum materials for school-aged children that have been published by Macmillan/McGraw Hill Publishing Co. and Curriculum Associates. In addition she is also the co-author of two major research handbooks, The Handbook of Research on the Communicative and Visual Arts and The Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts. She has served as the editor of three International Reading Association (IRA) texts and has been a member of the editorial board of the Reading Teacher, Reading Research and Instruction, Reading Research Quarterly, and the Journal of Reading Behavior. She has chaired the IRA’s Classroom Management Committee, the Middle School Reading and Language Arts Committee, and currently co-chairs the Visual Literacy Committee. She is also the chair of the National Reading Association Conference’s Integrated Curriculum Committee. Dr. Lapp also codirects two preservice teacher preparation programs at SDSU.