Staff
A dedicated group of educators and faculty leading writing instruction and professional development in Northwest Florida.
NWP Writing Project sites are points of local connection, drawing together educators, university faculty, local schools, and learning institutions in a region. Co-directed by faculty from both the local university and from K–12 schools, nearly 175 Writing Project sites serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, providing professional development and leadership opportunities to more than 95,000 K–16 educators every year. In addition, NWP’s model of teacher-leadership is enacted in a growing number of associated international sites.
Meet the ECWP Director
Dr. Susan James is the founding director of the Emerald Coast Writing Project (ECWP) at the University of West Florida, where she serves as a Professor in the School of Education. A lifelong advocate for literacy, she has dedicated her career to empowering both teachers and students through writing.
A National Writing Project (NWP) alumna herself, Dr. James first joined NWP in 1992 as a Teacher Consultant, an experience she describes as the most transformative professional development of her 34-year career. Inspired by the power of writing to shape educators and students alike, she was instrumental in bringing the ECWP to UWF, establishing it as an official NWP site in 2015. Since then, she has guided the program in training over 250 educators, fostering a vibrant community of teacher-writers dedicated to improving writing instruction in Northwest Florida.
Dr. James holds a Ph.D. in Language Arts and Reading Education from Florida State University, along with degrees from San Diego State University and the University of West Florida. Her research focuses on engagement and motivation in literacy, particularly for high-risk student populations, as well as effective instructional strategies for pre-service teachers. Her work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including The Florida English Journal, Schools: Studies in Education, and Preventing School Failure.
Under her leadership, the ECWP has hosted renowned guest authors such as Newbery Medalist Matthew de la Peña, Jeff Zentner, Kimberly Willis Holt, Carol Jago, and Dr. Bryan Ripley Crandall. She continues to mentor educators, advocate for writing education at the national level, and cultivate a growing network of teacher-leaders who keep the flame of literacy alive in their classrooms.