Emily Solari is the Edmund H. Henderson professor and coordinator of reading education in the Department of Curriculum Instruction and Special Education. Her work has included intervention development and trials with students who have early profiles of reading difficulties, individuals diagnosed with autism, and English language learners. She is particularly focused on translating the science of reading by engaging with practitioners and policy makers to leverage scientific evidence to improve practice in school settings. The goal of her scholarship is to develop and test the efficacy of targeted interventions to prevent and ameliorate reading difficulties. Solari serves as the PI of a postdoctoral training grant, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, aimed at training fellows who are interested in developing as scholars who investigate academic development, such as reading and writing, in children with ASD. She is also the PI of the predoctoral training grant, funded by the Office of Special Education program, that trains future scholars and teacher educators in the science of reading and evidence-based reading assessment and instruction for students with disabilities.
Solari directs Virginia Literacy Partnerships (VLP), which is dedicated to ensuring that all children across the Commonwealth have access to evidence-based literacy screening, instruction, and intervention. She currently serves as the editor-in-chief of The Reading League Journal, a new journal dedicated to translating specific reading research findings for a practitioner audience; she is also an associate editor for the Journal of Learning Disabilities and Remedial and Special Education. She serves on various state and national level executive boards including the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division of Learning Disabilities and The Reading League’s Virginia Chapter.