Kelly Butler

Kelly Butler is Senior Advisor to ReadingUniverse.org, a large-scale legacy project of the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI), where she served as Chief Executive Officer. The Institute concluded operations in June of 2023 having contributed significantly to Mississippi’s rise in reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP 2019, 2022, 2024). Reading Universe is housed at WETA, PBS’s flagship station in Washington, D.C. amidst a suite of award-winning literacy websites supporting evidence-based practices for teachers of reading and writing. Butler initiated the original Reading Universe concept to provide high quality professional development to educators in Barksdale schools and educator preparation programs. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi.