About Vicki

Victoria E. Waller, Ed.D.

I hold a B.S in Education from Wayne State University, an M.Ed., as a certified reading specialist, and an Ed.D. focusing on reading and learning differences from the University of Cincinnati. I have been awarded the University of Cincinnati’s Distinguished Alumna College of Education Award, was one of three finalists for the L.A. Music Center’s Bravo Award for Outstanding Teaching, and was named the Local Hero in the L.A. Times for my Printer Pal Program, connecting students with nursing home occupants.

I was the creator of the My Disney Busy Bags for Travel on Planes and Cars for Disney/Hyperion Books and I created backpacks and toys for M&M Mars, Inc. I was a founding member of the L.A. Children’s Museum, a veteran speaker for the International Reading Association for 25 years and I was the focus of Eve Bunting’s internationally-acclaimed-and Caldecott Medal award-winning middle grade novel, Sixth Grade Sleepover.

My articles on creative reading and writing projects for children have been widely viewed on U.C.L.A.’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior website, and the award-winning Grandparentslink.com. I have spoken about learning differences in children to many groups all over the United States. I live with my husband, Marshall, and my dog, Tutor, who is learning to read with children. Right now she is still “eating” the books instead of “reading” them. But she’ll learn. We live in Los Angeles and we have two children and two grandchildren.

"It has been a great privilege to connect with Dr. Waller and to see first-hand the tremendous care and attention she gives to her students. She has provided numerous students with introductions to me and thus those having an interest in sharks have been able to converse with me about them."
—Chris Fallows, shark expert, wildlife photographer, and co-host of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week

My Recent Articles

 
 

NYT Coronavirus Confessions May 14, 2020 My response that I taught a child who made himself an alien as I taught him to read on Zoom.

 
 

NYT What Do Teenagers Need? Ask the Family Dog. July 5, 2019 I wrote how I use dogs to read with children with learning and attention differences.

 
 
 

NYT Rolling Out all the Stops July 19, 2020 In the At Home Section my article on having children make a collage with words from the newspaper to explain how they feel during this unusual time.