Patsy Egan

Patsy Egan, PhD, ATLAS Director, holds a BA in Russian Language from the University of Nebraska, as well as an MA in English as a Second Language and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction (Second Languages & Cultures) from the University of Minnesota. She has taught adults since 1994, working extensively with adult immigrants and refugees in Nebraska and Minnesota. Her teaching and research focuses on literacy development and teacher education for adult learners, including Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL).

Patsy has been an adjunct faculty member at Hamline University since 2002 and is a frequent local and national conference presenter, invited trainer and author. She was involved with the creation of the English Language Proficiency Standards released from the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) in 2016, and she served as a subject-matter expert on the Teaching Skills that Matter (TSTM) initiative. She has served as the president and past-president of LESLLA (Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults), an international organization whose mission is to support adults with little or no home language schooling or literacy, who are now learning to read and write for the first time in a new language.

As director of ATLAS, Patsy collaborates with Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) staff on multiple projects focused on identifying, planning, designing, and evaluating the training and professional development needs of ABE/ESL practitioners across the state. One of these efforts is to work with MDE staff in providing leadership for the MN ABE Professional Development Committee. Patsy also develops and facilitates workshops for practitioners on topics including: English language instruction, second language acquisition, literacy development, standards implementation, project-based learning, and more.