Our 62nd annual international Conference | february 27 - march 1, 2025 | orlando, florida

Registration is Now Open!

Learn more about the keynote speakers who will be presenting in Orlando!

61st LDACON Keynote Speaker Dr. Holly Lane

Dr. Holly Lane is the Director of the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) and an associate professor of special education. She is also the Irving and Rose Fien Endowed Professor of Education and the director of the James Patterson Literacy Challenge. Dr. Lane’s research focuses on effective reading instruction and intervention and helping teachers develop the knowledge and skills they need to teach reading effectively, especially using evidence-based practices to promote the development of foundational reading skills. She is author of UFLI Foundations: An Explicit and Systematic Phonics Program.

LDACON61st Keynote Speaker: Dr. Samuel Ortiz

Dr. Sam Ortiz is Professor of Psychology at St. John’s University, New York. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Southern California and a credential in school psychology with postdoctoral training in bilingual school psychology from San Diego State University. He has served as Visiting Professor and Research Fellow at Nagoya University, Japan, as Vice President for Professional Affairs of APA Division 16 (School Psychology), as member and Chair of APA’s, Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment, as member of the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, as representative on the New York State Committee of Practitioners on ELL and LEP Students, and as member of APA Presidential Task Force on Educational Disparities.

Dr. Ortiz serves or has served on various editorial boards including Journal of School Psychology, School Psychology Quarterly, and Journal of Applied School Psychology and is a member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP). Dr. Ortiz publishes widely on a range of topics and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences as well as an internationally recognized expert on issues involving nondiscriminatory assessment, evaluation of English learners, Cross-Battery Assessment (XBA), and specific learning disabilities. He is author of the new Ortiz Picture Vocabulary Acquisition Test (Ortiz PVAT)—the first test with dual norms designed specifically for English learners and English speakers. He is also primary co-author of the Cross-Battery Assessment Software System (X-BASS v2.0), the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM), and co-author of the Intervention Library: Finding Resources for Students and Teachers (IL:FIRST v1.0). His books include “Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students: A practical guide,” which is currently under revision, and “Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment, 3rd Edition.” Dr. Ortiz is bilingual (Spanish) and bicultural (Puerto Rican).

61st LDACON Keynote Speaker: Dr. Daniel Ansari

Dr. Daniel Ansari is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Faculty of Education at Western University in Canada, where he heads the Numerical Cognition Laboratory (www.numericalcognition.org). Ansari and his team explore the developmental trajectory underlying both the typical and atypical development of numerical and mathematical skills, using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. Ansari has a keen interest in connecting the science of learning with education and served as the President of the International Mind, Brain and Education Society (IMBES) from 2014-2016. Ansari has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is member of the The College of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science as well as the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Learn more about LDACON61, sponsorship opportunities, our exhibit hall, and more!