Dr. Mary Jo Fresch is an Academy Professor and Professor Emerita in the School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. She has been an educator for over 40 years. 

She began her teaching career as a 3rd grade teacher in Kent, Ohio; then worked with adults with challenging literacy needs at the University of Akron; and spent the last 30 years teaching a range of literacy methods courses for pre-service and in-service teachers at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), The Royal Melbourne Institute and Deakin University (both in Melbourne, Australia) and The Ohio State University. 

She speaks nationally and internationally about literacy related topics. Her research focuses on the developmental aspect of literacy learning. She has over 60 peer reviewed articles in professional journals such as Language Arts, Journal of Literacy Research, The Reading Teacher, Reading and Writing Quarterly, and Reading Psychology. Her 20 professional books include Strategies for Effective Balanced Literacy (Shell Education); The Power of Picture Books: Using Content Area Literature in Middle School (NCTE); Engaging Minds in English Language Arts Classrooms: The Surprising Power of Joy (ASCD); and Editor of An Essential History of Current Reading Practices (Amazon). She co-authored Learning Through Poetry (Shell Education), a five book phonemic and phonological awareness series, 7 Keys to Research For Writing Success (Scholastic), and Empowering Students' Knowledge of Vocabulary: Learning How language Works in Grades 3-5 (NCTE) with David L. Harrison. 

Dr. Fresch provides professional learning workshops for teachers across the United States.