Donna Garner has taught for more than 33 years. During that time, she was chosen to serve on the English / Language Arts / Reading (ELAR) writing team for Texas when the TEKS education standards were developed for the public schools (1995-97). She was also the lead writer of the Texas Alternative Document (TAD) for ELAR when classroom teachers grew concerned about the lack of explicitness, grade-level specificity, and measurability in the TEKS. As a volunteer, she worked closely with the Texas State Board of Education members and the Texas Education Agency to write new ELAR standards that were adopted in May 2008. She was named as an Upton Sinclair Award Winner in Education for 2013, and is also an Education Policy Commentator for EducationViews.org. Donna spends a a lot of time researching and writing about political, social, and educational issues. Her articles, interviews, and podcasts are published widely across the Internet. Donna is married and has two adult sons. She is actively involved in her church, in her community and state affairs.