Marissa Piligian

Dr. Marissa Piligian is a part-time instructor at Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, where she teaches graduate-level courses in the master of education in special education program and serves as a practicum supervisor for licensure-seeking teacher candidates. In addition to her work at BU, Dr. Piligian holds a full-time position at the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI), where she collaborates with district leaders across the country to implement high-quality, evidence-based literacy curricula. Her research centers on understanding how the brain learns to read and advancing equitable access to effective literacy instruction for students with reading-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia.

Dr. Piligian is a Certified Structured Literacy/Dyslexia Interventionist (C-SLDI) and brings over a decade of experience working at the intersection of early childhood and elementary special education and literacy acquisition in Massachusetts public schools. She has also taught at several Massachusetts universities, including in a postsecondary program designed to support students with disabilities pursuing certification in early childhood education. Deeply committed to educational equity, Dr. Piligian advocates for ensuring that all students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, receive access to high-quality, literacy-rich instruction that lays the foundation for long-term academic and life success.