Gabe Ortiz is a proud father of three, a solo theatre artist, a television host on PBS, a teacher, a literacy coach, and the co-founder & vice principal of a Title 1 charter school in Florida. With over 20 years of teaching and administrative experience, he has worked with all types of learners in grades 6-12, from ESE and ELL to Gifted. He serves as a coach and mentor for new teachers and has led professional development classes for educators on literacy strategies, the reading and writing workshop, classroom management, and instructional methods that propel student learning.

Gabe has known Jennifer Serravallo for 15 years as a friend and mentor. He has had the privilege of piloting several of her resources and has provided prepublication feedback. He holds a B.A from Cal State Northridge and an M.F.A from Penn State University, where he also taught undergraduate classes. He is certified to teach Reading, Theatre, Science, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, ESOL and ESE.

Gabe believes that teaching is an art form which takes practice. His workshops provide a framework for that practice and gives teachers the opportunity to rehearse their newly acquired skills before implementing them in the classroom.