ATLAS Director Presents at International Adult Language & Literacy Symposium in Czechia

Patsy Egan, Director of ATLAS (ABE Teaching & Learning Advancement System), a Hamline center that supports professional learning and instructional improvement for Minnesota Adult Basic Education, recently presented at the international LESLLA Symposium in Brno, Czechia. LESLLA brings together researchers, instructors, and policymakers focused on adult language learners with little or no first-language literacy. Egan co-presented a workshop with Janet Isserlis (Brown University) honoring the life and work of Heide Spruck Wrigley, who passed away in late 2025. Wrigley was a pioneering scholar whose work shaped adult language and literacy education for more than four decades. Egan also helped organize and present a timely session on the effects of increased anti-immigrant sentiment on adult education programs. Developed with just 24 hours’ notice in response to a conference cancellation and strong international interest in recent events in Minnesota, the workshop included adult education colleagues Kate Van Roekel of Tucson and Megan Singh of Indianapolis. Together, they shared experiences from their local contexts and facilitated an international discussion on the implications of anti-immigrant sentiment on adult learners, educators, and programs.  Learn more about ATLAS: www.atlasABE.org Learn more about LESLLA: www.leslla.org  Photo: ATLAS Director Patsy Egan (right) with Heide Spruck Wrigley in 2019.