Meet The Team

As the Founder and CEO of Talk Coaches, Maryam brings hands-on experience in transforming technology, behavioral, and educational research into impactful learning and assessment solutions. Maryam holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, earned through a full Consortium scholarship. With over 15 years of experience in international business development, product marketing, and management, she has a deep expertise in educational assessment product management and development. At Pearson, she played a pivotal role in translating research into innovative products and services for students and teachers. Maryam has conducted extensive research on 21st-century skills such as Critical Thinking, Collaborative Problem Solving, and Creativity, with projects spanning the US, UK, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and other countries. Her contributions to the field are complemented by her active community involvement, where she has served as co-president of the Booster Club at Barton Creek Elementary and currently serves as a substitute teacher for grades K-5 in the Eanes Independent School District.

As the Product Lead of Inspire Reading, she oversees the product development process: defining product vision and roadmap, working with the engineering team on execution, leading design of the InspireReading platform, and prioritizing the product development sequence. Elinor is a Junior at Tufts University studying Engineering Psychology and Computer Science. She has worked on designing new digital learning products and developing new features and capabilities for existing products for ACT and The LEGO Foundation. She has been active in community involvement in the K-8 space, and is the Founder of the Science Fair at Ronald Heyes School in Brookline, MA, bringing students opportunities to develop their scientific literacy skills. She coached students to guide them through their science fair projects, and gained experience in tutoring elementary students. 

As an ELA Specialist at Inspire Reading, Haley designs and develops engaging, classroom-ready reading content for grades 3–8, with a focus on building strong comprehension skills and encouraging students to generate creative, thoughtful responses to text. She collaborates closely with fellow educators and the product team to ensure all content is aligned to standards, developmentally appropriate, and meaningful for real classrooms.
Haley holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Language and Literacy. Before transitioning into curriculum and product work, she spent several years in the classroom as a fifth-grade ELA and Social Studies teacher in Austin, Texas. She brings firsthand classroom experience into every aspect of her work and is passionate about creating literacy tools that support teachers while making reading more engaging and accessible for students.

As the ELA Specialist at Inspire Reading, Anna Milendorf designs engaging, curriculum-aligned content that blends ELA instruction with imaginative storytelling. Drawing on her background in Creative Writing and language education, she develops original reading passages and thoughtful questions that foster both critical thinking and creativity. In addition to content development, Anna works on refining the platform to deliver feedback that is not only constructive and standards-aligned, but also encouraging and inspiring to students. Her work ensures that students receive guidance that supports both academic and creative growth.

Anna holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and French, which inform her reflective and inquisitive approach to education. Her professional experience includes teaching early childhood education in a Montessori school, ESL at an elementary school in France, and Creative Writing workshops for middle school students. These diverse experiences inform her belief that creativity is central to meaningful learning, and that classrooms thrive when both teachers and students approach learning with curiosity and openness. Bringing a multicultural perspective to her work, Anna designs learning experiences that are inclusive, engaging, and accessible to students from a wide range of backgrounds and learning styles.

Melissa Murray is an ELA Specialist at Inspire Reading with 14 years of experience as an elementary educator in Texas. She is passionate about helping students grow as confident readers and writers. At Inspire Reading, Melissa collaborates with the content team to create engaging, standards-aligned activities that strengthen comprehension and writing skills. She values teamwork and proudly brings the perspectives of special education, classroom teachers, and students into the development process to ensure resources are thoughtful, inclusive, and practical.

Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, along with a Master of Social Work (MSW) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Before becoming an educator, she worked in both nonprofit and corporate settings. Entering education later in life, Melissa is proud to continue the legacy of her mother and grandmother, who were both educators.

With over 20 years of experience in Texas public education, Meredith brings expertise in upper elementary grades, specializing in effective, engaging ELA instruction, curriculum development, and assessment design. She has spent the past two years serving as an Instructional Coach for kindergarten through 5th grade, partnering with teachers to strengthen instructional practice through targeted resources, assessment facilitation, and thoughtful interpretation of data. She is dedicated to fostering student engagement through technology integration, differentiated instruction, and inclusive learning environments.

During her work with Inspire Reading, she created a comprehensive scope and sequence alignment document for grades 3-8, developed instructional content, and collaborated closely with the team to peer review materials and ensure strong alignment to state standards. Her combined classroom experience and coaching background gives her a unique, practical perspective on meeting the real needs of both teachers and students.