About Dr. Tracey S. Hodges

Dr. Tracey S. Hodges is the Owner and Chief Creative Officer for The Empowering Advocate LLC. Dr. Hodges also works as a grant consultant/ specialist, and teaches undergraduate teacher preparation courses at several institutions. She is a former middle grade English teacher and former Assistant Professor of Literacy Education. She was also an Associate Director of a literacy center and Director of a local National Writing Project Site. She taught K-12 for several years and spent the past 10 years in higher education. She is certified to teach English, language arts, special education, gifted/talented, English as a second language, and all subjects for the middle grades.

Dr. Hodges holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in literacy and advanced research methods, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in literacy, and a B.A. in English with an emphasis in rhetoric, minors in Business Administration and Psychology, and a Professional Writing Certificate.

Her educational and research interests are in writing instruction, youth literature, student motivation, and survey development. She has published more than 50 texts, including three handbooks of research, on these topics. She has also mentored graduate and undergraduate students in research, receiving awards for her dedication to student success. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy, classroom management, academic writing, and school policy. Dr. Hodges has conducted over 100 research presentations and more than 70 professional development seminars. Finally, she has served as a journal editor and reviewer. 

Along with her experiences above, Dr. Hodges has conducted seminars on writing productivity and project management, including productivity planning. She has written and submitted external grants, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding. 

She brings this wealth of knowledge from the research, teaching, and service tenets of education to her clients and current work. 

Tracey S. Hodges is not only an education professional, but an advocate for living life to the fullest. She is supported by her family and friends, as well as her dogs (pictured above).    

In addition to her dogs, Tracey's favorite hobby is reading and reviewing books. She currently runs an Instagram account (@DrHodgesReads, click the link at the bottom of the page) where she documents and reviews books she reads informally. She serves on the International Literacy Association's Notable Books for a Global Society Committee in which she helps read and review youth literature published in the current year to select the 25 best portraying global perspectives. Beginning in 2024, she serves as co-chair of the committee, and beginning in 2026, she will chair the committee. Finally, she is a reviewer for School Library Journal and conducts freelance reviews.     

Her second favorite hobby is exercise and movement. Tracey is an active runner, indoor rower, swimmer, and general fitness enthusiast. She also plays tennis and pickleball in local leagues every chance she gets! When she is not moving, she is an aspiring author, working on her first novel, which she hopes will be published someday.  Finally, Tracey enjoys travel across the US to visit family and friends and is always eager to see new places.     

Tracey infuses her work with these hobbies and uses the lessons she learns daily to help clients in their educational endeavors.