Dedications

To..

My role model: Dr. Thomas D. Oakland,

A friend, colleague, humanitarian, and true pioneer in nondiscriminatory assessment, for all his support and encouragement, and who, by his own fair nature, was taken from us way too early in life.

-- Thank you, Tom (in memoriam).

My mentors: Drs. David M. Walsh and John L. Horn,

Two men who had no business putting any time or effort in an educationally unprepared and wholly naïve Puerto Rican student like me, yet did so with unreserved kindness and faith in me, all of which I now hope has been dutifully justified.

--Thank you, David and John (in memoriam).

My siblings and children: Clarice, Ronnie, Katie, Sammy, Bella, Jaime, and Carlos,

A sister and brother extraordinaire who shared the same travails as English learners and also the same pride in Boricua ancestry, and incomparable daughters and sons who have made me so proud and will carry this legacy into the future; all of you whom I love so much, don’t ever forget that “al jíbaro nunca se le quita la mancha de plátano.”

--Gracias, nena, mi hermano, y mis hijos.

My parents: Samuel Ortiz de Jesus and Dora Luz Ortiz de Jesus, née Ayala La Fontaine,

A mother and father, without whose vision, wisdom, guidance, determination, patience, support, encouragement, sacrifices, hard work, and most of all, their unending love (even in times when I forgot I was Puerto Rican and that I actually could speak and comprehend Spanish fluently) none of this would have been remotely possible; did you ever think your surname, which as a child in an English-speaking school I always despised for making me feel so different than everyone else, would one day grace the cover of books and become its very own brand? You probably did.

--Gracias, mami y papi.

My wife: Agnieszka,

The center of my universe, co-maker of magic, the very soul of my existence, willing partner, irrevocable companion, fellow visionary, and eternal lover, whose constant and irreplaceable presence next to me and with me on this journey we call life, whose uncanny brilliance and incessant support in so many big and little ways I cannot count, all provide the very foundation upon which we are building our dreams, and the Basia who I love and adore so very much, makes every moment of every day, no matter how trivial or how small, easier, better, more fun, and more meaningful than I ever thought possible, and every year more magnificent than the last.

--Dziękuję, Boobina.

Samuel O. Ortiz, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
New York, NY