About the Event
Spotlight on Dyslexia – the first virtual conference for parent on dyslexia, offers Learning Ally members and non-members an interactive educational experience, including real-time presentations with nationally recognized experts and parents, networking opportunities, and practical advice and resources. All you need is a computer and a high-speed internet connection to participate. And if you miss any presentations, registrants can replay from the archive.
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Office of Public Engagement, The White House
Ms. Williams serves as the White House’s liaison to the disability community. Prior to joining the White House, Taryn worked in the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the U.S. Department of Labor as a Senior Policy Advisor on the Youth Policy team. At ODEP, Taryn led demonstration projects and provided expertise in areas including workforce development, education, Medicaid, and Social Security. Prior to joining ODEP, Taryn was Research Coordinator for Leadership Programs at the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL). Taryn also completed a detail to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in 2013.
Originally from Sacramento, California, Taryn earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Brown University and holds a master’s degree in Education from Harvard University.
Fashion designer with her own
self-named label and the Founding Chair of Promise Project
Keynote Presentation
Dana Buchman, successful fashion designer with a self-named label and parent of a now-grown daughter with learning disabilities, shares her family's story to help others find their own paths to success, and overcome any sense of guilt or shame. She aims to inspire parents by showing what is possible by being active advocates for their own children; and in her case, how doing so transformed her into an advocate for underprivileged families through her NYC-based non-profit Promise Project. Dana and her daughter Charlotte co-wrote the book “A Special Education: One Family’s Journey Through a Maze of Learning Disabilities,” available in the Learning Ally audiobook library.
Associate Professor of Media Arts,
Chair of the Media Arts Department, Long Island University
Larry Banks is a cinematographer and director of photography who is a Media Arts Professor at Long Island University. He is dyslexic and is Board Chair for Headstrong Nation, the national organization for adults who are dyslexic. Larry began his career in film as an electrician. Following in his father's footsteps, he became a successful gaffer. After several years, his talent was noticed and Larry began working as a Director of Photography. During the past twelve years, Larry has distinguished himself as a feature cinematographer on such films as "Juice", "Strapped", "Fly By Night" and "Substitute 2". He has also been the DIrector of Photography on numberous music videos and TV shows. In addition to his work in this country, Larry has traveled extensively shooting films in London, Taiwan, Africa, Jamaica and Germany. In the latter part of 1997, Larry directed a documentary called "Blues Stories", on the roots of American music from the '20's and '30's featuring Taj Mahal as narrator. Most recently Larry completed work on a TV pilot called "Black Jaq" produced by Sony TriStar and directed by Forest Whitaker.
Founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia
Susan Barton is one of America’s leading dyslexia experts and Founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia. She is trained in seven different Orton-Gillingham-based programs and teaches graduate-level courses on dyslexia through the University of San Diego. Susan was recently inducted into the International Dyslexia Association’s Hall of Honor.
Dyslexia Expert and Advocate
Tracy Block-Zaretsky is the co-founder of the Dyslexia Training Institute. She is a certified Special Education Advocate assisting parents and children through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and 504 Plan process. She has been a trainer for the past 15 years training teachers, adult literacy staff, and professional and volunteer tutors. She is the past-President of the San Diego Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. Tracy is trained in Structured Word Inquiry, the Orton-Gillingham approach, Wilson Reading System,and Lindamood-Bell programs, Read Naturally and a variety of reading and writing assessment tests. Tracy has presented at numerous conferences on learning disabilities, phonics, reading and writing instruction, as well as provided professional development for K-12 teachers.She co-created and produced “Dyslexia for a Day: A Simulation of Dyslexia,” is a frequent speaker at conferences.
Director of The Advocacy Institute
Candace is founder and director of The Advocacy Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of products and services that work to improve the lives of people with disabilities established in 2000. She has been a disability rights advocate for over 20 years, serving as a parent advocate and trainer, an expert on special education policy and on advisory boards of several national organizations and federal projects. Candace served on Virginia's Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) from 1996 to 2000 and on the board of directors of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates from 2003 to 2006.
She has written extensively on IDEA and NCLB, including parent guides produced by the National Center on Educational Outcomes and the National Center for Learning Disabilities. In 2000, she received the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Learning Disabilities Jeannette Fleischner Award for outstanding contribution to the field of learning disabilities. She is the parent of a young adult with learning disabilities.
Candace currently oversees several Advocacy Institute projects including IDEA Money Watch (www.IDEAmoneywatch.com), Our Kids Count (www.OurKidsCount.org), the Advicate Academy (www.AdvocateAcademy.org) and the IDEA State Complaint Resource Center (www.ISCRC.org). Candace has produced more than 50 Webinars for special education advocates since 2006.
President, Board of Trustees, Academy of
Orton Gillingham Practitioners and Educators
Sheila Costello originally trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach at the Carroll School in Boston MA where she ultimately came to lead the Garside Institute of Teacher Training. After relocating to Charleston, South Carolina she was Director of the Language Enrichment and Development at Trident Academy, a school for students K-12 with language learning difficulties until she retired in May 2014. Sheila originally came to Orton-Gillingham after her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia, so she has both the perspective of a parent and a practitioner with many years of experience. She now trains and mentors teachers in addition to her role as President of the Board of Trustees, Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.
Social Media Strategist/Editor,
IDA Examiner; Executive Editor Literate Nation Catalyst
(& VP Online Innovation)
Carolyn D. Cowen, Ed.M., is an educator and social entrepreneur known for developing, launching, and managing programs and initiatives that improve the teaching-learning landscape for people with learning differences, particularly those with dyslexia. Currently, she serves on Literate Nation’s Board of Directors as Vice President of Online Innovation, Executive Editor, and Editor of Catalyst. She also serves as an advising Social Media Editor/Strategist for the International Dyslexia Association’s Examiner. Carolyn is especially interested in new-media/print literacy intersections, social media as a tool for driving change, and creative ways nonprofits can “power the mission with the message.”
Most recently, she was Executive Director of Carroll School's Center for Innovative Education. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of The Learning Disabilities Network--a nonprofit she co-founded and operated for 20 years that provided services to individuals with LD, their families, and professionals working on their behalf.
In her 35-year career in education and nonprofits, Carolyn has worn many hats, including: teacher, reading therapist, speaker, author, editor, sonsultant, professional-development planner, executive director, think-tank convener, fundraiser, funder, and research coordinator. Carolyn earned her master's degree in reading education and learning disabilities from Harvard University. She received the Alice H. Garside Award from the New England Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and chaired IDA's nominating committee. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the Newgrange School and Education Center and Laurel School and on the Board of Directors for the Research Institute for Learning and Development.
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eye to Eye
David Flink is a leader on the front lines of the new learning rights movement. He imagines a world where one day all learners will be recognized and all children will be free to succeed. Diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD at a young age, David struggled through much of his pre-college education, feeling hopeless and left out of education as a whole. Although his parents and teachers frequently told him he would be able to go to college, he would have found that message more believable if it had come from a person with a learning difference (LD) who had finished college. With that in mind, David co-founded Eye to Eye in 1998 while a student at Brown University. Eye to Eye is the only national mentoring movement that is empowering young people with LD by giving them a mentor who shares that experience.
In addition to his ongoing work as executive director of Eye to Eye, David has spoken at colleges and universities across the country and internationally, and provided keynote addresses at conferences including the International Dyslexia Association, the Kennedy Center Intersections Conference, and the Education Revolution Conference held in San Francisco's AT&T Park. His first book, Thinking Differently, was recently released by HarperCollins. In it, he sets out to enlarge our understanding of learning and offer new, powerful strategies for teaching, parenting, and supporting the 20 percent of students with learning disabilities. For more information, visit www.davidflink.com, www.eyetoeyenational.org, www.facebook.com/eyetoeyenational.
Author, Entrepreneur
Ben Foss is a prominent entrepreneur and activist and the founder of Headstrong Nation, a not-for-profit organization serving the dyslexic community. Ben is dyslexic and graduated from Wesleyan University and earned a JD/MBA from Stanford Law and Business Schools. He invented the Intel Reader, a mobile device that takes photos of text and recites it aloud on the spot. He has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, ABC, CNN, HBO and the BBC. He's the author of The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning, Random House, 2013.
Professor of Special Education, Hunter College
Kate Garnett, Professor of Special Education, developed the Hunter College LD master's program. She has worked in hundreds of schools - public, private, and charter - and published widely on vocabulary, fluency, inclusion and math disabilities.
Learning Consultant
Elizabeth C. Hamblet has worked both ends of the college transition, first as a high school special education teacher and case manager, and then as a college learning disabilities specialist. She now works in the disability services office at Columbia University, where she helps students with learning strategies, time management, and other skills. Since 2008, she has been making presentations at high schools to educate professionals, parents, and students about the changes students will find at college and how to best prepare them for success there.
Elizabeth is also a contributing writer for Disability Compliance for Higher Education, and her work has appeared in several other journals. She is the author of a book, 7 Steps for Success: High School to CollegeTransition Strategies for Students with Disabilities, and a laminated guide on transition.
Elizabeth’s website offers advice and resources for students, parents, and professionals at http://www.ldadvisory.com/. You can connect with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LDadvisory.
Director of Technology
Todd Hanson is the Director of Technology at Groves Academy in St Louis Park, MN, where he has been on staff for 28 years. Since graduating from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in mathematics and a B.S. in mathematics education, he has worked at Groves as a math teacher, a science teacher, division director, and has helped technology at Groves grow from a few Apple IIs into a school wide one-to-one laptop computing program. Todd is now growing the Assistive Technology Program at Groves Academy, which will provide assessment, tutoring and consulting to individuals, educators and schools.
Psychologist
Michael Hart, Ph.D. is a child psychologist with 25 years of experience in parent and teacher training, educational technology, learning differences and diagnostic assessment of dyslexia and attention problems. He is the founder/owner of www.doctormichaelhart.com and is currently providing online webinars and courses regarding the proper educational care of our dyslexic students. Dr. Hart is intensely focused on supporting parents and teachers as they become better informed and more experienced in the effective treatment of our dyslexic students.
Founder/Director of the Advocacy Institute
Allison Hertog comes to the fields of special education and disability law with a highly unique background. She is one of only a handful of lawyers in the country who holds a Masters degree in special education. Ms. Hertog is licensed to practice law in Florida and New York. Drawn to those fields because of her own struggle with learning disabilities as a child, after graduating from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Ms. Hertog earned a degree in special education from Columbia University's Teachers College in New York. Teaching children with a variety of special needs for a number of years led Ms. Hertog to enroll in Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. Since law school Ms. Hertog has not only continued serving as a passionate advocate for students, but has worked in the United States Congress and practiced law in New York City. Ms. Hertog has spoken around the country about learning disorders, special education law and advocacy, Response to Intervention and special needs school vouchers, like Florida's McKay Scholarship. Ms. Hertog has also been recognized nationally for her practical knowledge and experience relating to non-traditional school choices for disabled students, such as charter schools.
Director of Advocacy, Decoding Dyslexia Arizona; Co-founder, Parents Education Network - Phoenix Affiliate
Jenifer Kasten is a former (or as she explains, "recovering") Washington, D.C. private and government attorney turned dissability rights activist and parenting consultant. She is a mother of two children with learning differences, including dyslexia and giftedness, and additional special needs. A parent blogger for NCLD's "LD Insights" blog, she is Co-founder and member of the Advisory Council of the Phoenix, Arizona affiliate of Parents Education Network ("PEN"). PEN is a coalition of parents collaborating with educators, students and the community to empower and bring academic and life success to students with learning and attention differences. A former member of the Board of Directors of Raising Special Kids, she recently assumed leadership of advocacy and public policy for Decoding Dyslexia Arizona. Having grown up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. the daughter of a civil rights attorney and a psychotherapist, Jenifer's passion for disability rights is not merely an outgrowth of her own parenting challenges or legal background, but an expression of deeply rooted values related to justice and compassion for those who are, in some way, "different". She is an inactive member (by choice) of the bars of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Arizona.
Language & Literacy Specialist
Dr Lauren Katz is one of the three founders of the Literacy, Language, and Learning Institute (3LI) and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Dr Katz brings her expertise as both a speech-language pathologist and literacy and learning specialist to 3LI. After completing her M.S. degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, she worked as a speech-language pathologist in the public schools in Montgomery County, MD as well as at the Lab School of Washington, in Washington, D.C. In these settings, Dr. Katz provided assessments and therapy in language and literacy to elementary, middle, and high school students, and she supervised graduate clinicians and clinical fellows.
Dr Katz holds certification in speech-language pathology through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). In 2011, she was awarded the Clyde R. Willis Faculty Development Award for her accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and service. In 2012, Dr Katz was honored by her alma mater, the MGH Institute of Health Professions, with their highest form of recognition, the Bette Ann Harris Distinguished Alumni Award for her exceptional leadership, achievement, and service.
President, Educational Learning and Training, LLC
Vaughn K. Lauer, Ph.D. has over thirty years of educational experience, Pre-K through post-secondary, as a teacher, professor, and building, district and state administrator of special education and has held various private organization directorships in the areas of professional development and test development. His latest work includes a book on collaborative IEP development called "When the School Says No...How to Get the Yes!: Securing Special Education Services for Your Child", parent presentations, regional, state, national and international conference presentations and articles published in parent magazines and on the internet. Some examples of presentations and articles include IEP development and development through IEP team collaboration, application of the Structured Collaborative IEP Process, understanding assessment results, bullying and more.
Assistive Technology Consultant & Trainer
Jamie Martin’s education career has spanned the last 20 years, and he has worked with dyslexic students for the majority of that time, both as an Orton-Gillingham language tutor and an assistive technology instructor. He is currently an assistive technology consultant and trainer, specializing in finding AT solutions for students and adults with dyslexia. He is an experienced speaker, having presented at several educational conferences, including Closing The Gap, ATIA (Assistive Technology Industry Association), Everyone Reading, AOGPE (Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators), and NYSAIS TWT (Teaching with Technology). He is also on the advisory board for the children’s website, Dyslexiaville, and he is the creator and administrator of The School of Dyslexia, a collective blog written by educators of dyslexic students. For more information on AT and dyslexia, please visit Jamie's website at http://www.atdyslexia.com/
Language & Literacy Specialist
Dr. Joanne Pierson is founding partner of the Literacy, Language, and Learning Institute (3LI), www.3-li.org, in Ann Arbor, MI where she provides assessment and intervention for language disorder and language-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia. She holds a Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology and a PhD in Education with a focus in literacy, language, and learning disabilities, both from the University of Michigan. She also worked with a donor to develop www.DyslexiaHelp.umich.edu, a web-based resource, which she continues to manage today. Dr. Pierson presents locally and nationally on topics of language disorder, reading disorder, and dyslexia. She sits on the board of the Michigan Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.
Parent Advocacy Manager for the
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Lyn Pollard is a writer, advocate and mom to two kids with learning and attention issues. As the Parent Advocacy Manager for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Lyn helps connect parents to resources and empower them and their kids to become effective advocates. Lyn also serves as part of the Understood team, helping coordinate policy and advocacy efforts. As a founding member of Decoding Dyslexia Texas, she works to raise LD awareness and improve school-based special education and LD services in her home state and beyond. A former journalist and change management consultant, Lyn writes, talks and tweets about advocacy, literacy and safe schools for kids with learning disabilities and special needs. Read her personal essay about her daughter’s dyslexia in the New York Times.
Educational Therapist, Vice President, TCB
I am currently Director of Richards Educational Therapy Center & former director of BIg Springs School, specializing in multidisciplinary programs for language learning disabilities. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a Master's in Education. I established the RET Center in 1975, providing educational therapy and diagnostic services, and opened Big Springs School in 1980. I sold Big Springs in 2001. I teach regularly at the UCR Extension Programs & currently am teaching a variety of online programs for the Educational Therapy Certificate Program. I have authored a variety of journal articles and books on dyslexia, dysgraphia, and visual development, primarily with LinguiSystems Publishers and RET Center Press. I am the parent of an adult son who has struggled with dyslexia and dysgraphia all his life. He is currently very successful in business and works with computers and security systems.
Dyslexia Expert and Advocate
Kelli Sandman-Hurley, Ed.D. is the co-founder of the Dyslexia Training Institute. She received her doctorate in literacy with a specialization in reading and dyslexia from San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. She is a certified special education advocate assisting parents and children through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and 504 Plan process. Kelli is trained in Structured Word Inquiry, Orton-Gillingham, Lindamood-Bell, RAVE-O and Wilson Reading Programs. Kelli is the Past-President of the San Diego Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. She co-created and produced “Dyslexia for a Day: A Simulation of Dyslexia,” is a frequent speaker at conferences, and is currently writing “Dyslexia: Decoding the System.
Director of Cooper Learning Center,
author “The Shut-Down Learner.”
Dr Richard Selznick is a psychologist and Director of Cooper Learning Center, Department of Pediatrics, Cooper University Healthcare. Dr Selznick, the author of two books, "The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child" & "School Struggles" has devoted his +25 year career to helping parents, schools, and kids understand learning problems in down-to-earth, jargon-free terms. He has a new book coming out in December on identification of learning problems.
Educational Therapist/Speaker/Owner
Erin Smilkstein, MA.Ed is an educational therapist with 15 years of experience. She teaches, writes and speaks about math every day. Working with Erin, educators, parents and students find that they, too, can learn, laugh (and live) with math. Her helpful websites include www.thehomeworklounge.com and www.thehomeworklounge.com/fractions-intro-webinar/
Co-founder and President of Wilson Language Training
Barbara A. Wilson is the co-founder and president of Wilson Language Training, which provides materials and professional learning throughout the country. She has worked with teachers who instruct individuals with dyslexia for over 25 years. Barbara authored the Wilson Reading System® based on reading research and work at Massachusetts General Hospital Reading Disabilities Clinic where she taught adults with dyslexia. Barbara developed and oversees graduate courses and clinical practicums to teach reading to students with a language-based learning disability. Barbara has written several articles and chapters on literacy instruction, including a chapter entitled, “Instruction for Older Students with a Word-Level Reading Disability” which can be found in the third edition of “Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills,” edited by Judith Birsh. In early 2004, Barbara was invited to the White House to speak to the President’s Domestic Policy Adviser on Education regarding the issue of literacy in America’s Middle and High Schools. Barbara has also been involved in several government-funded reading research projects.
