Board

Executive Board

President
Cindee McCarthy
Cindee has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Minnesota and is currently a senior manager of International Logistics at General Mills, Inc. For the past two years, she has applied her business expertise to IDA-UMB within a variety of roles, including: Membership Committee chair and past role as board vice president. Her community involvement goes beyond IDA-UMB. Cindee is the co-founder and chairperson for Parent Advocates for Students with Dyslexia (PASD), a local advocacy group. She has received PACER Parent Advocacy training and has been active in working with the Minnesota Legislature to improve teacher candidate training for reading instruction. In addition, Cindee has been a parent advisor for the Center for Reading Research at the University of Minnesota, working to develop an automated computer-based assessment system (CBAS) to evaluate the level and rate of early reading development. She has been a member of the Wayzata School District Technology Committee, Parent Advisory Group. Cindee and her son, Ryan, are sought-after presenters in the area of assistive technology to support reading and writing at both the local and national level. Cindee says her interest in IDA-UMB was sparked by personal experience with family members who have had to overcome and compensate for reading and writing difficulties.

Vice President
Bette Erickson
Bette is an Orton-Gillingham reading therapist in private practice. Her involvement with IDA began over 12 years ago when she attended her first national IDA conference. Bette has been an active IDA-UMB board member for the past four years. She is a founding member of Parent Advocates for Students with Dyslexia (PASD), a local parent advocacy group. She was instrumental in establishing a school program to support struggling readers with effective Scientifically Based Reading Instruction (SBRI). Bette has been a vocal and effective advocate working with the Minnesota Legislature and the Minnesota Board of Teaching, and was one of many who were recently instrumental in advocating state legislators to improve teacher candidate pre-service training and licensure rules as they relate to reading instruction, with the passage of House File 2 (May of 2009). A long-time participant in the IEP process, Bette’s daughter with dyslexia is now a successful college student.

Secretary
Julie Nyquist
A certified educational therapist, Julie received her B.A. from the University of North Dakota, completed both Basic and Advanced Orton-Gillingham (O-G) training from the Reading Center, and is involved with O-G teacher training. With strong planning and organizational skills, she is very interested in helping to promote awareness and knowledge of the strengths and difficulties of individuals with dyslexia to the larger community.

Treasurer
Marcy Pohlman
Marcy is a consultant and lay advocate for parents and children with disabilities. She is a retired certified public accountant (CPA) and former teacher for deaf and hearing impaired students. Over the years, she has developed her skills in advocacy, leadership and public policy with hands-on experience as well as education from Wrightslaw IDEA training, Council of Parents, Attorneys & Advocates (COPAA) seminars, PACER workshops, MN State Bar Association school law conferences, MACMH workshops, and others. Marcy serves as our representative on both The Coalition for Children with Disabilities (PACER), and MN Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities’ Children’s Committee. And, she is one of many parents who were instrumental in advocating state legislators to improve teacher candidate pre-service training and licensure rules as they relate to reading instruction, with the passage of House File 2, in May of 2009.

Board Members at Large

Paul A. Evangelist, M.Ed
Paul’s experience brings a wealth of public school perspective to the board. He began his career over three decades ago as an elementary school teacher in the Minneapolis schools, obtaining a certificate to teach emotionally disturbed students along the way. After acquiring an M.Ed in special education, Paul earned his administration licensure for secondary education, and a director of special education licensure. With administration experience at both the building and district level, he has been an intervention specialist, a public school principal, and a director of special education. Paul’s talents include: staff development, troubleshooting, advocacy, collaboration with related agencies, professional training for principals, interpretation and understanding of special education law, program and IEP development and implementation, and the hiring and evaluation of staff in all disability areas. He was most recently the Director of Special Education for Designs for Learning, but retired in June of 2009.

Jan Hagedorn, MA
Currently the Reading Readiness Director at The Reading Center, Dyslexia Institute of Minnesota, Jan received her MA in Human and Health Services Administration from St. Mary’s University. In her role at The Reading Center, she has developed and implemented a Reading Readiness program using scientific, research–based principles for pre-readers and their parents—to prepare children for reading. As an Individual Reading Therapist, Jan provides one-on-one instruction to children with reading difficulty using principles of O-G. Her many accomplishments include consulting for PAIIR (the early childhood programs for ISD# 535 Rochester, MN), serving as co-chair of Federation 2002, a multistate convention for fiber artists, PTSA president at elementary, middle school and high school, PTSA treasurer, Area Council of PTSA treasurer, regional representative for Minnesota Parenting Center, and she is a PACER-trained parent advocate. Jan is active in volunteering her time toward collaborating with state legislators for best practices in reading instruction.

Kelly O’Rouke Johns
Kelly O’Rouke Johns is an author, editor, and writer with over 30 years professional publishing and marketing experience. The former Director of Creative Services for Kalmbach Publishing, Johns currently serves as Editorial Director for Anchor Media and continues to write professionally. Her career in communications includes roles as entertainment publicist for Guttman & Pam Ltd. (Beverly Hills, CA), development associate for Cosgrove Meurer Productions (Burbank, CA), script analyst for Tri-Star Pictures (Century City, CA), Editor, Commerce Magazine (Chicago, IL), and publications director for Lester B. Knight & Associates (Chicago, IL). Her works have been published in Cosmopolitan, Billboard, and many other national and local publications. She is the mother of a young child with dyslexia and has worked to advocate early intervention and reading strategies in her local school district. Johns is the founding chair of The Foundation for Early Childhood Family Services, and the outgoing chair of the national non-profit, Cheerful Givers.

Nancy C. Lawlor
An Orton-Gillingham certified reading therapist and a handwriting specialist, Nancy has a BA in elementary education and is completing graduate work at Hamline University. The mother of three and an active volunteer in school communities, she has a private practice as a reading therapist, providing services for students ages six to 21. Nancy has played a strategic role in helping to design and facilitate IDA-UMB’s Youth Strand at our recent spring conferences.

Debbie Moran
Debbie holds a BA from Carleton College in English and an MA from The University of St. Thomas in special education (learning disabilities specialty). She is currently Lower School Admissions Director at Groves Academy (a school in St. Louis Park, MN, for students who have dyslexia, other language-based learning disabilities and attention disorders) and helps coordinate outreach activities there. As a former teacher, she has worked as a private tutor and as a community liaison for a public school in Minneapolis. At Groves, and through her work with IDA-UMB, she has helped many families and community members who are looking for support. She is adept at defining needs and accessing resources within the community and brings a wealth of expertise to the board including consensus building, community building, education/advocacy, and goal-setting.

Jeanie Munsterman
Jeanie is currently a reading intervention teacher working with small groups of first and second grade students in a public school setting, using the Orton-Gillingham method. Jeanie’s passion and desire for reading success for all students, combined with her constant quest for high-quality teacher training to fulfill that desire, led her to IDA-UMB in 2003. As a result, Jeanie went on to supplement her elementary teaching degree with Orton-Gillingham training. She is an associate member of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) and is completing her Master's in Human Development with the focus on scientifically research based reading instruction. Jeanie has served as director/teacher of a preschool, taught kindergarten, first, second and fourth grade, developed and implemented an after school reading program and volunteered as a reading therapist. Jeanie served on the Content Advisory Committee Birth to Grade 3 Test Framework Review for the new reading rules and the MN Teacher Licensure Examinations Materials Review.

Rebecca Schmitt
Rebecca Schmitt’s professional expertise lies in the area of commercial photography. Her interest in IDA-UMB developed about ten years ago after her son was diagnosed with learning disabilities through The Reading Center/Dyslexia Institute of Minnesota in Rochester, MN. Rebecca’s extensive community involvement includes work on the South Washington County district curriculum advisory committee and the parent advisory of the Washington County Mental Health Collaborative. She keeps well-informed on the issues of mental health, learning disabilities, and education, through numerous workshops each year. Rebecca recently contributed her videographic editing skills in support of the 2008 Senate subcommittee legislative work toward effective reading instruction. Her videos can be seen on YouTube through www.MNRight2Read.org. She has been an active volunteer for IDA-UMB, serving on and contributing to the efforts of its Publicity & Communications Committee for a number of years prior to becoming a board member.

Leo Stern
An attorney informed by his own dyslexia, Leo was a commercial litigator with the international law firm of Fredrikson & Byron for more than 35 years. He is now Of Counsel to his firm, and serves as a mediator and arbitrator. He is treasurer of The June Stern Family Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping kindergarten through third grade children in the Twin Cities to advance their reading skills. Leo is also a board member of several social service nonprofit organizations.

Kerry Thompson
With a BA in Fine Arts and Art Education K-12, Kerry’s interests and passions pulled her away from education and toward marketing, advertising and public relations early on in her career. Leveraging her early experiences, she founded Creekwood Marketing & Design, as unique non-traditional agency alternative. Specializing in integrated planned communications, Creekwood continues to deliver expertise in a wide array of areas; including public relations, marketing, copywriting, design and website direction, through print production coordination. She has three children—two with unique needs (both physical and learning). As a parent to a highly successful middle schooler, with significant dyslexia and a Central Auditory Processing Disorder, Kerry has become a passionate lay advocate for families affected by dyslexia and related language-based disabilities. She understands the efficacy and power of research-based instructional methodologies first hand. And, she has attended numerous workshops and training in support of these efforts—including layperson training in the Sonday System reading program for elementary learners. As a community organizer, Kerry was one of many who were instrumental in advocating state legislators to improve teacher candidate pre-service training and licensure rules as they relate to reading instruction.

Immediate Past President

C. Wilson Anderson, Jr., MAT
C. Wilson Anderson received a B.A. from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and a Masters in Special Education from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD. He taught junior and senior high school English and Social Studies in Minnesota for 28 years. In addition, he served as a learning disabilities specialist and director of Teacher Education for the Menninger Clinic’s Center for Learning Disabilities (Topeka, KS) for five years. He is president of Education Consultants of the Midwest, Inc., as well as an author and producer of educational videos and computer learning programs. Wilson is a fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Professionals and Educators (AOGPE) and has received many professional honors, including: a 1997 recipient of the Samuel T. Orton Award from IDA, 1981 General Educator of the Year from the Minnesota Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, and Professional of the Year by the Kansas Learning Disabilities Association. He has spent his entire professional career supporting IDA on both the national and local levels, including serving as IDA president, and president of IDA-UMB for two terms.