Meet the Board of Directors

I grew up a hemisphere and many time zones away from Massachusetts.  I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and while you may hear me complain about the winter weather, I count myself as extremely fortunate to have studied, worked and raised my family in the United States.

No matter where I have worked, or the formal job description, literacy has been the focus of my work, whether it is teaching students or working as an administrator or consultant. 

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Literacy has filled my volunteer hours too.  I spent 17 years with the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA) and was a member of the Executive Board for the last 7 years. 

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Realizing the importance of evidence-based literacy teaching, and knowing that there were many educators who embrace it, I founded The Reading Circuit with the support of colleagues like Lisa Rice, Kristin Parone, Isha Sanghvi and Sue Hucul.

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Our vision is clear

All children should have an equitable opportunity to learn literacy through effective evidence-based practices built on knowledge from science and research.  I am honored that Lisa, Kristin, Isha and Sue are Found Board members to help translate the vision into action!

After spending years in business and time off to be home with my children, I decided to go back to school to become a teacher. My hope was to become a grade 1 teacher, but immediately fell in love with teaching reading. I pursued a reading specialist license and an EdS in literacy. After working for several years as a reading specialist I moved into the role of literacy coordinator. In this position I have the opportunity to work with educators across the state and DESE to set the path for evidence based practices to be implemented to support struggling readers.  

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Most recently I was the treasurer for MRA. I enjoyed that work and the people I worked with on the board. In early 2022 I left MRA to work with The Reading Circuit! I believe in the mission of The Reading Circuit and the importance of evidence-based practice. I look forward to working with educators across the state as we support students to become readers.

Kristin believes that we have an obligation as a society to ensure that all students have access to excellent evidence-based education--and that literacy is a human right. Toward that end, Kristin has worked as both a Special Education teacher and a Literacy Specialist at the elementary level. Currently, she is the Literacy Coordinator in  Grafton, MA. She is also a Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner and enjoys coaching teachers grades 2-3 in the use of Fundations. Kristin was thrilled to work as a Literacy Champion with Massachusetts DESE as they crafted the Mass Literacy guide. 

From the very beginning of my career in education, I have seen the widening gap in reading achievement, particularly for students of color or for those who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage.  The challenges we now face have heightened the need for more teachers of reading to join together and share what we now know to be true:  teaching reading is scientifically based.  We have the resources and tools to ensure that ALL students can and should have access to high quality structured literacy instruction. I am excited and honored to be a member of The Reading Circuit. Being part of this organization will increase the opportunities for conversation and professional learning that our teachers and students need and deserve.

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does"

In my 12 years as an educator, 7 years in India and last 5 years in the United States, I have worked with students in a variety of K- 8 settings. I earned my M.S in Moderate Disabilities from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, and I am in the process of becoming an Associate Level Orton Gillingham Practitioner. Currently, I am working as a special educator at one of the Cambridge Public Schools, supporting students in an elementary school, ranging from first to third grade. My passion for literacy instruction was fueled when I first learned about evidence-based practices  based on knowledge from science and research. I implemented them for my students to provide effective intervention to enable them to learn to read and my students with dyslexia showed significant progress in their ability to read.  I continued  to deepen my understanding  through professional development and training in multisensory reading practices. I am thrilled to be a part of the Reading Circuit and  contribute to its effort to enable all children to learn to read through research-based practices that best fit their learning needs. I believe that one of the ways that the students can be best supported  is by equipping teachers with resources and knowledge about the evidence-based effective literacy instructions.