Rupen Fofaria is a storyteller at EDNC.org, where he examines how education policy shows up in classrooms and impacts teachers, students, and families. Rupen has invested much of his time since 2019 reporting stories about literacy instruction in North Carolina.  His stories about the body of research on how kids learn to read take readers inside classrooms, advance student and family narratives, explore challenges for early reading teachers, and study best practices in colleges of education. Prior to joining EdNC, Rupen was an attorney in Raleigh and Chicago, practicing start-up and inte ..read more

Deborah is an education attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area currently representing families and students against school districts throughout Northern California. She is extremely passionate about her work and the rights of children with disabilities and children who are disproportionally affected by the failures of public schools. Deborah is an active member of the educational community and works with parents, teachers, administrators, service providers and local organizations to support the needs of vulnerable youth. Deborah has spent her entire legal career working on behalf of children ..read more

Audie Alumbaugh received her master’s degree in special education but has been an unpaid advocate for Arkansas children for over 10 years. Her passion began when teaching mathematics and recognizing that middle school and high school students were unable to perform at the potential when “word problems” were presented to them. it did not take long after that for her to realize the reading crisis in Arkansas. When her faculty position at the University of Central Arkansas and her advocacy for children resulted in what public school superintendents referred to as a “conflict of interest,” Audie l ..read more

Kelly Butler is the Chief Executive Officer of The Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI). The Institute’s literacy work encompasses early childhood, parenting, professional development for teachers, teacher preparation, and developing literacy leaders. Ms. Butler is the author of two statewide studies and developed a subsequent statewide initiative to improve teacher preparation programs focused on early literacy instruction in Mississippi’s 15 public and private universities.  A former high school teacher in the Greenwich, Connecticut Public Schools, Ms. Butler holds a bachelor’s degree in ..read more

Shawn Anthony Robinson Ph.D. is a full-time reading instructor at Madison College, a Senior Research Associate in the Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a social entrepreneur, co-founder of Doctor Dyslexia Dude, former board member of the International Dyslexia Association, and serves on the inaugural advisory council of Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities with software for social good . Dr. Robinson graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, a Master’s in Educatio ..read more

Jeannine Herron, Ph.D. is a research neuropsychologist. After ten years of dyslexia research at University of California at San Francisco, she became founder/CEO of Talking Fingers. She was the Principal Investigator on five Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institute of Child Health (NICHD) to develop and do research with early literacy software, in collaboration with Joe Torgesen, Carol Connor, Linnea Ehri, Patricia Mathes, Margie Gillis, and others whose mentorship enriched her research and her life. She is the author of several books, including  Making Speech ..read more

Angie Hanlin is a dedicated and passionate leader for change in schools and classrooms.  She currently serves as the superintendent at the School District of Thorp in Thorp, Wisconsin where she works tirelessly to positively transform teacher practice and student achievement.  She bases her career on the belief that ALL students can learn and perform at high levels of achievement when they are given highly engaging, research-based instructional practices and targeted specific interventions.  She creates a growth mindset among her students, staff, and community and uses character ..read more

Dr. Tracy Weeden is a seasoned and passionate leader dedicated to advancing literacy and academic excellence for children and adults. With an Ed.D in Educational Leadership, Tracy has spent her career creating and building innovative programs, systems, and teams focused on providing enhanced learning opportunities and exceptional outcomes for students. Tracy is a true visionary when it comes to improving the world through education. Her innovative style of leadership, combined with her compassionate and engaging nature, enables her to successfully manage change and growth across a diverse cons ..read more

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck is a researcher, educational consultant, and author. She served as Executive Consultant to the Washington State Reading Initiative and as an advisor to the Texas Reading Initiative. Dr. Hasbrouck was a reading specialist and literacy coach for 15 years before teaching at the University of Oregon and later becoming a professor at Texas A&M University. Dr. Hasbrouck has provided educational consulting to individual schools across the United States as well as in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Germany, helping teachers, specialists, and administrators design ..read more

In this episode, we’ll talk with Dusty, Dott, and Alphabott, learn how they became friends and discover how they are sharing Dusty’s journey in learning to read. You’ll find out all about their television show and how Dusty and Dott have worked with The Reading League to ensure that the science of reading is the foundation for the show.   After hearing from our friends, we hope you'll become a Reading Buddy, too! The Reading League’s Reading Buddies launches in September 2021 and can be viewed on YouTube and WCNY-PBS. Like the show on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to stay informed and su ..read more