The International Dyslexia Association Promoting literacy through research, education and advocacy

IDA Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of The International Dyslexia Association is a cross section of individuals concerned with the issues of dyslexia. Included are dyslexics, parents of dyslexic children, researchers, educators and professionals. They represent a variety of professions, educators and educational administrators, scientists and researchers, business people, attorneys, and psychologists.

		EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Guinevere F. Eden, Ph.D., President Guinevere Eden was born in Germany and holds both American and British citizenships. She received her B.Sc. from University College London, her D.Phil. in Physiology from Oxford University and her postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Eden is currently an associate professor with tenure in the department of Pediatrics with a secondary appointment in the department of Psychology, Georgetown University and an adjunct appointment in the Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University Washington DC. She directs the Center for the Study of Learning (CSL), funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development and the National Science Foundation. The CSL’s research focuses on the neural representation of reading and how it may be altered in individuals with learning differences, developmental disorders or altered early sensory experience. Specifically, Dr. Eden and her colleagues are employing brain imaging technology to visualize how reading pathways of the brain are impacted by instruction (e.g. intervention approaches applied to students with dyslexia), mode of communication (spoken language, Cued Speech and American Sign Language) or writing systems (alphabetic or logographic). Dr. Eden has attracted over 15 million dollars in federal research grants to support this work. Dr. Eden also serves as a Scientific Co-Director of the Science of Learning Center for Visual Language and Visual Learning at Gallaudet University. The purpose of the center is to gain a greater understanding of the biological, cognitive, linguistic, sociocultural, and pedagogical conditions that influence the acquisition of language and knowledge through the visual modality. Dr. Eden serves on the boards of several local schools that enroll students challenged by language-based learning differences. She is on the editorial boards of the journals Annals of Dyslexia, Dyslexia, and Human Brain Mapping and has served as a permanent member of a standing NIH Study Section and as an ad-hoc member and chair for NIH special emphasis panels. Dr. Eden has published over 50 articles and a book related to research into dyslexia and frequently speaks to scientific and lay audiences about reading, learning, learning differences and the brain. At Georgetown University Dr. Eden teaches students enrolled in the graduate neuroscience program and has served on numerous committees supporting the university’s teaching, research and administrative goals.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Thomas E. McDonough, M.Ed., Secretary Retired educator and administrator, K-12 and the higher education and retail company human resources specialist for Mast General Stores in North Carolina. Tom is dyslexic and has been active in IDA since 1996 as a President of the North Carolina Branch and as Southern Regional Representative of the Branch Council Executive Committee since 2002.
		Ben Shifrin, M.Ed., Treasurer Ben Shifrin, M.Ed., is the Head of Jemicy School, an independent day school in Baltimore County, Maryland, for college-bound students who need extensive remediation in reading, written expression, spelling, and/or organization. A dyslexic himself, Mr. Shifrin has dedicated his career to helping students with language-based learning differences. Prior to coming to Jemicy in 2002, he was a special education administrator for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Head of Westmark School in Encino, California.
		Susan Lowell, M.A., Vice President Susan C. Lowell, M.A., B.C.E.T., is a member of the Board of Directors of I.D.A. and past President of NC IDA. Ms. Lowell serves as an advisor to the Office of Overseas Schools, U.S. Department of State, where she serves as a reading consultant for the international schools. Ms. Lowell’s course, ‘Teaching Reading in the International School,’ is offered for graduate level credit through Buffalo State S.U.N.Y. in the Masters degree program for international school teachers. Ms. Lowell also trains teachers for ‘Brookes on Location’, using research-based curriculum in phonemic awareness and reading instruction. As the director of Educational Therapy Associates in Chapel Hill, Ms. Lowell works as an educational diagnostician providing evaluations of learning difficulties including dyslexia. She is also an instructor in the Simmons College graduate program, Language & Literacy.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Louisa Moats, Ed.D., Vice President A consultant on literacy research and literacy products, Sopris West Educational Services and a researcher, writer, and consultant specializing in professional development and teacher education. Dr. Moats earned her doctorate in reading and human development at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Eric Q. Tridas, M.D., Vice President A developmental and behavioral pediatrician in Tampa, Florida and Director of The Tridas Center for Child Development and the Medical Director for Pediatric Health Choice’s Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Facilities. Dr. Tridas specializes in the management of ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
		Carolyn Blackwood, Chair, Branch Council Executive Committee Carolyn Blackwood currently serves as the Chair of the IDA Branch Council Executive Committee. She is also past president of the Louisiana Branch of IDA and serves as the Learning Assistance Coordinator, Center for Student Excellence at Southeastern Louisiana University.
		AT-LARGE DIRECTORS:
		Matthew Bickerton Mr. Bickerton is British and lives in London. He received his B.Sc. In Electronic Engineering from Warwick University and started his career in Automotive research with Lucas Engineering. His interest in human computer interaction prompted him to obtain an M.Sc in Cognition Computing and Psychology from Warwick University. Despite his dyslexia, he published papers and a book as a lecturer and researcher at the Oxford University Computing Laboratory. He returned to industry as Technical Director of a large software house and then in 1995, he set up a digital marketing company with his wife. They wrote two leading authoritative books on Internet marketing and e-commerce strategy (Cyberstrategy 1998 and Cybermarketing 1996-2000 , Butterworth-Heinemann). They sold the company in 2000. Matthew now dedicates his time to Open Source software communities and voluntary consultancy for non-profit organisations.
		Elsa Cardenas-Hagan, Ph.D., CALT Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan is a Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist and a Certified Academic Language Therapist. She holds a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She is the Director of Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville,Texas and works with Texas Institute for Measurement Evaluation and Statistics at the University of Houston. Dr. Cárdenas Hagan is the author of Esperanza (HOPE): a Spanish language program designed to assist students who struggle with learning to read. Her research interests include the development of early reading assessments for Spanish speaking students in addition to the development of reading interventions for bilingual students. She was the co-principal investigator of a longitudinal study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Institute for Education Science, examining the oracy and literacy development in English and Spanish of Spanish speaking children. She is also the Co-Founder of Brownsville READS! a nonprofit organization to promote literacy. She has authored curricular programs, book chapters, and journal articles related to oracy and literacy development for English language learners.
		Suzanne Carreker, M.S., CALT-QI Suzanne Carreker, M.S., CALT-QI, is vice president of program development at Neuhaus Education Center in Houston , TX, a non-profit organization that provides professional development to teachers in research-based reading instruction. A past president of the Houston Branch of IDA, she is a frequent speaker at local and national conferences and is the author of several language and literacy curricula. Ms. Carreker serves on the boards of the Academic Language Therapy Association and the Alliance for Accreditation and Certification.
		Hugh W. Catts, Ph.D. Hugh W. Catts, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders at the University of Kansas. His research interests include the early identification of reading and language disabilities. He is the President-Elect of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Karen E. Dakin, M.Ed. Director of Learning Resources at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Her area of expertise includes the diagnosis and remediation of dyslexia in children and adults. For over 20 years, she has been actively involved in IDA Branch development with the New York and Northern Ohio Branches of IDA.
		Gad Elbeheri, Ph.D. Dr. Elbeheri is the Executive Director for the Centre for Child Evaluation & Teaching located in Kuwait. The CCET is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with learning disabilities in Kuwait and the rest of the Arab and Gulf region. He is an applied linguist who's field of interest focuses on the cross-linguistic investigation of specific learning difficulties in Arabic.
		Lynne Fitzhugh, Ph.D., CALT Executive Director of The Dyslexia Center at Penrose-St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, a non-profit organization providing direct services to individuals with dyslexia, professional development in reading instruction, and community services related to dyslexia. She is creator and instructor of the Dyslexia Institute for Educators at Colorado College, and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Colorado, in Colorado Springs. Dr. Fitzhugh serves on the board of the Academic Language Therapy Association.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Jonathan Green, M.Ed. Director of The Hamilton School at Wheeler in Providence, Rhode Island — an innovative school-within-a-school serving elementary and middle school children diagnosed with dyslexia or other language-based learning disabilities. Mr. Green has a Masters of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a founding board member of the Bradford L. Dunn Institute, a nonprofit corporation committed to assisting students, parents, and teachers with issues related to learning differences.
		Noel Gunther Executive Director of LD OnLine, Mr. Gunther has overseen the project since its inception. Gunther has broad experience in radio, television, print, and the Internet. He has co-written and co-produced award-winning documentaries for NPR and Public Radio International, including: Good Morning Vietnam with Adrian Cronauer (Gold Award, Best Culture/Arts Program, International Radio Festival of New York; Ohio State Award); American Voices: Norman Corwin with Charles Kuralt (Grand Award, Best Documentary Program, International Radio Festival of New York); Gray Matters: Depression with Mike Wallace (Gold Award, International Radio Festival of New York); and Drugs, Alcohol and the Brain (Gold Cindy Award, best documentary; Grand Award, Best Informational Program, International Radio Festival of New York). For television, Gunther's work includes the PBS documentary A Tale of Two Schools, narrated by Morgan Freeman, and the five-part public TV series Exploring Your Brain. For the Internet, Gunther created and developed the LD OnLine web site, which since 1996 has been the leading web site in the field of learning disabilities. LD OnLine won a Clarion Award in 1998 as the best nonprofit web site in the country. Gunther is co-author of Beyond Boardwalk and Park Place (Bantam Books), which was named by the New York Public Library as one of the best young adult books of the year. He has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, Washingtonian, American Journalism Review, and many other publications. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Cinthia Coletti Haan Cinthia Coletti Haan is co-founder and chair of The Haan Foundation for Children and she presently oversees the executive management and all daily operations of the non-profit organization dedicated to developing and implementing educational solutions. Her primary goal is to unite the efforts of scientific research, education practice, innovation, and technology to support dramatic improvements in student achievement. Haan’s business career began as one of the founding team members in Southern Pacific Railroad's launching of SPRINT where she remained until the company was sold to GTE. She then accepted a position as director of Ford Aerospace, Starnet Division, before performing a series of mergers and acquisitions of telecommunications corporations. Her experience includes cross-functional operations management, integrating core and revolutionary product strategies, expertise in financial profit-and-loss modeling, and delivering innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to organizations. She currently serves as CEO of Syndacon Corporation, and now brings her talents and expertise to the crucial needs of education and health.
		R. Malatesha Joshi, Ph.D. Professor of Reading in the College of Education at Texas A&M University. He is the founding editor of Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Learning Disabilities.

		G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D Dr. G. Reid Lyon, is the founder of Synergistic Education Solutions, specializing in the development and implementation of effective educational initiatives and policies to improve teacher learning and application, evidence-based assessment and instructional strategies, and program evaluation strategies to build accountability for student learning. Dr. Lyon has more than 30 years of experience as a researcher, professor, teacher, school psychologist, and leader in the development of evidence-based education policy at the federal and state levels. Prior to his most recent position as Executive Vice President for Research and Evaluation at Higher Ed Holdings, Lyon served as a research psychologist and the Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He was responsible for the direction, development and management of research programs in developmental and cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, behavioral pediatrics, reading development and disabilities, and human learning and learning disorders.
		Joe Torgesen, Ph.D. Joseph Torgesen is the Morcom Professor of Psychology and Education at Florida State University and Director Emeritus of the Florida Center for Reading Research. He also serves as the Director of Reading for the Center on Instruction K-12 in Reading, Math, and Science. He received his Ph.D. in Developmental and Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan, and his research has focused on the psychology of reading and interventions for students with reading difficulties.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Rosalie Whitlock, Ph.D. Dr. Rosalie Whitlock is the Head of Charles Armstrong School, an independent school in Belmont, California, serving students with language-based learning differences, such as dyslexia. Dr. Whitlock served two years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Children’s Health Council (CHC), a non-profit organization with the mission to make a measurable difference in the lives of children who face developmental and behavioral challenges and remains a member of the CHC executive committee and serves as a board member of Parents Education Network (PEN). She has also served as the Executive Director of the Accelerated School Project at Stanford University and is an adjunct faculty in special education at Notre Dame de Namur University. Dr. Whitlock is the parent of two children, one of whom has been diagnosed with dyslexia.

		EX-OFFICIO, NON VOTING MEMBER:
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$		Stephen M. Peregoy, IDA Executive Director Mr. Peregoy holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Health Science from Towson State University in Maryland, where he continues to teach courses in Public Health Education. He had been with the American Lung Association of Maryland since 1981, serving as that organization's President and CEO from 1989 to 2008. He brings an impressive track record of success in fundraising, leadership, financial management, strategic planning, marketing, government affairs and developing collaborative partnerships with like-minded organizations.