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

2013 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:
	Eric Q. Tridas, M.D., President Dr. Eric Tridas is 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.
	Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D., CALT-QI, Vice President Suzanne Carreker 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.
	Elsa Cardenas-Hagan, Ed.D., CALT, Vice President 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.
$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$	Karen E. Dakin, M.Ed., Secretary Karen Dakin is retired as the 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.
	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.
	Rebecca (Becky) Aldred, M.Ed., Chair, Branch Council Executive Committee Becky Aldred is a retired teacher and director of Sounds and Syllables of Virginia, LLC, a private comprehensive reading service, offering tutoring, diagnostic evaluations, and professional development. Becky is a former VA Branch President and Regional Representative for Branch Council, IDA. She has been involved with the VA Branch since 1979, signing the original incorporation papers for the Orton Dyslexia Society—later to become the VA Branch IDA.
	AT-LARGE DIRECTORS:
	Nancy Coffman, M.S., CALT,QI Nancy Coffman is currently president of the Alliance and immediate past president of ALTA. Nancy is an adjunct instructor for DBU and serves as the Associate Director of Outreach at the Shelton School in Dallas, Texas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of the South, a master’s degree in special education from Vanderbilt University, is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and a Qualified Instructor in Alphabetic Phonics. Nancy is a member of the International Dyslexia Association, the Alliance for Accreditation and Certification of Structured Language Education, Inc. (Alliance) and the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA).
	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-QI Lynne Fitzhugh is the 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.
	Erik E. Heyer Erik Heyer, founder and CEO of Capital Schools, is a respected education leader, business manager and social entrepreneur. Capital Schools operates private schools, summer camps and therapy centers for children with autism spectrum disorder. In 2006, Mr. Heyer established The Siena School in Silver Spring, MD. The Siena School has earned a reputation as one of Washington, D.C.’s leading private schools for students with dyslexia and language-based learning differences. The school and its staff have earned several honors, along with accolades from area educators, community leaders and the media, including The Washington Post. Previously, Erik was on the founding team and management committee of Victory Schools, a national leader in the charter school and public education reform movements. In 2003, he was awarded a Broad Fellowship in the Broad Foundation Superintendents Academy, one of the nation’s most prestigious educational leadership training programs. He began his career in finance with Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, before joining New Mountain Capital, a leading private equity investment firm. Mr. Heyer holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in systems engineering with high honors from the University of Virginia. He has served on governing boards of the Atlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center, the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County, and Calvert Education Services, one of the nation's oldest and largest homeschooling organizations.
	Hal Malchow Hal Malchow is the co-author of The Sword of Darrow, a young adult fantasy novel which he wrote with his son, Alex. At the time they began writing, Alex was eight years old, had undiagnosed learning disabilities and could not read at all. To celebrate the book’s success, they are donating all author royalties to the International Dyslexia Association and their publisher, Ben Bella Books, is donating half of its profits to learning disabilities organizations as well. Hal is a nationally recognized political consultant who has worked for candidates at the presidential level all the way down to local offices. His work has won numerous creative awards and he helped pioneer the use of statistical modeling in the political arena. After becoming discouraged by the negative character of political campaigns, he closed his firm in 2010. He continues to do some consulting and is working on his next book.
	Gregory E. Matthews, CPA Gregory Matthews is a principal and senior benefit consultant with Matthews Benefit Group, Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the creator and author of the monthly employee benefits newsletter 401(k) Advisor, author of the Payroll Answer Book, and co-author of the 403(b) Answer Book Forms & Worksheets for Aspen Publishers. He is a frequent speaker at regional and national benefit programs. Mr. Matthews also authored and taught Course 6 of the American Institute of CPAs’ “Compensation and Benefits” in the Tax Certificate Program. Gregory is a graduate of the University of Tampa (mathematics) and completed his accounting and mathematical studies at Strayer University and American University, Washington, D.C.
	Janis Mitchell Janis Mitchell holds a B.A from the Ohio State University in Political Science and is a Registered Security Industry Professional. Mitchell is a dyslexic serial entrepreneur and has been involved in the information technology industry for over eleven years. She founded her previous successful enterprise, Info Fortress Solutions in January 2000 which she then sold on to global firm Betrusted, Inc., owned by Bank One. Mitchell served as President of Betrusted Consulting for the Americas and was responsible for managing and growing the professional services group domestically. She serves on Executive Boards for the Central Ohio Dyslexia Association, Ohio Legislative Committee for Dyslexia Legislation, Ohio’s IT Alliance, and InsightETE, Past Vice President of the Central Ohio Board of the International Association for Dyslexia, Board for Franklin University, Board of Directors for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, National 4H Foundation, Mayor’s Columbus 2012 Commission, Columbus Chamber Small Business Executive Committee, Columbus Chamber Legislative Committee and Columbus Ohio’s Mayor Workforce and Talent Commission.
	Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D. Gordon Sherman is Executive Director of The Newgrange School and Education Center. Before joining Newgrange, he was Director of the Dyslexia Research Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and was a faculty member in neurology (neuroscience) at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sherman received his doctorate in developmental psychobiology from the University of Connecticut. He is a former president of IDA and a recipient of two of its most prestigious honors, the Samuel T. Orton Award and the Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture Award. He also was inducted recently into the Sylvia O. Richardson Hall of Honor. Dr. Sherman speaks nationally and internationally to parents, teachers, and scientists about cerebrodiversity, learning differences, brain development, and the future.
Photo Not Available	Edward C. Taylor. Ph.D. Edward Taylor is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Jacksonville, Florida. His practice focuses on child and adolescent psychology. He received his PhD from the University of Florida and completed an internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Kansas University School of Medicine-Wichita. He has held faculty appointments in the Department of Psychiatry of the Kansas University School of Medicine-Wichita and in the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Florida School of Medicine, Shands-Jacksonville. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Taylor provides educational interventions to children with learning disorders through The Learning Specialists, an educational practice he developed 15 years ago. Dr. Taylor serves as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Florida Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and is a member of the American Psychological Association.
	Mary Wennersten, M.Ed. Mary Wennersten is the past-president of the AZ IDA. She is currently working for the Arizona Department of Education in the School Effectiveness Division with K-12 Literacy and School Improvement. She provides professional development and technical assistance to schools across Arizona in literacy and (RTI) Response to Intervention/Instruction - leadership, coaching, curriculum and instruction, assessment and data analysis. Because of her own experience as a struggling dyslexic student and having a child with dyslexia, Mary has spent her career in public education improving instruction for all students.

	EX-OFFICIO, NON VOTING MEMBER:

$S:\BOARD\Pictures\Sauter.jpg$	Lee Grossman, CAE - IDA Interim Executive Director & CEO Lee Grossman brings an impressive track record of success in governance, development, leadership, financial management, strategic planning, marketing, social enterprise and developing collaborative partnerships with like-minded organizations. Lee comes to IDA from Advance Enterprises, a global consulting firm in Washington, D.C., where he served as President and CEO. He also spent over 20 years at the Autism Society of America (ASA), where for over 10 years he served as Chair of the Board of Directors and later President and CEO. Prior to joining ASA, Lee owned his own firm for 25 years in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he served as a consultant to the medical industry. Lee Grossman received his BS in Business Administration from Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, Hawaii, and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a Masters in Leadership from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Additionally, Lee is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) from the American Society of Association Executives, Washington, DC.