Winsor Learning Leadership
Corporate Officers
Thomas Guyer, President
Cindy Breckman, Vice President Product Development
Executives by Department
Financial Services
Cindy Mueller, Director of Finance
Jean Greenwood, Accounting
Lisa Schmidt, Payroll
Operations
Karen Folkes, Director of Operations & HR
Lori Sears, Training Coordinator
Andrea Lockard, Service & Data Support
Katie Cook, Special Projects Coordinator
Sales and Marketing
Rich Geist, Director of Sales & Marketing
Judd Anderson, Prospect Manager
Heather Johnson, Marketing & Conference Coordinator
Client Relations
Barb McNeil, M.A. Sp. Ed, Director of Professional Services
Shawn Evenson, Director of Education
Carrie Roberts, Educational Programs Specialist
Maria George, Educational Programs Specialist
Music Production
Jeff Harrington, Music Director
Professional Development: Management and Design
All trainers, coaches, consultants and professional development directors are certified in the Sonday System.
Arlene Sonday, Author, Educational Consultant, Speaker and Fellow Orton-Gillingham Academy
Arlene Sonday, Author, Educational Consultant, Speaker and Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (OGA) has been teaching struggling readers, including those with dyslexia, for more than forty years. She is an adjunct instructor at Hamline University in Minnesota, and has taught graduate courses at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and numerous other universities and colleges. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women in Education. Arlene is a Founding Fellow and first president of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, a founding member and board member of Orton-Gillingham Minnesota, past Vice-President of The International Dyslexia Association, past president of the The International Dyslexia Association – Upper Midwest Branch, and past member of the Advisory Council of the Scottish Rite Children’s Learning Centers.
Arlene is the 2009 recipient of the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award given annually by the International Dyslexia Association. In 2009, Fairleigh Dickinson University established the Arlene Sonday Award for Excellence in Teaching, given annually to a teacher who has earned the FDU Orton-Gillingham Certificate and brought the program into his/her public school system.
AWARDS
Margaret B. Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award, The International Dyslexia Association, 2009
Arlene Sonday Excellence in Teaching Award given annually by Fairleigh Dickinson Univ., 2009
Innovator Award, Internat’l Multisensory Structured Language Council, 2008
Who’s Who of American Women in Education, Cambridge 2007
Who’s Who of American Women in Education, Marquis 2006
Excellence in Teacher Training, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Dyslexia Specialist Program, 2006
Distinguished Service Award, The Gow School – 1994
Betty Jones Dedicated Service Award from MN Assn for Children with Learning Disabilities – 1989
Special Recognition Award from Upper Midwest Branch of Orton Dyslexia Society – 1981
Arlene, author of the Sonday System Product Line (Let’s Play Learn- Basic, Let’s Play Learn-Premium, Sonday System 1, Sonday System 2 and supplemental products), is a reading expert, therapist, and international lecturer. Arlene teaches, speaks, and consults in North America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, for further information on Arlene Sonday, refer to our About the Author page.
Barb McNeil, M.A.Sp.Ed, Director of Professional Services and Speaker
Barbara McNeil is currently working with Winsor Learning as the Director of Training. She consults on literacy designs, approaches, and trains teachers in the Sonday System Reading Intervention Program. She also lectures at educational conferences across the country. Prior to her experience with Winsor Learning, Barbara spent seven years teaching in both regular education and special education classrooms. The majority of her teaching experience was gained through interactions that occurred with her BD and LD students. She also spent approximately nine years working as a Behavior Management Specialist that interacted with children and young adults that were removed from their home environments for various reasons. In addition to addressing their emotional and behavioral needs, she was also responsible for their academic achievement. Barbara has earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from West Liberty State College.
Shawn Evenson, Director of Education and Speaker
Shawn Evenson believes nearly all children can read at grade level when given appropriate instruction, necessary remediation interventions, and time to be successful. His practical approach can be applied to the everyday life of an educator.
Shawn is a passionate educational leader with over ten years of professional experience, including years of demonstration, training and applying research-based best practices in classrooms across the U.S. He’s taught thousands of professional educators to use a systematic, multi-sensory language approach (the Sonday System) to teach reading, writing, and spelling.
Shawn has presented at a number of conferences including: the International Dyslexia Association conference, the South Dakota Learning Disabilities Conference, the National Council for Exceptional Children Conference and the National Title 1 Conference. He has worked with the Arizona Department of Education’s State Improvement Plan and currently is the Director of Education with Winsor Learning, Inc.
Andrea Lockard, Service and Data Support
Andrea received an Associates degree in retail management from the Art Institute of Charlotte and studied Computer Programming at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. She has eight years experience in Information Technology and Communications. Andrea helped design a grant funded intervention model called Stars & Champs in a Charter School in N.C. The Students were identified and served before they could fail, using research-based, scientifically-proven instructional strategies in one on one, small group, and inclusion settings. The Sonday System was one of the core curriculum used. Andrea performed data collection and reporting from results of the IOWA and EOG tests and ongoing Stars & Champs assessments. She also created and maintained the schedule for the 75 students included in the intervention program. She completed the Sonday System training requirements and has trained and coached teachers throughout North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and California. Andrea currently assists Winsor Learning’s Client Managers by performing data analysis and reporting on our clients using Curriculum-Based Measures and our own criterion reference assessments.
Professional Development: Trainers, Coaches and Consultants
All trainers, coaches and consultants are Certified in the Sonday System.
Arlene Sonday, Author, Educational Consultant, Speaker and Fellow Orton-Gillingham Academy
Arlene Sonday, Author, Educational Consultant, Speaker and Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (OGA) has been teaching struggling readers, including those with dyslexia, for more than forty years. She is an adjunct instructor at Hamline University in Minnesota, and has taught graduate courses at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and numerous other universities and colleges. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women in Education. Arlene is a Founding Fellow and first president of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, a founding member and board member of Orton-Gillingham Minnesota, past Vice-President of The International Dyslexia Association, past president of the The International Dyslexia Association – Upper Midwest Branch, and past member of the Advisory Council of the Scottish Rite Children’s Learning Centers.
Arlene is the 2009 recipient of the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award given annually by the International Dyslexia Association. In 2009, Fairleigh Dickinson University established the Arlene Sonday Award for Excellence in Teaching, given annually to a teacher who has earned the FDU Orton-Gillingham Certificate and brought the program into his/her public school system.
Arlene, author of the Sonday System Product Line (Let’s Play Learn- Basic, Let’s Play Learn-Premium, Sonday System 1, Sonday System 2 and supplemental products), is a reading expert, therapist, and international lecturer. Arlene teaches, speaks, and consults in North America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, for further information on Arlene Sonday, refer to our About the Author page.
Allie Wiener, M.Ed. Educational Consultant
Allie’s experience spans fifteen years of teaching and consulting. She holds an M.A. in Educational Administration as well as forty-five additional graduate hours in the areas of remedial instruction, administration, and Special Education. She is the founder and chief consultant for Best Practices In Education, LLC. Prior to forming Best Practices in Education, Allie was the Central Arizona Reading Specialist for the Arizona Department of Education. Allie was entrusted to execute School Reform objectives focusing on systemic change across twenty-four schools from eleven districts. Prior to her work with the Arizona Department of Education, Allie worked for two of the largest educational publishing companies traveling the United States, spearheading development of interactive, multi-media training programs to educate customers and sales representatives on product features and student benefits. Before she made the move to consulting, Allie taught Language Arts and Reading for eight years in the public school setting. Allie also has served as an Adjunct Professor in English for Glendale Community College and Rio Salado College in Arizona.
Andrea Lockard, Service and Data Support
Andrea received an Associates degree in retail management from the Art Institute of Charlotte and studied Computer Programming at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. She has eight years experience in Information Technology and Communications. Andrea helped design a grant funded intervention model called Stars & Champs in a Charter School in N.C. The Students were identified and served before they could fail, using research-based, scientifically-proven instructional strategies in one on one, small group, and inclusion settings. The Sonday System was one of the core curriculum used. Andrea performed data collection and reporting from results of the IOWA and EOG tests and ongoing Stars & Champs assessments. She also created and maintained the schedule for the 75 students included in the intervention program. She completed the Sonday System training requirements and has trained and coached teachers throughout North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and California. Andrea currently assists Winsor Learning’s Client Managers by performing data analysis and reporting on our clients using Curriculum-Based Measures and our own criterion reference assessments.
Anne Nixon, Educational Consultant
Anne Nixon is a gifted and respected educational consultant and trainer. She is known for her presentation style and knowledge of teaching reading that stems from nearly a decade of teaching and professional development. Anne is a private learning specialist in St. Paul, MN.
Barb McNeil, M.A.Sp.Ed, Director of Professional Services and Speaker
Barbara McNeil is currently working with Winsor Learning as the Director of Training. She consults on literacy designs, approaches, and trains teachers in the Sonday System Reading Intervention Program. She also lectures at educational conferences across the country. Prior to her experience with Winsor Learning, Barbara spent seven years teaching in both regular education and special education classrooms. The majority of her teaching experience was gained through interactions that occurred with her BD and LD students. She also spent approximately nine years working as a Behavior Management Specialist that interacted with children and young adults that were removed from their home environments for various reasons. In addition to addressing their emotional and behavioral needs, she was also responsible for their academic achievement. Barbara has earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from West Liberty State College.
Beverly Anderson, Educational Consultant
Bev is a certified trainer of Orton-Gillingham, director of the 32nd Degree Masonic Learning Center for Children, Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA, and has 30 plus years in the field of special education. She has taught in a broad spectrum of situations from middle school LD, institutionalized children with profound retardation, stroke and head injured children to working with adults as a cognitive therapist. Bev’s passion is working with pre-school and Kindergarten students who have been identified as possible “at risk” for dyslexia. Bev hopes that with the proper O.G. training and fundamentals, like a knowledge base of phonemic awareness, she could aid in preventing children from suffering the stigma of not learning to read alongside their peers.
Carrie Roberts, MAED, Educational Programs Specialist and Speaker
An advocate for follow-thru, Carrie has been a general and special education teacher for over 19 years. Her hands on training and engaging presentation style has led to opportunities at the local and national level on topics such as data-driven instructional reform, Response to Intervention, and effective instructional elements using systematic, multi-sensory techniques. She has been honored to work at schools in which dramatic changes with administrative support has led to district, state, and national recognition. Carrie has witnessed first-hand, the power of success in the lives of children which motivates her to guide, mentor, and share successful ventures for all students!
Dorothea Moebius, M.S. Ed, Educational Consultant and Speaker
Dorothea is a learning specialist and nationally recognized educational consultant in the field of dyslexia and reading education. She holds a Master’s degree in Language and Literacy in Special Education from Simmons College. Her undergraduate work at Sarah Lawrence College was concentrated in Classical and Modern Languages and Literature. After advanced Orton-Gillingham training with Arlene Sonday, Dorothea opened START Educational Services, a reading center for students with dyslexia or other language-based learning challenges, in East Aurora, (Buffalo) New York. In addition to Sonday System, Dorothea is trained in both DIBELS Essential and Mentoring workshops, LETRS, Project Read Comprehension, and Orton-Gillingham. Special interests are in upper-level English language structure, and the implications of teacher knowledge on student reading outcomes. Dorothea has presented at local and national reading conferences including the International Dyslexia Association’s national conferences. She has trained and coached educators in ten states and in Canada. Dorothea has consulted with Winsor Learning since 2002.
Ellen Bitler, Educational Consultant
Ellen graduated from the University of Delaware in 2000 and put her degrees and Orton-Gillingham training to good use as a middle-school special education teacher for over 5 years. She has worked as a mentor, teacher and tutor for a small, private school as well as a Sonday System Coach.
Ellen Thoms, Educational Consultant
Ellen attended college at William Paterson University in NJ. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. She then went on to maintain a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant Certificate. Ellen has been in education for over 22 years teaching vocational education, self-contained classes in special education, basic skills, and is presently a Resource teacher in Dumont, NJ.
Erin Fetzer, M.Ed., Author and Educational Consultant
Erin earned a Master’s degree in August, 2000, in Special Education with emphasis in both Learning Disabilities and Gifted Education. She brings over twelve years of classroom and six years of educational consulting, training and private tutoring experience. Erin has been with Winsor Learning since 2004 as an educational trainer and coach. She also is the author of the Sonday Readers and Winsor Readers both published by Winsor Learning, Inc.
Jean Schedler, Ph.D., Educational Consultant
Jean Schedler, PhD, is a trainer and coach for Winsor Learning since 2002, training teachers in both United States and New Zealand. She also maintains a private practice (Schedler Educational Consulting). She is a Fellow in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. She trains and mentors teachers through the Orton-Gillingham Academy tutor certification program. She is a published co-author of the chapter “Planning Multisensory Structured Language Lessons and the Classroom Environment” in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills 2nd Edition (2005).Dr. Schedler was a workshop leader for the U.S. Department of Education Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative (Summer 2005). For over 10 years, she was the Director of Reading in a small private school for bright struggling readers. In addition to providing reading instruction in a clinical setting, she assisted with designing the reading program, testing, training/mentoring fellow teachers, conducting workshops and selecting intervention materials.
She is a Past President of the Maryland Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and a former Regional Representative of the Eastern Region of IDA.
Prior to establishing her own private practice, she was in private practice with a speech-language pathologist, whom she also co-presented with at international conferences.
In her private practice, she administers standardized testing to diagnose reading difficulties and is a recognized expert in both reading and dyslexia. She evaluates and designs individualized educational reading programs, designs and conducts reading workshops, provides teacher training and mentoring in public and private schools. She is a former classroom teacher, GED instructor, teacher of cerebral palsy children and adjunct university professor. She regularly presents at recognized conferences locally, nationally, and internationally. She was the Keynote Speaker at the Special Education Conference (SPELD) in ChristChurch, New Zealand in May 2008. Her research interests are vocabulary/morphology and reading comprehension.
Joan Stoner, Ed.D, Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy, Educational Consultant
Joan spent 15 years teaching in elementary, middle school and high school classrooms in metropolitan and rural school districts in Nebraska. Dr. Stoner earned both a BS and MA in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska in Omaha, NE and an Ed D at the University of Nebraska in Curriculum and Instruction in Lincoln, NE. She established a program for college student with learning disabilities at Union College in Lincoln, NE, and was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Dyslexia at Nichols State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. A member of the International Dyslexia Association for 30 years, Dr. Stoner served as Branch president in the 70’s and on the national IDA board as Branch Council Chair, Secretary. She is the current NE IDA president. Dr. Stoner was an LD Specialist at the Menninger Center for Learning Disabilities and developed a middle school program for struggling readers funded by the Annenberg foundation. She also served as assistant director, co-trainer and coach on the Topeka, KS Early Reading First grant. Joan is the author of Syllable Plus, a board game to teach syllable types. She currently trains and coaches for Winsor and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Dr. Stoner served on the board of Capella University for ten years and five of those years as Chairman of the Board.
Laura Johnson, Educational Consultant
Laura Johnson is a trainer and coach for the Southwest team. Laura has been the Reading Specialist at Settler’s Point Elementary in Gilbert, AZ for the past 9 years. Prior to this position, she was a primary teacher and taught kindergarten, first, and second grades. Laura earned her Bachelor and Masters in Education degrees from Northern Arizona University. She holds a Reading Endorsement and is an Arizona Certified DIBELS trainer. Laura is also trained on several Orton-Gilligham based intervention programs and Reading Recovery (CLIP). In addition, Laura is an instructor at Northern Arizona University where she teaches a class on Reading Instruction to graduate students. She is active and involved in her campus and school district providing training and staff development to teachers in reading.
Maria George, Educational Programs Specialist
Maria George graduated with a degree in Court Reporting from American Institute of Business in Des Moines, Iowa, and specialized as a freelance court reporter in Omaha, Nebraska for 11 years. She held licenses to practice in Iowa and Nebraska, as well as received a Certificate of Merit to practice anywhere within the United States. Maria’s educational career began after she relocated to Granite Falls, North Carolina, in 1994, where she began as a parent volunteer at Granite Falls Elementary School, and later assumed the positions of Reading Tutor, Teacher Assistant, Orton-Gillingham/Sonday Interventionist, and Title I Reading Facilitator. As the Title I Reading Facilitator, some of Maria’s duties included overseeing the school’s K-5 reading intervention programs, coordinating and executing professional staff development trainings, training and administering CBMs Schoolwide, and directly involved with RtI training and implementation Schoolwide.
During the 2007-2008 academic school year, Granite Falls Elementary School was recognized as having an exemplary reading program and received an award from the International Reading Association, recognizing them as the North Carolina runner-up. Maria received Orton-Gillingham training through The North Carolina Branch of The International Dyslexia Association, has served as an instructor for several 70-hour O-G workshops, and has tutored privately for several years. Maria has completed the DIBELS Essential & Mentoring Workshops and has received a certificate from the DIBELS® Training Institute, enabling her to train and implement DIBELS to various school systems throughout the country. Currently Maria is a full-time Educational Programs Specialist with Winsor Learning: training and coaching.
Maria Paluselli, MS.Ed., Educational Consultant
Maria Paluselli, M.S.Ed. has taught elementary students in both regular and special education. As a certified Orton-Gillingham practitioner at the Initial and Advanced level, Maria served as the Director of the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Learning Center for over 10 years. Here she trained teachers in the Orton-Gillingham Approach. Maria now works as an independent consultant and trainer. She assesses students and helps schools and families develop intervention plans. She also provides various in-service training to schools in the Pittsburgh area. Maria is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh and has been an Educational Consultant for Winsor for about 10 years, training and coaching teachers in schools across the country.
Mary Lewis, Educational Consultant
Mary Lewis is a graduate of Michigan State University and has been an independent consultant with Winsor Learning since July 2007. In the nine years prior to joining Winsor, she worked for Gilbert Unified Schools, the last four as an Elementary Special Education teacher. Mary has been trained in Orton-Gillingham Language Foundations, Great Leaps Reading Fluency, Step Up to Writing, and the Sonday Systems, among others. In addition to those, Mary has had CBM training in both DIBELS and AIMSweb progress monitoring which she used while teaching special education students. In 2005, she was awarded the Gilbert Public Schools Superintendent’s “Leadership In the Workplace” award for her contributions to excellence in education.
Mary brings her love for children and personal experiences from the Special Education setting with her, as she trains and coaches educators in her home state of Arizona, as well as New Jersey, North Carolina and New Mexico. She continues to learn and broaden her knowledge in all aspects of reading intervention in order to be an effective trainer and coach.
Patricia Padgett, M.Ed., Educational Consultant
Educational Therapist. Designer, Publisher and Co-Author: Writing Adventures: Structured & Systematic Writing Instruction. Public speaker and over 13 year veteran of multisensory language instruction.
Reba Walden, Educational Consultant
Reba has been working with public schools for 32 years in different capacities including: a tutor, teacher, Literacy Specialist, K-2 Literacy Consultant. Currently she is retired and working as a part-time reading tutor for struggling first grade students and reading coach. Reba holds degrees in Elementary Education (BS), Reading (MA) and Administration (EdS). She is a Reading Foundations Instructor for the North Carolina State Improvement Project. She has been trained in the following approaches/programs: Orton Gillingham, Basic, Advanced with fellow JoAnn Crawford, Sonday System, Language!, DIBELS, Letterland, Reading First, Fundations, Wilson Overview, and Response to Intervention. She is also a trainer in Language! , Letterland, and Sonday System.