Kim became a passionate advocate for reading instruction when her oldest son was struggling in kindergarten. Since then, she has worked with hundreds of families in a variety of roles to improve outcomes for students with dyslexia or realted challenges. After spending 10 years in private practice, she joined the MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Charged with guiding schools to implement dyslexia screenings and best-practice instruction, she spent five years building a sustainable system orf profrssional learning and implementation. Now, with Really Great Reading, she continues to support educators across the country in growing their knowledge and practice in the Science of Reading so that all students have access to an effective teacher.

Sarah Bartley is a professional special education advocate and the parent of child with learning differences who prides herself on building trusting relationships with families and being the voice for the child at the IEP 504 table. Her experience of advocating for her son with dyslexia in the public school fueled her desire to help others find help and support for their child.

Sarah is passionate about empowering parents and collaborating with parents and school districts to improve student outcomes. Using her extensive knowledge of IDEA and Section 504 Sarah helps families navigate the IEP and 504 Plan process.

Sarah graduated from University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She has completed trainings through COPAA, Dyslexia Training Institute, Wrightslaw, and Special Education Academy. She is the Co-Owner, Executive Director, Professional Development Coordinator, and Lead Educational Advocate at Dyslexia St. Louis Learning & Advocacy Center. Sarah speaks to professional groups, school districts, and parent groups on dyslexia and how to effectively support students in the classroom setting.

Maggie is a certified speech language pathologist, a certified Orton Gillingham teacher, and current clinical doctorate student at Kansas University with a primary concentration of dyslexia. She initially worked in the public schools as a speech language pathologist where she witnessed first-hand the devastating toll children with language disorders experience when they cannot read, write, spell, or formulate language with success. These experiences, and her passion for understanding how children learn to read and why it is easier for some children more than others, has led her on a continued journey of advocating, learning, evaluating, and providing therapy for children with spoken and written language disorders. In 2016, she opened up her private practice, Metro East Therapy, Inc., located in Edwardsville, Illinois, where she has continued to promote and advocate for the Science of Reading in the surrounding communities. She frequently provides continuing education to school district staff and often teaches adjunct at local universities to help educate and train speech language pathology students in their role with literacy.

Emily first encountered the word dyslexia teaching in Alabama public schools when a 10th grader informed her of his diagnosis and inability to read. Since then she has been working in private and international settings bringing educational support to students who need it most. In 2016 she saw the power of the Orton-Gillingham Approach for dyslexia when given the opportunity to work at The Greengate School–and she has never looked back. Currently as the Director of the Learning Center at Central Christian School and an associate in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham, she serves as an Orton-Gillingham practitioner and supports Tier 1 and 2 instruction. From this role she networks widely in the St Louis area, desiring to make a difference by ensuring that each year more students have access to literacy instruction supported by the Science of Reading. When she’s not researching best practices and reading textbooks, she can be found pretending to train her adorable Goldendoodle, Shirley, to be a therapy dog.