Board of Directors

E. Judith Cohen
President

Dr. E. Judith Cohen is the Director of Clinical Experiences and teaches literacy courses in the Special Education Program in the School of Education and Human Development, at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, Florida. Previously, she was a classroom teacher and clinician at the McGlannan School for 20+ years, where she taught students with learning disabilities, dyslexia, and related language and reading disabilities. She is an accomplished author and has presented at numerous conferences and professional development workshops, both locally and nationally. Her research focuses on research-based strategies that promote student growth in language and literacy, particularly for students with dyslexia. Selected Publications:

• Cohen, E. J., & Brady, M. P. (2011). Acquisition and generalization of word decoding in students with reading disabilities using vowel pattern analysis and children’s literature. Education and Treatment of Children, 34, (1), 81-113.
• Cheyney, W.J., & Cohen, E. J. (2007). The Wright Skills Program: Grades PreK – 3. Chicago, IL:  Wright Group / McGraw-Hill.
• Cohen, E. J. (2002). Fast Track Reading, Phonics Component. Chicago, IL:  Wright Group / McGraw-Hill.
• Cheyney, W. J., & Cohen, E. J. (1999). Focus on phonics: Assessment and instruction. Bothell, WA: The Wright Group.

Mandy Horton Walker
President-Elect

Mandy Horton Walker has taught students from kindergarten through adulthood in a variety of settings in Florida. She is passionate about her calling to serve reading strategies to learners, parents, and colleagues. She believes that every age and every stage of learning is the best. She describes students who struggle with reading as learners with dynamic learning profiles and great gifts.

In addition to earning a M.Ed., ESE-VE and several areas of certification and endorsement, Mandy has earned the Wilson Language System Level II and WDT Certificates, the University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning Strategic Instruction Model Learning Strategies and Content Enhancement Routine Professional Developer (KU-CRL: SIM LS & CER) Certificates, and the Certified Dyslexia Therapist credentialed by the International Dyslexia Association (CDT-IDA).

On a personal note, Mandy, who has two grown children, and her husband, Reed, are delighted with beloved grandchildren who bring joy and excitement to everyone. Mandy also enjoys reading, sewing, gardening, floral arts, walking, and visiting with family and friends.

Stacey Roselli
Vice President

Lida Grillo
Treasurer

Lida Grillo is the Elementary Coordinator for Exceptional Student Education (ESE) with Volusia County Schools. She has dedicated 27 years to public education to support students with disabilities and our most fragile learners.

During her tenure as ESE Coordinator, she developed a tiered system of supports for students with dyslexia. She facilitated district wide implementation of Wilson Reading System at the elementary level so that all 46 schools have at least 2 trained teachers. She also created a coaching plan, set up 2 demonstration sites, and provided follow up training with a venue for teacher collaboration.

Lida also designs the district’s ESE professional learning plan for over 150 ESE teachers who are working with students in the general education setting. She included the work of Dr. David Kilpatrick and his book, Equipped for Reading Success.

Lida worked with the district MTSS ELA Committee to implement Dr. David Kilpatrick’s Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST) to all kindergarten and first grade students as part of the universal screening process and diagnostic tool for all students with reading disabilities in grades K-5. She assisted the committee with providing teachers with recommended resources to provide intervention to students in need based on the PAST. She also provided training to reading intervention teachers on the importance of phonemic awareness instruction and the relationship between advanced phonemic awareness skills and automatic word reading.

Since the inception of proposed dyslexia legislation, Lida has provided professional learning to various groups across her school district including ESE teachers, general education teachers, reading coaches, district staff, administrators, community members, and parents on understanding the characteristics of dyslexia and ways to support these students. She worked collaboratively with her staff and a state discretionary project to offer training at every elementary school on assistive technology for accessible educational materials. She continues to guide teachers and families with strategies, programs, and supports to assist students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties.

Prior to becoming an ESE Coordinator, Lida was an ESE Program Specialist and provided technical assistance, professional learning, and support to school- based staff and families for supporting students with disabilities. In addition, she collaborated with the district intervention coordinator to create and deliver ongoing training to reading intervention teachers.

Lida had various roles while teaching at the elementary school level.  She was a Reading First literacy coach, reading intervention teacher, and taught students with disabilities grades pre-k through 5. While serving as a literacy coach and intervention teacher, the school was recognized by the Florida Department of Education and Florida Center for Reading Research for significantly increasing reading achievement data.

During her leisure time, she enjoys being outside with her husband, dogs, and cats. She loves listening to the birds, observing wildlife, walking, and hiking. Her favorite vacationing spots include the mountains near Asheville, NC and Bar Harbor, MN. Lida believes that laughter is the best medicine and prefers comedic relief from the everyday stressors of life.

Melissa Romero
Secretary

Melissa Romero is an ESE support teacher for the school district of Palm Beach County. She received her Masters in Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. She is certified in Florida K-6 General Education, Varying Exceptionalities K-21 years and holds her Reading Endorsement. She is a clinical educator and has trained many student teachers who now work in the county supporting students with disabilities. Melissa has trained and presented to colleagues in structured literacy, multi-sensory strategies and dyslexia. Melissa is on the ESE Advisory Council at Lynn University and has been a guest speaker to graduate students in the College of Education on how to write effective IEP goals and use multi-sensory strategies to support student learning. She is a Dyslexia Practitioner through Wilson Intensive Reading and is currently seeking her level two certification as a Dyslexia Therapist. Melissa was named one of Boca Raton’s Rotary Club Teacher of the Year recipients in 2016. Melissa joined the IDA-FL hoping to make an impact with her students, colleagues and the local community. 

Sandi Soper
Executive Board

Sandi Soper, recipient of the Sylvia Richardson Award, received her M.S.E. in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin. Her work included serving as a Specific Learning Disabilities Program Specialist for the School Board of Sarasota County, Florida, and as an adjunct professor of Special Education at the University of South Florida where she taught Clinical Education, Assessment, Foundations, and Perspectives in Learning and Behavior Disorders courses.

Sandi is a National Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) Professional Developer for the University of Kansas-Center for Research on Learning, and she serves on the State of Florida SIM Advisory Committee.

Sandi has served as the Vice President of the International Dyslexia Association, as well as the President of the Florida Branch of the IDA.  She has chaired numerous IDA and IDA-FL committees and has served on the Executive Committee of the IDA Branch Council.

Currently, Sandi serves as a private educational consultant for Strategic Consulting SS, LLC, in Sarasota.

Amy Diaz
Director

Amy Diaz has devoted her professional career to appropriately educating students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. She received her Bachelor of Science in Special Education with a focus on specific learning disabilities and Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida International University.

Since 1998, she has worked at McGlannan School, a specialized, research-based school which utilizes a structured, multisensory approach to remediate academics adversely impacted by dyslexia and related language-based learning challenges. Throughout the years, she has had many roles at McGlannan including classroom teacher, reading clinician, Assistant Director of the Reading Clinic, and Division Director. Currently, Amy is the Director of Admissions where she enjoys working with prospective families throughout the enrollment process.

It is Amy’s hope that through IDA-FL she can make a greater impact on dyslexia awareness and education in Florida and beyond.

Caitlin Hymans
Director

Caitlin Hymans is a fervent educator who is also an avid writer, literary editor, and content creator. Caitlin developed a passion for structured literacy education while teaching within the grade school classroom. While teaching lower and higher education courses, she realized that students still struggled with reading despite the advanced English level. In pursuit of closing the reading gap, Caitlin joined The Reading Village, LLC. to further her teaching experience as a structured literacy educator.

Caitlin’s love of structured literacy stems from her literature education. She received her Master of Arts in English and Children’s Literature from Kansas State University and her Bachelor of Arts in English and Classical Studies from the University of Florida. Caitlin hopes to continue to use her knowledge and structured literacy training to generate a more comprehensive understanding of how to create children’s literature novels and academic writing support for neurodivergent thinkers.

Sharon Israel
Director

Dr. Sharon Israel is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist in Miami. She is the Training and Education Manager for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Office of Employee Support and Community Assistance, and a Team Lead and Field Chaplain for the Peer Support and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program. Dr. Israel teaches Assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention (International Critical Incident Stress Foundation) and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (LivingWorks Education). Her work in post-traumatic stress informs her work in the area of dyslexia and reading instruction since we know that, without proper instruction and understanding, struggling readers suffer daily trauma in the classroom, leading to life-long anxiety. Dr. Israel holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a Master of Public Administration (MPA). She is a Florida Certified Elementary Education Teacher and holds a Florida Reading Endorsement. She is a member of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) at the Associate level and is an IDA Certified Structured Literacy/Dyslexia Interventionist. Her other professional memberships include the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Dr. Israel is a Steering Committee Member for Decoding Dyslexia – Florida Branch and is incredibly pleased to now serve on IDA-Florida’s Board of Directors. She focuses her efforts on advocacy at both the local district level and the state level.

Christa Kennard
Director

Christa Kennard completed her Bachelor of Arts in Special Education and her Master of Arts in Special Education at the University of Florida. Through a subsequent University of Florida Lastinger Center Teacher Leader Fellowship, she participated on a team of 40 teachers from across the state of Florida that worked to develop action research projects focused on improving the quality of standards-based classroom teaching which was presented at the International Teacher Leadership Conference in Miami, FL. She holds multiple endorsements in English as a Second Language, Prekindergarten Disabilities, Reading, and is a Clinical Educator. She is cross-trained in in multiple programs including Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing, UFLI Foundations, IMSE, and S.P.I.R.E. 

Christa has taught in a variety of school settings and served in a variety of roles serving students with diverse strengths and needs. In her present role as the ESE Program Specialist for students with intellectual disabilities, Christa is also an in-district certified trainer for the S.P.I.R.E. curriculum. She provides professional development to educators across Martin County. Christa is dedicated to participating in helping more children achieve literacy while also focusing on  educating the community on the benefits of the structured literacy approach to teaching reading.  

Christa enjoys vacationing with her family, visiting with friends, and enjoying our lovely South Florida lifestyle.  

Lauren Kile
Director

Lauren Kile earned her B.S. in Early Childhood and Special Education from Messiah College in 2014. She began her teaching career and quickly realized that she needed to learn more about the science of reading to be able to help her struggling readers. In 2018, she completed her coursework and practicum through Mayerson Academy (an IDA certified program) and earned her Practitioner Level Certification in Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Structured Reading. Lauren is an ESE Support Facilitator in Martin County, Florida and tutors privately in the evenings. Additionally, Lauren is a trainer for the S.P.I.R.E. curriculum and has her CERI (Center for Effective Reading Instruction) certification as a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist. Lauren is extremely passionate about making explicit, structured, multisensory language instruction available to all students so that EVERYONE can learn to read!

Frank McKeown
Director

Frank McKeown is passionate about helping children with dyslexia and their families. He earned a B.A. from Florida State University in English, an M.A. from Carnegie Mellon University in English, and an M.A. from American University in anthropology, with an emphasis in linguistics. He is a member of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators at the Associate level. In addition to private tutoring, Frank has served as the director of two privately owned learning centers, and a non-profit learning center for children with learning differences and developmental delays in Palm Beach Gardens.

Through his private practice in Tallahassee, he provides reading, writing and mathematics instruction to students with learning differences. In July 2016, Frank became the founding Director of the newly opened Center for Learning at Maclay School, a private, independent college preparatory school in Tallahassee which is committed to meeting the needs of all learners. The Center provides classroom supports, a separate skills-based program, tutorial instruction, consultation with parents and classroom teachers, review of records or assessments, and coordination with other service providers.

When he is not working, Frank enjoys gardening and vacationing with his family.

Alissa Plaisance
Director

Alissa Plaisance is the Director of The Bridge and Student Support at The Christ School in Orlando, Florida. The Bridge is a school within a school for students with dyslexia. It is the only OGA Accredited Instructional Program in the state of Florida and one of nineteen in the United States. Alissa earned a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Exceptional Education from University of Central Florida. She has been trained through the Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA) and oversees The Bridge and Student Support Center. Before her time in administration, Alissa worked in a variety of educational settings over the past 20 years serving as both a classroom teacher, district level instructional support and assistive technology specialist in Central Florida. 

Maria Tsalikis
Director

Dr. Maria Tsalikis has been serving students for 25 years. Dr. Tsalikis began her career as a teacher with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. As a public school teacher, Dr. Tsalikis taught a variety of grade levels ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade and worked with struggling readers and students with special needs. As Senior Instructor in higher education, Dr. Tsalikis has developed and taught graduate and undergraduate literacy courses in varying modalities. She currently serves as the Elementary Education Program Director, the MSCI-Elementary Education Strand Faculty Lead, and a fellow for the Provost’s Hybrid Initiative at Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

Dr. Tsalikis’ background is in curriculum and instruction, with a focus in literacy education and special education; her interests include research in the areas of language and early literacy development. She has presented at state and national conferences in the areas of literacy and teacher preparation, she has also collaborated on several grants. Dr. Tsalikis is involved with the community through her leadership with projects at local public schools that focus on teacher preparation programs, teaching academies, teacher professional development, and more recently, with efforts bridging the achievement gap for struggling readers and students with dyslexia.

Krystle has taught in various school settings in public and private as well as served in General Education, Title 1, Special Education, and Gifted programs.  She also served as a consultant for special education services while living in Cozumel, Mexico.  She says that amongst all her teaching experiences, being able to provide students the ability to read has been her greatest contribution and most rewarding endeavor. After finding much success while working with students using a multisensory, structured literacy learning approach to reading, Krystle continues to build her knowledge and expertise through attaining Dyslexia Certification through the University of Florida Literacy Institute.

Deana West
Director

Deana West, M.S.Ed. is a doctoral student in Special Education at the University of Florida, based in the University of Florida’s Literacy Institute (UFLI). Previously, she was a teacher of students with language-based learning differences in Pennsylvania and New York. Her primary research interests include teacher preparation in foundational literacy skills and reading interventions for students with dyslexia. She holds advanced training from the Children’s Dyslexia Centers and ALTA certification at the CALP level. 

Advisory Council

Katie Cashette
Advisor

Katie Cashette was first trained in Orton-Gillingham by Orton Academy Fellow, Diana Hanbury King in 1997. She taught and tutored at one of the America’s first OG based schools for dyslexic students, The Kildonan School in New York. After two years there, she earned a Master’s in Cognitive Science in Education from Columbia University-Teachers College. In 2007, she was founding faculty at Joyce Bilgrav’s third OG-based school, the Liberty School in Durango, CO, where she tutored and helped design the interdisciplinary curricular program for twice-exceptional students, the Film program, and the Outdoor Pursuits program.

Currently, Katie is the Head of School at The Bilgrav School in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is excited to coalesce the schools’ most effective elements: 1) a 4-pronged approach to literacy remediation, including daily, 1:1 OG tutoring, an independent reinforcement period for lessons learned during each day’s tutoring, and a Language Arts class designed specifically for dyslexic learners, 2) a teaching staff deeply knowledgeable about dyslexic learners, 3) a curriculum that is naturally S.T.E.A.M. with a focus on Arts integration, and 4) an exceptional school culture yielding kind, confident, capable students. Helping dyslexic children unlock their potential is a vocation for her, and she is grateful to have been able to help found another OG-based school for dyslexic students.

Karen K. Cole
Advisor

The Honorable Karen K. Cole has always been solution oriented. Early in her 27-year tenure as a judge for Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit, she brought legal, education and municipal leaders together to look at ways to address illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. The delegation visited Pueblo, Colo., and San Diego, Calif., to observe successful juvenile literacy initiatives. The effort inspired a documentary, “Reading Minds,” that won a prestigious Peabody Award. The unique community collaboration was but one example of Karen’s ability to bring people together to solve problems.

The “opportunity to apply legal and equitable concepts to the art of judicial decision-making” drew her from her successful private practice to the bench. Now, as a full-time dispute resolution professional, she devotes herself to helping parties make the best possible decisions for themselves.

Kelly Farquharson
Advisor

Dr. Kelly Farquharson is a speech-language pathologist, associate professor, and director of the Children’s Literacy and Speech Sound (CLaSS) lab at Florida State University. She studies the cognitive, linguistic, orthographic, and environmental factors that influence how children with speech and language disorders acquire literacy skills. One line of work has examined how working memory, language, and orthography may influence children’s abilities to learn new words, read, and achieve age-appropriate speech production. A related line of work has examined how speech therapy-level variables, such as SLPs’ stress, therapy quality, and IEP goals, may affect the outcomes seen in children with speech and language impairments. As a former school-based SLP, she is interested in determining how these lines of work can be used to create better assessments and treatments for SLPs to use in serving this population of children. Her research is published in the American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, Journal of Communication Disorders, Frontiers in Educational Psychology, Seminars in Speech and Language, Evidence-Based Practice Briefs,and Perspectives in School-Based Issues.

Holly Lane
Advisor

Dr. Holly Lane is an associate professor of special education and director of the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies. She also coordinates the doctoral program in special education and directs the University of Florida Literacy Initiative. Her research focuses on literacy intervention and prevention of reading difficulties through effective early literacy instruction and teacher education. She has conducted studies of tutoring interventions, increasing access to books in the homes of children from low-income families, and teacher knowledge of literacy. She has worked on projects to study reading intervention in juvenile correctional facilities and to develop professional development materials for teachers. Dr. Lane has also been the principal investigator of two doctoral training projects focused on preparing scholars in literacy intervention research.

Milaura Spelman
Advisor

Milaura Spelman is a speech/language pathologist and a reading specialist, with a private practice focusing on children and adolescents in the Orlando, Florida area. Ms. Spelman is nationally certified through ASHA and holds Florida licensure in Speech/Language Pathology.  She is also an instructor at the University of Central Florida, in both the Early Childhood and Development program and the Communication Disorders program. Ms. Spelman is a certified WILSON reading instructor, but also uses various instructional methodologies in working with language/literacy impaired children to help them succeed. In her practice, Ms. Spelman provides comprehensive language/literacy evaluations and 1:1 language and educational therapy for children and adolescents.

Ms. Spelman attended undergraduate studies at the University of Central Florida, and received her Master’s Degree in Communication Disorders at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has been a practicing speech/language pathologist for 25 years, and a reading specialist for over 15 years. Ms. Spelman counts herself lucky to have worked with children in various settings, all with various needs. Ms. Spelman previously provided services within several public school programs in Florida, including self-contained programs for children with learning and language based impairment. She also provided services within a specialized pilot program in Hawaii, focusing on the needs of children with autism and significant learning disabilities. Ms. Spelman was previously the supervisor and instructor for the Social Bridges Social Skills program, which focuses on children with social pragmatic difficulties. Ms. Spelman has worked in both private and public educational settings, within varied private settings, and within rehabilitation and hospital networks.

Ms. Spelman presents at national and local conferences, in regards to children with language/literacy based impairments and how to implement effective therapy practices when working with those children. She also provides seminars and workshops to public and private schools, community groups, and parent organizations. Workshop topics include dyslexia and reading/spelling disability, dyslexia and dysgraphia simulation activities, language processing and expression disorders, and early childhood speech and language development.

Eric Tridas
Advisor

Dr. Eric Tridas is the Medical Director of the Tridas Center for Child Development and the State Medical Director for Pediatric Health Choice-Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Facilities (PPEC). He is a Developmental Pediatrician who specializes in the diagnosis and management of neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD, learning differences, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities and other developmental and behavioral problems.

He is Clinical Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, a member of the National Joint Committee on Learning disabilities (NJCLD) and Immediate Past President of the International Dyslexia Association. Dr. Tridas is also Dr. Tridas is a founder and partner of Tridas, LLC, a software company that developed the Tridas eWriter, an application for web based structured interviews of caregivers and teachers that generates a customized evaluation report and provides hundreds of specific recommendations.

Dr. Tridas has resided in the Tampa Bay area since 1982. He completed his fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics with emphasis on Developmental Disabilities at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston. During that time he held an appointment as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. Dr. Tridas completed his residency in Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.  He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine in 1977.

Dr. Tridas lectures nationally and internationally on topics such as dyslexia, learning disorders, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, executive functions and other behavioral and developmental pediatrics related subjects. Dr. Tridas edited a book for parents titled From ABC to ADHD: What Every Parent Should Know About Dyslexia and Attention Problems.