Member Orgs

The current member organizations of NJCLD are the following:

Interested in Becoming a Member Organization?

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Current NJCLD Representatives

Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA)

Lynne Fitzhugh, Ph.D., CALT-QI, represents the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA).  She has served on the NJCLD since 2019 and currently works on the Public Policy subcommittee. Lynne is the Founder and President of the Colorado Literacy & Learning Center which opened Orton Academy in fall, 2020, a Colorado public school for children with dyslexia. Additionally, she is Director and Lecturer of the Master of Arts in Teaching – Dyslexia Specialist program at Colorado College. Currently, Dr. Fitzhugh is Past-President of the Academic Language Therapy Association and serves on the board of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council. She is a contributor to the Barbara Bush Foundation National Action Plan for Adult Literacy and is a former board member of the International Dyslexia Association. Dr. Fitzhugh was the 2018 recipient of the Council of Learning Disabilities Floyd G. Hudson Outstanding Service Award and the Colorado Council of Learning Disabilities 2018 Professional of the Year Award. Dr. Fitzhugh has a mother’s heart for those with learning disabilities: she has four adult children, three of whom are successful dyslexics, and three grandchildren.

Vicki King M. Ed., CALT, QI is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and a Qualified Instructor representing the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA). She works as the Dyslexia Specialist and Program Advisor for the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Prior to taking the position with DESE, she had a private practice providing dyslexia therapy and dyslexia therapist training for teachers. Vicki has a total of 26 years in education and has held positions as K-12 Special Education Resource Teacher, K-4 Literacy Interventionist, Reading Specialist, Literacy Facilitator, Dyslexia Therapist, and adjunct instructor.  Vicki was the 2017 Arkansas Reading Association Educator of the Year recipient. Vicki lives in Central Arkansas with her husband, Walter (Bronco), and children, Quaid and Aiden.

Joyce S. Pickering, Hum. D., M.A. SLP/CCC, CALT, QI, AMS/EC a 40-year Montessorian, speech and hearing pathologist, and learning disabilities specialist who has devoted her life to addressing the needs of students with learning differences. Joyce is Executive Director Emerita of Shelton School & Evaluation Center in Dallas, Texas, the world’s largest independent school for intelligent children with learning differences. Joyce is the 2013 Living Legacy Recipient for American Montessori Society (AMS) as well as Past President of AMS Board of Directors and an active member of several AMS committees. MACTE (Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) awarded the Wisdom of the Elders award to Joyce in 2015. ALTA (Academic Language Therapy Association) awarded Joyce the 2019 Luke Waites ALTA Award of Service. She is an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University, a clinical assistant professor at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a committee member for accreditation of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC). Joyce travels the world to present classes and keynote speeches about Montessori education and how to meet the needs of learning-different students.  Joyce is married to Dr. Robert Pickering, a former AMS president. She has five children and 13 grandchildren.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

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Rebecca Wiseheart, PhD, CCC-SLP represents the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). She has served on the NJCLD since 2015 and currently leads the Content and Communications Committee. Rebecca is an associate professor and assistant chair in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at St. John’s University. She is a nationally certified speech-language pathologist and serves as CE Content Manager of ASHA’s Perspectives in Language Learning and Education. Her interest in learning disabilities began during her 17 years serving students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities in public schools and clinical practice. Before joining the faculty at St. John’s, she was a clinical supervisor in the Reading Disorders diagnostic clinic at the University of Florida. She teaches courses in assessment, language and literacy, and school-based speech-language pathology practice. Her research focuses on cognitive and linguistic processing in dyslexia. Rebecca has two adult sons and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband.

Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)

Glennis Daniels–Bacchus represents the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). She has been a member of NJCLD from 2016 and is on the Public Policy committee. Glennis is currently the Director of Disability Support Services and the ADA Coordinator for the College of Southern Maryland. She holds a B.A from Fordham University and M.S from Polytechnic/NYU. In her current position, Glennis is responsible for the development of policies and procedure for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amended Act (ADAAA) of 2008. Glennis develops and provides training programs for faculty and staff on the various laws, including the responsibility of post-secondary to adhere to those laws. Glennis developed a collaborative transition team that works to helps students with disabilities and their parents through transition to post-secondary institutions. She also represents Maryland’s post-secondary institutions on the Governor’s Interagency Transition Council (IATC) for youth with disabilities. With over 30 years of experience in the higher education, including services for students with disabilities, auditing DSS programs, processing post-secondary international students with Immigration and Naturalization rules and regulations, and presenting at state and national conferences on a wide variety of topics. Glennis is from Guyana, South America; married, and the parent of a daughter.

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Janet Medina, Psy.D., represents the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). Janet has served on the NJCLD since 2012 and currently works on the Public Policy committee. Janet is Associate Professor of Education Emerita at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD where she taught for 19 years. Originally trained as an anthropologist, she worked as an archaeologist for a few years and taught PreK-12th grade Special education for a number of years in New York state. At the postsecondary level, she worked with college students with disabilities at the time when colleges and universities were first developing postsecondary Disability Support Services (DSS) programs. Her two most recent publications include a chapter in the book, Behavior Management: Positive Applications for Teachers, 7th edition (2016) by Tom Zirpoli entitled: Diversity in the Classroom, and a book published by AHEAD entitled, Interpreting Diagnostic Assessments of Adolescents and Adults with Learning Disabilities, 2nd edition (2017). In her spare time, she likes to read books, hike, travel, quilt, and spin, knit, and weave fiber.

Association of Educational Therapists (AET)

Juli Bowman, M.Ed., ET/P, represents the Association of Educational Therapists (AET), through whom she is credentialed as an Educational Therapist and is a Public Policy committee member. Juli is the Founder and Principal of Prepped Learning, a group educational therapy practice that serves students with complex learning needs through diagnostic assessment, psycho-educational evaluation, structured literacy and multisensory math interventions, executive function coaching, educational therapy, and collaboration with schools and allied professionals. Juli’s career in special education spans over 25 years, with experience in clinical practice, educational consulting, teaching, structured literacy interventions, teacher education, and instructional design. Juli holds degrees in Curriculum and Instruction with an endorsement as a Literacy Specialist from the University of Virginia and in Special Education with a concentration in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Indiana University. She is the recipient of the Gail Grimshaw Award for Excellence in the Field of Special Education.

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Kaye Ragland, Ed.D, LMFT, BCET represents the Association of Educational Therapists (AET). Kaye has served on the NJCLD since 2016 and currently leads the Public Policy Committee. Kaye is an AET board certified educational therapist in private practice. Over the course of her 50 year career, she has been a teaching assistant, classroom and RSP teacher, school counselor, principal, director of special education and university  instructor. She holds an MA in Marriage, Child, Family Counseling, and Ed.D in educational Leadership and Change. She has an Education Specialist Credential, a Marriage and Family Therapist license. Kaye is Immediate Past President of the Board of the Association of Educational Therapists and serves as Chairperson of their Public Policy Subcommittee. Her greatest SPED credential is her role as parent of two children with learning disabilities.

Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD)

Debi Gartland represents the Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD). She has served on the NJCLD since 1993 and currently works on the Communications and Public Policy subcommittees.  She has a Ph.D. from Penn State and has worked as a Special Education teacher and Assistant Principal. Debi is Professor of Special Education at Towson University (Maryland) and coordinates the Elementary Education-Special Education (EESE) Professional Development School program, working with EESE undergraduates in Howard County Public Schools in their senior internship year. In addition to dual-certification teacher preparation, her scholarship interests include advocacy and national policy, especially in the field of Learning Disabilities. Debi hails from Newton, MA, but currently lives in Maryland with her husband and nearby their two daughters.

Roberta Strosnider, Ed.D., Professor Emerita of Special Education, Towson University, represents the Council for Learning Disabilities on NJCLD and has been in the field of Education for fifty years. She has had the opportunity to work with many students of all ages and stages of learning. Her most recent work has been in advocacy for students with learning disabilities and training teachers to provide executive function skill training to their students. She co-founded and directed Project Boost to enhance students’ executive function skills. Currently, she serves as co-director of the Institute on Executive Functioning. Her publications include two books she co-authored, The Executive Function Guidebook: Strategies to Help All Students Achieve Success and Everyday Executive Function Strategies: Improve Student Engagement, Self-Regulation, Behavior and Learning. Roberta’s high school, undergraduate college, and the Council for Learning Disabilities are among those who have recognized her for outstanding contributions to special education.  Roberta and her husband are from West Virginia but after several corporate moves now call Florida home.  

Division for Communication, Language, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DCD), Council for Exceptional Children

Diane Paul, PhD, CCC-SLP, CAE, represents the Council for Exceptional Children/Division for Communication, Language, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing and has served since 2001. She is currently the Director of Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology for the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association (ASHA), in Rockville, Maryland. Dr. Paul, an ASHA Fellow, has worked for ASHA for 31 years and provides professional consultation,
develops education programs, and creates practice resources. She is the co-author of the ASHA Functional Assessment of Communication Skills for Adults, Quality of Communication Life Scale, Talking on the Go, and RTI in Action. She serves as ex officio to the Joint Committee for Interprofessional Relations Between the American Psychological Association and ASHA, the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities, and ASHA’s Special Interest Group 4, Fluency and Fluency Disorders.

Froma P. Roth Ph.D., CCC-SLP represents the Division for Communicative Disabilities and Deafness (DCDD) and currently works on the Public Policy Committee. Froma is Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland at College Park and an ASHA Fellow. She studies children with and without language and learning disabilities, the variety of communication, linguistic and environmental factors that place children at-risk for language disorders and school failure, and the translation of research findings to evidenced-based instructional practices. She is the co-author of the Treatment Resource Manual for Speech-Language Pathology (5th edition) and PASS (Promoting Awareness of Sounds in Speech), a research-supported phonological awareness program for preschool/primary school settings. Her numerous publications and presentations emphasize issues related to the assessment and treatment of language and literacy problems from preschool through adolescence.

Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD), Council for Exceptional Children

Miriam Ortiz represents the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD). Dr. Ortiz obtained her Ph.D. in Education and Human Development from Southern Methodist University in 2017 with a focus on Special Education and Response to Intervention. Prior to completing her Ph.D. she worked in Tallahassee, Florida as a K-12 teacher for students with behavior and emotional disabilities.  She has worked closely with researchers across the country to improve the reading skills and academic achievement of struggling students and students with disabilities. She has taught courses and delivered professional development on the topics of Early Literacy, Behavior Management and Intervention, Assessment, Program Evaluation, and Special Education. Dr. Ortiz is currently the CEO and Chief Consultant at K12 Matters LLC where she helps organizations apply evidence-based practices in education. She also serves as the part-time Executive Director for the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Ortiz is passionate about improving academic outcomes for children with or at-risk for disabilities, teacher training and professional development, as well as assisting struggling readers of all ages.  She has co-authored several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on the topic of reading instruction for students with varying disabilities. 

International Dyslexia Association (IDA)

Elsa Cardenas Hagan, President Valley Speech Language and Learning Center, Brownsville, Texas. Elsa currently serves as the Chairperson of the NJCLD and Vice-Chairperson of the International Dyslexia Association.

Elsa’s interests include the diagnosis and treatment of English learners with language and learning disabilities. On April 27th, 2018 Elsa received the Dr. Lucias Waites Award for Service to Individuals with Dyslexia from the Academic  Language Therapy Association.

Dr. Eric Tridas

Eric Tridas practiced developmental and behavioral pediatrics in the Tampa Bay Area for 37 years. He is founder and Senior Partner of The Tridas Group, a developmental pediatrics consulting and software company. Dr. Tridas is an IDA representative at the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Learning Disability Association of America, and Past President of the International Dyslexia Association.  He is also the State Medical Director for Pediatric Health Choice for Florida-Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Facilities (PPEC). He is a retired Clinical Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine. Dr. Tridas is the recipient of the 2017 International Dyslexia Association Margaret Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the International Dyslexia Association Sylvia Richardson Hall of Fame. He also received the 2012 IMSLEC Innovator Award.  Dr. Tridas is coauthor of the Learning Disability Chapter in the upcoming edition of the Textbook of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.  He also edited and co-authored From ABC to ADHD: What Every Parent Should Know About Dyslexia and Attention Problems.  Dr, Tridas lectures and consults nationally and internationally on behavioral and developmental pediatrics topics.

Nancy Cushen White, EdD, represents The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) on the NJCLD (2003-2012; 2015 to present) and currently serves on the Public Policy and Symposium subcommittees. Nancy is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics-Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine-University of CA-San Francisco and a member of the UCSF Dyslexia Research Team. She has 40+ years in public schools as classroom teacher and special education teacher with San Francisco Unified School District. She piloted a special day class for 2e students diagnosed with dyslexia and intellectually gifted; has been working as a Literacy Intervention Consultant and Case Manager for Lexicon Reading Center in Dubai—United Arab Emirates since 2010; and has taught literacy skills classes to young adults (ages 19-24) in the Pre-Trial Diversion Project through the Mentor Court Division of San Francisco Superior Court. Currently, she is editor of the Examiner, IDA’s on-line newsletter. Her most recent publication will be (August 2018) Farrell, ML & White, NC. (in press) Structured Literacy Instruction, in Birsh, J and Carreker, S, Ed. Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills (4th  edition), Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Nancy lives in San Francisco with her husband Bebo and is the humble mother of two adult sons, aged 36 and 40; she has two grandsons, 6 years old and 3 years old.

Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA)

JoAnna J. Barnes, J.D., represents the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA). She has served on the NJCLD since 2015 and is the current NJCLD Treasurer.  JoAnna holds a B.A. and J.D. from Georgetown University and is a member of the Maryland and D.C. Bars. JoAnna is President of the Learning Disabilities Association of North Carolina; she also served from 2014 to 2022 on the LDA of America Board of Directors.  She practiced law from 1986 to 1999 in Maryland and D.C.; her practice primarily focused on affordable housing finance and federal housing programs. Since 1999, JoAnna has focused her legal skills and energies on community service and in the last two decades has been active advocating on issues impacting those with learning disabilities. JoAnna lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is the parent of two adult children (ages 28 and 25) with learning disabilities who were each identified in early grade school and who are both now college graduates.

Monica McHale-Small, Ph.D. represents the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA). She has served on the NJCLD since 2017 and currently works on the Public Policy and Symposium subcommittees. Monica is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Temple University. Having retired from public education after twenty-seven years of service in Pennsylvania. Monica started her career as a school psychologist and later moved into administration. She earned her doctorate and masters degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education. An advocate for translating research into action, she served on the advisory committee for Pennsylvania’s Dyslexia Screening and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot. Monica advocates for responsible inclusion and equity for historically underserved students including racially, culturally and linguistically diverse learners and students with disabilities. She co-founded the Greater Lehigh Valley Consortium for Equity and Excellence and she currently consults with the ACLU of PA on School to Prison Pipeline issues. Monica has served on the Board of Directors of the Learning Disabilities Association, the International Dyslexia Association, and the National Association of Pupil Services Administrators. Monica serves her own community as a board member and volunteer advocate for Coatesville Citizens Who Seek Educational Equality. Most importantly, Monica is parent to four successful adult children who navigated their own learning challenges.

Arlene Stewart, Ed.D. has been a representative for the Learning Disabilities Association of America since 2016. She has worked with students with learning and attention issues for over 40 years in a variety of roles including public school teacher, college service provider for students with LD and/or ADHD, transition trainer and service provider, NC Vocational Rehabilitation Transition Specialist and as a vocational training program director. She is particularly interested in transition planning and implementation and all issues affecting young people planning for or currently involved in higher education or work. She wrote the Post-Secondary Learning Disabilities Primer for college faculty and administrators. Arlene most recently served as the Director of Student Disability Services at Clemson University. She is a frequent presenter at state, regional, and national conferences, and is Co-Program Chair for the LDA 2019 conference, an LDA North Carolina Board member, and a past LDA state president. In addition, she is a member of the editorial board of the Non-Partisan Education Review. In addition to her professional experience, Arlene has the personal experience of parenting two bright, challenging young men with learning and attention issues.

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

Sheila Desai, Ph.D., NCSP represents the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). She has served on NJCLD since 2017 and works on the Public Policy Committee. Sheila is Director of Educational Practice at NASP.  She has been in the field of school psychology for 10 years engaging in practice, teaching, and research. Seven of those years, she served children with disabilities in public school and clinical day treatment settings. Prior to receiving her doctorate, she worked as a school psychologist in Boston Public Schools for 4 years. Her dissertation research focused on supervision and the supervisory relationship. During her predoctoral and postdoctoral training, she was a member of the Psychological and Behavioral Consultation department at EASTCONN, in Northeastern Connecticut, where she provided school psychological and behavioral consultation services in clinical day treatment and public school settings. On a personal note, this past year was one of many milestones – she got married, moved from Massachusetts to Maryland, started my job at NASP and had their first child!

Catherine Perkins, Ph.D. represents National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). She has served on NJCLD since 2018 and is currently the secretary for NJCLD. Catherine is the Coordinator of the Educational Specialist Program in School Psychology at Georgia State University and a research fellow with the Center for Research on School Safety, School Climate, and Classroom Management. She has been a practicing school psychologist in the state of Georgia for over 25 years. She has worked in the public school setting as a paraprofessional, a school psychologist and later as an administrator. Dr. Perkins is a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Georgia and affiliated with the International School Psychology Association (ISPA), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the Georgia Association of School Psychologists, for whom she served as President in 2010. She currently represents the state of Georgia as an elected delegate to the NASP Leadership Assembly. Dr. Perkins received her doctorate from Georgia State University with a concentration in School Psychology. Areas of specialization include developmental neuropsychology, biopsychology, and social-emotional development of children and adolescents. Additionally, Dr. Perkins is interested in preparing school psychologists to meet the demands of a diverse society. Dr. Perkins has recently participated in a research project sponsored by the International School Psychology Association that focuses on promoting psychological well-being of children and youth globally. Her research explored conceptions of Mental Health for Youth in Mexico. Other research interests include the prevention and intervention of bullying in schools as well as the prevention of commercial sexual exploitation of youth.

National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)

Lindsay Kubatzky is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). Lindsay conducts research and produces various written products related to the many current federal and state policy challenges and opportunities facing the 1 in 5 children who have learning and attention issues. Lindsay first joined NCLD as a Policy Research Associate and then as the Policy Manager. Prior to joining NCLD, Lindsay was the Government Affairs Coordinator for the National PTA. There, he supported the National PTA’s public policy agenda and grassroots advocacy efforts to support public schools. Before that, he was a Legislative Aide in the Texas Legislature where he worked on a wide range of issues including education, economic development, government transparency and unemployment. Lindsay holds a B.A. in government from the University of Texas at Austin and an Ed.M from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is active in the DC Texas Exes Alumni Association and a mentor to eighth graders in the Washington, DC area through the Higher Achievement after-school program.

The Reading League

Maria S. Murray, PhD, is CEO and President of The Reading League. Prior to founding The Reading League, Dr. Murray was an associate professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, where she taught courses related to literacy assessment and intervention for ten years. She received her Ph.D. in Reading Education from Syracuse University, where she served as project coordinator for Dr. Benita Blachman’s numerous federally-funded early reading intervention grants. Dr. Murray is passionate regarding the prevention and remediation of reading difficulty, and consistently strives to increase educator knowledge and the connections between research and practice.

Michelle S Storie, Ph.D., is a New York State licensed psychologist and permanently-certified school psychologist.  She is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling and Psychological Services Department at the State University of New York at Oswego and is Coordinator of the School Psychology Program.  Dr. Storie has also served as Director and Coordinator of the Syracuse University Psychoeducational Teaching Laboratory since 2000.  She has eighteen years of experience as a school psychologist, and has worked in urban, suburban, and rural school districts.  Dr. Storie is Conference Chairperson of The Reading League, former Treasurer of The Reading League, and is one of its founding board members.  She is also a member of the National Association of School Psychologists and was a former Treasurer and Conference Chairperson for the New York Association of School Psychologists.  Dr. Storie runs a part-time private practice, where she specializes in assessment of dyslexia, anxiety, and ADHD in children, adolescents, and college students.  She earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Syracuse University in 2001, and has continued to adjunct at Syracuse University since that time.  Dr. Storie’s research interests include dyslexia screenings, evidence-based practices for assessment and intervention of reading deficits, educator knowledge of effective reading practices, and impact of professional development aligned with Science of Reading on student outcomes.

Jessica Pasik is a Professional Development Coordinator with The Reading League. She is a licensed New York state reading specialist with a Masters of Science in Literacy Education. Jessica is also an adjunct professor at SUNY Oswego in the Curriculum and Instruction department. Prior to her work with The Reading League, Jessica was employed by the Fulton City School District where she was a special education teacher and later an academic intervention services provider. Jessica was a founding board member of The Reading League and is passionate about empowering teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver evidence-aligned reading instruction.