About Us
The Reading League Minnesota
All students can learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.
Meet The Board
Abbey Payeur
Abbey began her teaching career in middle school and elementary school classrooms in the largest school district in Minnesota. She has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a master’s degree in Literacy Education, a K-12 literacy license, and a Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Minnesota. The question, “How do we reach all readers, including those with dyslexia” guided her graduate studies. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Bethel University and prepares undergraduate future literacy teachers. Abbey is passionate about helping teachers and higher education instructors bring the science of reading into practice in their classrooms.
Sarah Schmidt
Sarah is the Director of Teaching and Learning at Chisago Lakes School District in Chisago City, MN. Sarah received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and spent the first 13 years teaching social studies. A pull toward curriculum development led Sarah to get her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration, Director of Instruction license, Educational Specialist Degree, and Superintendent License. She has spent the last decade primarily leading staff development for teachers around best practices and assessment design and analysis. Four years ago, Sarah started her journey with the science of reading and instantly believed that reading instruction had to change across the district and state. She is a LETRS Facilitator and has trained over 150 teachers locally on LETRS and is overseeing district-wide implementation of the science of reading which includes new master schedules, curriculum, coaching structures, fidelity checks, and assessments. Sarah believes it is the right of every child to learn how to read and write and it is the educational obligation of schools to meet that need.
Barbara Wissink, PhD
Barbara began her career teaching at the elementary level in Stillwater, MN, for 21 years. During that time, she earned her Master’s of Education at St. Thomas and her Doctorate of Education at Hamline University, along with an Advanced Certificate in Literacy from the University of Wollongong and the MN K-12 Reading Endorsement. She began teaching at Concordia University in 2011, where she chairs and teaches in the MAED: Literacy program. Barbara completed LETRS training for higher education faculty in 2023, which deepened her passion for supporting teachers’ understanding of structured literacy through professional development trainings and graduate-level college courses.
Mindy Glazier
Mindy lives in Nisswa with her husband, two teenage sons, and their three cats. She is a teacher and school board treasurer at Crosslake Community School. Mindy currently teaches a kindergarten and 1st-grade multi-age classroom. She has spent most of her time in the early childhood and primary grades but also has experience in various roles in K-12. Mindy’s passion is helping kids find their love for learning especially a love of reading:)
Mindy earned an AS degree in child development in 2000, worked in a daycare center, and did home daycare for several years before returning to school through Western Governors University and finishing a B.A. in elementary education in 2018. Seeing some students struggle to learn to read led her to continue her studies and earn an M.A. in K-12 education with an emphasis in ENVoY classroom management in 2022 from Bethel University. Most recently she earned a Specialist in Educational Leadership Degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2024. It was during her time at Bethel that she was introduced to the science of reading and LETRS which instantly ignited a passion that sent her on a journey to learn as much as possible. Mindy is committed to ensuring all students have the opportunity to learn to read through proper evidence-based instruction not just in her classroom or school but in MN and beyond.
Deb Dwyer
Deb has a Master of Science from Mount St. Joseph University in the Science of Reading, which included LETRS training. She wrote her thesis on Handwriting: a foundational transcription skill. Over 25 years ago, she ventured into a second career when her middle son was still a striving reader in 4th grade and diagnosed as twice exceptional with dyslexia and dysgraphia. This resulted in a deep dig into the research in the pre-internet era. She co-founded Great Expectations School in Grand Marais, MN, which opened for the 2002-03 school year, and served as the Interim Director. For more formal training, she did years of training with Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota (OGMN) in the Orton-Gillingham approach and served as the President of OGMN from 2017 – 2022; she is currently serving as Vice President and is a lead instructor for the Introductory, Intermediate, and Extended Practicum. She is a board member of the International Dyslexia Association – Upper Midwest Branch. She consults with schools for structured literacy training throughout MN with the Minnesota Science of Reading and Writing Group. She has presented at the IDA-UMB annual conference and MN Children’s Mental Health Conference. As the proprietor of Tutoring Duluth, she serves as an individual practitioner and family advocate with students from K-12. She is the administrator of the Facebook Group – “Minnesota’s Science of Reading – What I Should have Learned in College” and the co-administrator of “Science of Reading – 3rd Grade and Beyond.”
Sarah Carlson-Wallrath
Sarah is currently co- chair of The Reading League Minnesota. She has been involved in the Minnesota structured literacy community for more than 10 years. Prior to re-focusing her career toward the disability/literacy community Sarah worked as an attorney in private practice and held staff advocacy positions in the U.S. Senate and Minnesota House of Representatives. Since 2021 she has worked as a private Orton-Gillingham tutor focusing first her son, and now with other students with a variety of disabilities for whom learning to read has been challenging. She has experience working with literacy groups and nonprofits including The Reading Center, Dyslexia/Literacy Coalition, Higher Education Literacy Partnership, and International Dyslexia Association – Upper Midwest Branch. Sarah holds a J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sarah completed structured literacy training through LETRS and Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota. She is an Orton-Gillingham Certified Teacher (OG-CT) through the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC).
Malachi Johnson
Malachi is a 2nd Grade Teacher at Gage Elementary School in Rochester, MN currently in his 20th year of teaching. Malachi earned his bachelor’s degree from Winona State University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He has taught 3rd and 5th Grade, and served as a Reading/Math Support teacher. He has always had a love for reading instruction that began when he first entered teaching. He cites the disparities in his classroom and across the state for his work to help teachers gain access to quality professional development in the Science of Reading and the advantages it can give students.
Susie Willey
Susie has a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Colorado Christian University. She stepped into the space of reading science when her third child struggled to learn to read. Since then, she has invested an incredible amount of time into understanding how the brain learns to read and the type of instruction needed for all students to become proficient readers. Armed with this knowledge, Susie has actively advocated alongside Wayzata Literacy Advocates for evidence-aligned reading instruction within her children’s school district. She works with Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota on legislative advocacy surrounding literacy. Susie is passionate about reframing how reading is taught so a student’s race, socioeconomic status, disability, and/or language spoken at home do not predict a student’s reading outcomes.
Shannon Gossen
Shannon Gossen is a certified educator and currently a Literacy Coach with Compass and the Southwest West Central Service Cooperative in Marshall, Minnesota. She has over 30 years’ experience in education as an elementary teacher, special education teacher, and a title I teacher. Her passion in structured literacy began when she took LETRS with MDE in the fall of 2019 and wanted to share this learning with others and became an MDE LETRS trainer. For the past three years she has trained over 200 area teachers in southwest MN. She loves helping schools and teachers look at their data and to help them implement structured literacy in their schools. She is also a trainer for Early Childhood LETRS and OL&LA, and is trained in Orton Gillingham and CAREIALL. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Special Education, and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction along with a K-12 Reading Licensure. Shannon is married with three daughters.
Carrie Pfeifer
Carrie Pfeifer, Ed.D, serves as the Education Program Director and Professor of Education and Special Education at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN. She is the director of the Bethany Literacy Clinic, which provides free literacy interventions to community children. Dr. Pfeifer provides professional development in literacy statewide and nationally and is a member of the Higher Education Literacy Partnership (HELP) in Minnesota.
Cody Lewis
Cody serves as the District Literacy Lead and Instructional Coach for the ROCORI School District as well as Adjunct Faculty at St. Cloud State University. In these roles he supports practicing and pre-service teachers in implementing structured literacy approaches and making data-based decisions to inform instruction across K-12 settings. Prior to these roles, he served as an elementary reading interventionist and classroom teacher as well as a middle school reading teacher. Cody earned his Doctorate of Education in Educational Administration and Leadership at St. Cloud State University, and holds multiple teaching and administrative licenses including Elementary Education, Reading, Learning Disabilities, Principal, and Superintendent.
Adrianne Lecuyer
Adrianne holds a BA in Elementary Education and French from Concordia College, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Thomas, a Technology Certificate from Hamline University, and a Literacy Certificate from the College of St. Scholastica. Recently trained in LETRS, she joins the board from Moorhead, Minnesota, where she has been teaching in Kindergarten and first grade for the last 9 years. She has 22 years of teaching experience, spanning grades K-9, in both France and the United States, 15 of them in the primary grades. She is married and has 4 children ranging from ages 15 to 21. She also has 3 cats. Her science of reading journey really took off when she had the privilege to take the LETRS course through the state of Minnesota. She loves mentoring student teachers and new teachers, and is currently working to help her district select a new literacy curriculum. She is passionate about advocating for literacy for all learners and bridging the gap between the knowledge and practice for teachers, families, and ultimately students.
Ambassadors: statewide network of literacy leaders
Board of Directors Contact: Shannon Gossen
Chris Belmont – Benton & Stearns County
Shea Bruce – Hennepin County
Kelsey Didrikson – Roseau County
Kara DeVriendt – Crow Wing County
Sara Edgar – Sherburne County
Jessie Forston – Hennepin County
Heather Hanson – Ramsey County
Kevin Hoisington – Stearns County
Judy Livingston – Ramsey County
Nancy Litvack – Hennepin County
Erin Nemetz – Hennepin County
Nicole Pinkerton – Hennepin
Rebecca Steinhorst – Ottertail County
Kristin Thomas – Hennepin County
Karyn Willenbring – Carver County
Shea Bruce – Ramsey County
Heather Hanson – Hennepin County
Reimagine the Future of Reading
Help us bring the science of reading to every educator, parent, and child.