About Us
The Reading League Minnesota
All students can learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.
Meet The Board
Sarah Carlson-Wallrath
Sarah has been involved in the literacy community for almost 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 2015 she has worked for The Reading Center/Dyslexia Institute of Minnesota in Rochester, MN focusing on fund development and marketing. In addition, she has worked as a private Orton-Gillingham tutor focusing on her own son, as well as other students with a variety of disabilities for whom learning to read has been challenging. She serves as a member of the Minnesota Literacy Coalition working on legislative advocacy, with the Minnesota Higher Education Literacy Partnership (HELP), and just completed a five-year term as a board member with the 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 the LETRS program (Units 1-4) and several courses through Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota. She is an Orton-Gillingham Certified Teacher (OG-CT) through the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC).
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.”
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.
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.
Chris Belmont
Chris has been a practicing School Psychologist in Minnesota since 2002 and currently serves students in a k-12 setting. He has Master’s and Specialist degrees in School Psychology from
Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) and carries a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) designation.
Chris first began working with curriculum-based measures as part of reading research conducted through MSUM. He has a minor in Spanish and his research interests involve second-language
acquisition and reading development. Chris’ thesis research focused on the technical adequacies of curriculum-based measures in a Spanish immersion program.
As a practicing School Psychologist, Chris has been instrumental in introducing a framework of screening and progress monitoring to several school districts in his area. He currently oversees and manages this process in his primary school district where it is highly utilized to determine appropriate interventions and effectiveness of those interventions for struggling students. Chris is a leader among his organization in the development and implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and provision of professional development opportunities for general and special educators. Chris is also employed as a national educational consultant with MTSS as a primary area of focus.
Outside of the work environment, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and four children, traveling, and raising corals in his reef aquarium.
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.
Liz Deen
Liz is a certified educator and currently the Director of Teaching and Learning at Southwest West Central Service Cooperative in Marshall, Minnesota. Elizabeth is an experienced educator with a passion for structured literacy and supporting educators to implement evidence based practices to improve student outcomes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Special Education, a Master’s Degree in Education, an Educational Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and additional graduate licensure courses in educational leadership. She has over 25 years’ experience as an educator teaching at all levels of K-12 in both general and special education. She has consulted with many school districts in developing system level change models and using data based decision making to improve both academic and behavioral outcomes. Elizabeth is married with three children, one of whom is a struggling reader. Elizabeth recognized her child’s reading difficulties early and was able to provide explicit instruction to teach phonemic awareness and systematic phonics instruction – which made a huge difference in his early literacy development. She is dedicated to sharing the science of reading and supporting all educators to closing the reading gap.
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.
Erin Gillett
Erin is a Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Minnesota State University Moorhead, where she currently serves as department chair of the School of Teaching and Learning. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Spanish from Concordia College, Moorhead, a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and a Ph.D. in Teacher Education with an emphasis in early literacy from the University of North Dakota. In her 23 years at MSUM, she has taught multiple undergraduate and graduate courses in early literacy, literacy methods, preschool and kindergarten curriculum, and assessment. Erin has completed LETRS and is passionate about preparing her teacher candidates to use practices grounded in the science of reading. She began her career as an elementary teacher, teaching in Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN.
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.
Kelsey Didrikson
Kelsey is an experienced high school English teacher, having completed 15 years in the classroom. She is currently the Learning Resources & Instructional Support Coordinator for the Warroad Public Schools. Kelsey is also involved with her school community beyond the walls of her classroom, serving as co-advisor for student council, coaching basketball, participating on the Professional Development Committee, and she enjoys presenting at PD events and conferences. Her passion for the science of reading has been inspired by her time in the secondary classroom that works to build a reading culture and her own son’s experience with dyslexia. Kelsey’s educational background includes an English Education degree and Masters of Education, both from NDSU – followed by an Educational Leadership degree through Concordia University. Outside of school, Kelsey wears the hats of wife and mom; her and husband Thor have four children, and when there’s rare a moment to catch her breath, Kelsey likes to be found on Lake of the Woods, chasing walleye!
Minda Anderson
Minda received her Bachelor’s of Science degree from St. Cloud State University in elementary education and her Master’s degree from St. Mary’s University in curriculum and instruction. She spent 20 years teaching students in elementary and middle school including first, third, and sixth grades. Minda continued her education at St. Cloud State University and received her K-12 Principal License and Superintendent License and is now the Assistant Superintendent at Big Lake Schools. Minda has completed the LETRS training for teachers and administrators. As a life-long learner, she continuously seeks to grow her knowledge of evidence-based literacy instruction and best practice. Minda agrees 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.
Ambassadors: statewide network of literacy leaders
Board of Directors Contact: Deb Dwyer
Allison Bakkum – Douglas County
Kara DeVriendt – Crow Wing County
Sara Edgar – Sherburne County
Jessie Forston – Hennepin County
Shannon Gossen – Lincoln County
Mindy Glazier – Crow Wing County
Kevin Hoisington – Stearns County
Susan Johnson – Hennepin County
Nancy Litvack – Hennepin County
Judy Livingston – Washington County
Pam Mehlin – Cass County
Erin Nemetz – Hennepin County
Nicole Pinkerton – Hennepin
Lindsey Scanlon – Washington County
Rebecca Steinhorst – Ottertail County
Susan Thomson – Hennepin County
Heather Vaillancourt – McLeod County
Karyn Willenbring – Carver County
Reimagine the Future of Reading
Help us bring the science of reading to every educator, parent, and child.