Staff & Contributors
Publisher
Jane B. Ross, MS, is the founder and Executive Director of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, a former publishing executive, and the parent of a young adult with learning disabilities.
Editorial Director
Louise Ackerman, MPH, CHES. In addition to her work as a publishing executive here at Smart Kids, she is also an adjunct professor of public health, and the parent of a young adult with LD.
Parent Support Manager
Bonnie Rotelli is a former Fairfield Board of Education and RTM member, has served on the Fairfield SEPTA Executive Board for 8 years, has a background in administration, and is the parent of a child with LD.
Smart Kids with LD Program & Event Manager
Christine Kurpiel, MA, is a former adjunct professor who served on the Westport PTA as President & Executive Board Member for 14 years, and has been the Westport Troop 36 Committee Chair and member for the past 7 years. She is an operations consultant and the proud parent of an Eagle Scout with LD.
Countdown to Kindergarten Program Manager
Kristen Hoyt, MAT/MHA, is a former elementary-school educator and corporate health-care planner, who currently serves as the Secretary of the Norwalk League of Women Voters in addition to volunteering as a reading tutor and neighborhood historian.
Contributing Editors
Eve Kessler, Esq, is president and co-founder of SPED*NET Wilton (CT) and a former Chair of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities. She has recently retired as a criminal appellate attorney, representing many clients with LD and special needs.
Sheryl Knapp, M.Ed., CIT/ASAP, is the founder and President of Literacy Learning & Assessment Center of CT, providing literacy-related consulting services for students with learning disabilities. She has Associate Level certification with the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.
Board of Directors
Marc Hoffman, President
Christopher Bogart, Ph.D.
Kyrsten Bravo
Sari B. Canell
Judy Grossman
Laura Heneghan
Sharon Miles
Kathleen O’Hare
Lisa Pannone
Gregg Pauletti
Kate Pearce
Stephanie Victor
Jane B. Ross, M.S. Ex officio
Honorary Board Members
Henry Winkler, Honorary Chairman
Anne Ford, Chairman Emeritus, NCLD
Dannel Malloy, former Governor of Connecticut
Ben Powers, Head, Eagle Hill Southport
Professional Advisory Board
Jill Harkavy-Friedman, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist and Senior Director of Research, AFSP
Susan Baum, Ph.D.
Co-Director, International Center for Talent Development
Director of Professional Development, Bridges Academy
Nora Belanger, Esq.
Disability rights attorney and presenter
Michelle Berg, Psy.D.
Educational advising and placement for students with LD and other learning issues
Miriam Cherkes-Julkowski, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant and Diagnostician
Candace Cortiella
Director, The Advocacy Institute
Peg Dawson, Ed.D.
Psychologist, Center for Learning & Attention Disorders
Marcia Eckerd, Ph.D.
Evaluator and Therapist
Margie Gillis, Ed.D.
President, Literacy How training teachers in research-based reading
Judy Grossman, DrPH, OTR
Associate Director of the Center for the Developing Child and Family, Ackerman Institute for the Family
Thomas Hehir, Ed.D.
Professor of Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Shelley Lacey-Castelot, ATACP, M.S.
Director, Literacy Solutions
Ellen Littman, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist, author and lecturer on ADHD
Audrey Ludemann, M.S.Ed
Principal, The Bertram Group Educational Consulting
Jonathan Mooney
Author, speaker, activist, founding President, Project Eye-to-Eye
Lisa N. Rappaport, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Clinical psychologist in private practice
Lydia Soifer, Ph.D.
Director, The Soifer Center for Learning and Child Development
Alan Wachtel, M.D.
Psychiatrist, FamilyHealth Associates