2024 TCB Board of Directors:

Officers

Regina Richards, President; Karin Westerling, VP Organization; Haya Sakadjian, VP – Membership & Branch Administrator; Rachel Rena, Secretary; Laura Fiore, Treasurer.

Members-at-Large 2023

Christine Denison; Judith Gollette; Cathy Johnson; Sally Kabbara; Sharon Landers;
Regina Manning; Denise Rountree

Board of Directors – Officers 2024

Regina Richards

President; Educational Therapist

Regina G. Richards, MA is former Director of Richards Educational Therapy Center (RET Center) & Big Springs School.  The school specialized in multidisciplinary programs for language learning disabilities, especially dyslexia and dysgraphia.  Regina established the RET Center in 1975, providing educational therapy and diagnostic services, and opened Big Springs School in 1980.  Regina teaches regularly at the University of California Extension Program in Riverside. She has authored a variety of journal articles and books on reading, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and visual development. She is active in her local IDA branch, having been President several times. She enjoys presenting workshops at a variety of conferences.  Regina is the parent of an adult son who has struggled with dyslexia and dysgraphia all his life.  He is currently very successful in business, working with computers.  Regina has enjoyed many different roles with this branch and hopes to continue to do so. She feels it is so important to share the wide range of valid and professional information that exists to help children and adult who struggle with reading and writing. The wonderful feedback received from folks who attend our events is so heartwarming! As a branch we have helped so many different people.  She states, “I’m delighted to be a part of this powerful organization!”

 Karin Westerling

Vice President Organization
Retired teacher

Karin retired from a four decade career teaching science to middle schoolers, high school students, and undergraduates. Her experience taught her that neurologically, linguistically, and culturally diverse students can master and enjoy learning when they have access to the curriculum. Karin supports the IDA mission to strengthen the learning abilities of all individuals in order to achieve their potential.

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Haya Sakadjian

Vice President of Membership
Parent of child with dyslexia

As a parent of a bright child with dyslexia, I support IDA in its mission to advance dyslexia awareness, education, and best treatment practices.  In particular, my interest is forming parent communities of support where we can share knowledge and resources, and become empowered advocates for our children. I started the Dyslexia Parent Support Group of South Orange County, which is sponsored by our IDA chapter and DDCA (Decoding Dyslexia). So far, we’ve connected over 140 parents in our group. I hold a master’s in music therapy and am a certified Barton tutor.  Thank you for the honor of serving on this board.

Rachel Reyna
Secretary

Director
Parent and 2nd grade teacher

I am a mom of two amazing daughters, who happen to be dyslexic.  Spreading dyslexia awareness is my passion.  The International Dyslexia Association Tri-Counties Branch offers
outstanding support in this dyslexia journey.  Strength comes from knowledge.  IDA Tri-Counties Branch helped me grow in knowledge, allowing me to better support my daughers.
It is an honor to serve my community as an IDA board membe

Laura Fiore

Treasurer

Board of Directors – Members-at-Large 2024

Christine Denison

Director
Parent of dyslexic sons

I am an Instructional Assistant Special Education I at Riverside Unified School District.

Both of my sons have Dyslexia.  In 2013, I came across a video seminar by the Inland Empire branch of IDA (renamed as So Cal Tri-Counties Branch).  It really opened my eyes and I recognized many of the signs and traits of dyslexia in my sons. My oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2015. Since then, I have gotten involved with the Tri-Counties Board of the IDA so that I may learn more to help my sons and to help others to understand what dyslexia is and how to support struggling readers and also, how to get help.

Dr. Judithanne (Judith) Gollette

Director

 Dr. Judith Gollette is an educational therapist and the founder of Project CAPE Resources^© and Gollette’s Learning Center^©, two blended non-profit organizations that empower students and adults with (dis)abilities to prosper and develop as 21^st century learners. Azusa Pacific University has awarded Dr. Gollette with several CA teaching credentials, multiple master’s degrees and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership. 

Dr. Gollette is a Southern CA native with a formative education focused on authenticating pathways for marginalized students with (dis)abilities to succeed in an inclusive environment. She is known as a transformative educational leader, highly respected for building an inclusive campus and community environments. The removal of labels, warehousing in special education, and a move to universal design for learning drives her journey. With the desire to move forward with her mission, she joined the IDA Executive Board of the Southern CA Tri-Counties Branch.

Dr. Gollette has witnessed the evolution of special education laws as a sibling, wife, mother, caregiver, and advocate for family members born with Down syndrome and Dyslexia moving from institutionalization to inclusion. She exercises her collaborative skills with proven competencies in research-based curricula such as the Orton Gillingham approach, and the Science of Reading, public and private industry fundraising, grant writing, and Federal and California State program administration.

Cathy Johnson

Director

Cathy Johnson is a Licensed Speech/Language Pathologist and is certified by the Center for Effective Reading Instruction as a Structured Literacy Teacher.  Cathy became interested in dyslexia when her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia in kindergarten.  She went on to open the Johnson Academy of Therapeutic Learning in San Juan Capistrano which is a school that specializes in offering evidence-based reading interventions as well as small class sizes for children with various learning disabilities.  Cathy is also the director of the Speech, Language and Learning Center in San Juan Capistrano.  Cathy works with numerous school districts in providing independent expert evaluations.  Cathy is trained in numerous evidence-based reading interventions.  She recently became an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne and will be teaching future teachers how to teach reading.  It is an honor to serve on the board In order to continue to promote  the awareness of dyslexia.

Sally Kabbara

Director

Sally is the mother of a dyslexic teenager, and advocating for his education continues to be a challenge with every grade level.  The resources, tools, and encouragement IDA provides has lessened the frustration common with parenting and advocating, as well as the preparation for the IEP, 504, and evaluations processes that are constant with dyslexic students.  Sally is active with PTA/Booster Club activities/events and shares her knowledge with parents and teachers.

Sharon Landers

Director

Sharon grew up with a family member who is dyslexic although never formally diagnosed and has a daughter who was determined to be dyslexic after private testing when she was in elementary school. The public school her daughter was attending refused to acknowledge that her daughter was dyslexic, and the school district did not train its teachers to use proven teaching methods to help dyslexic students learn to read.  Although a lifelong supporter of the public school system, to ensure that her daughter would learn to read Sharon enrolled her in a private school that specialized in teaching kids with dyslexia. Had her daughter remained in public school, she would never have progressed beyond a 3^rd grade reading level. This disheartening experience with her public school district propelled Sharon to become more involved in education and advocacy to help parents and teachers identify dyslexia early and to educate teachers on appropriate tools that are available to help kids with dyslexia learn to read.

As a long-term government executive manager and attorney, Sharon has a passion for public service. She recently served as the first female Executive Officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and prior to that was the first female city manager for the City of Carson, CA. She has held executive posts in other California cities as well as in New York and New Jersey, is a credentialed City Manager with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and has completed the Harvard Kennedy School’s State and Local Government Program. 

Regina Manning

Director

Dyslexia tutor, using Barton Program

Rachel Reyna

Director
Parent and 2nd grade teacher

I am a mom of two amazing daughters, who happen to be dyslexic.  Spreading dyslexia awareness is my passion.  The International Dyslexia Association Tri-Counties Branch offers
outstanding support in this dyslexia journey.  Strength comes from knowledge.  IDA Tri-Counties Branch helped me grow in knowledge, allowing me to better support my daughers.
It is an honor to serve my community as an IDA board member.

Denise Rountree

Director
Student

I am an adult with dyslexia and I also attend Moreno Valley College.  I am grateful to be a part of the Tri-Counties Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and I look forward to helping spread good information about dyslexia.