50th Annual IDA-UMB Online Conference

Nicole Blegen is the Senior Director for the Center for Digital Health at Mayo Clinic, where she leads efforts to blend technology with care to improve the everyday experiences of patients and providers. With more than 20 years in healthcare innovation, she’s passionate about building solutions that truly make a difference.

Nicole’s advocacy for individuals with dyslexia is deeply personal—her husband and one of her daughters are dyslexic. Over the years, she’s been a fierce supporter of her daughter’s learning journey, helping her navigate school with confidence and now watching her thrive in college. That personal connection led Nicole to serve on the board of The Dyslexic Institute of Minnesota for six and a half years, including three as Board Chair. During her time on the board, she helped shape a five-year strategic plan and supported the launch of a capital campaign that helped make their new facility possible.

Nicole is a proud mom to two daughters, now 16 and 19, and continues to advocate for better awareness, support, and resources for families navigating dyslexia.

Dr. Lisa Silmser (pronounced Sim-zer, the “l” is silent) has been an educator for the past 30 years serving students from k-12 and teacher prep. She teaches courses in general methods, literacy methods, special education intervention and assessment, and educational research and is the program director for the MA in Ed k-12 program at Bethel University in St. Paul. She also serves as the Literacy Specialist for Monroe Elementary School in Brooklyn Park, which recently earned the 2023 Minnesota’s Future Award from the Minnesota Business Partnership for their innovation and influence in implementing structured literacy practices. Lisa is LETRS trained and passionate about getting evidence-based practices into k-12 systems as well as teacher prep programs. Dr. Silmser is a member of the Higher Education Literacy Partnership (HELP) and is a participant in special projects for MACTE, PELSB, and MDE. Lisa is honored to serve on the IDA-UMB board.

Ross Baker works for BWBR, an architectural firm based out of downtown St. Paul, MN. He received his Master’s in architecture from the University of Minnesota in 2020. Previous to that, he completed his BA at both the University of Denver and St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. After completing his formal career training, Ross was looking for more ways to give back to his community. He was drawn to joining the IDA-UMB Board because of his own experiences with Dyslexia. Ross is extremely grateful for the support he received from teachers, coaches, friends, and family throughout school. He is excited to get involved with IDA to ensure that more children with Dyslexia are set up for success through the opportunity for early diagnosis, personalized learning tools, and the assurance that they have a team of supporters behind them.

Dawn has over 11 years of successful experience as an Orton Gillingham practitioner, along with 7 years as an Orton Gillingham teacher trainer. She spent 15 years as a special education teacher, 6 years as a Literacy Specialist, and 1 year as an Elementary Teaching and Learning Coordinator. Currently, she is a Regional Literacy Lead with a focus on supporting MN districts and charter schools with the implementation of the MN READ Act. She is passionate about bridging the gap between scientific research around reading and educational practice. Dawn has championed the need to embed the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy practices into professional development and student learning. She is highly trained in the Science of Reading and understands the challenges of making the needed shifts in reading practices in the classroom setting.

Jane Conlin is a licensed, professional teacher with a Master’s degree in Counseling. Her classroom experience includes teaching social studies and teaching the deaf and hard of hearing. Jane has achieved advanced certification in teaching the Barton Reading & Spelling System which is an Orton-Gillingham influenced method of teaching dyslexic students to read. She completed a master’s level, multisensory approach for teaching math to people who have dyslexia. She has attended IDA conferences, Upper Midwest Branch, and Decoding Dyslexia sponsored conferences on dyslexia. Jane is dyslexic, the parent of a child with dyslexia, and has several family members who are dyslexic. She has tutored most of these family members in reading at Learn to Learn, the tutoring center she founded in an effort to reach more families who would benefit by using an Orton-Gillingham approach to learn to read.

Sue Scibetta Hegland is an educator, author, and frequent speaker on topics related to spelling. She began her career doing research and instructional design, but her focus shifted in 2003, when she learned that one of her children is dyslexic. Trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach to literacy instruction, she has been studying and teaching about orthographic linguistics since 2014. Sue has served on the Board of Directors for the Upper Midwest Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, on the Board of Education for the Brandon Valley School District, and is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the International Dyslexia Association’s Fact Sheet publications. She is the founder of the website LearningAboutSpelling.com [learningaboutspelling.com] and author of the book “Beneath the Surface of Words: What English Spelling Reveals and Why It Matters.

Kelly Gorman brings to the Upper Midwest Branch, 36 years of teaching and leadership from around the country at all levels from elementary, middle, high school and university levels in general and special education. Since retiring, Kelly has spent her time and lifelong learning skills increasing her knowledge of dyslexia and helping parents advocate for appropriate specially designed instruction for their dyslexic learners.

Through her familiarity with Special Education processes, especially the assessment and IEP processes, she has helped parents advocate for accommodations/adaptations, assistive technology, measurable, observable goals, and instruction based on the science of reading. Kelly believes serving on the Board of Directors of IDA-UMB is an opportunity to help create positive change and increase success for dyslexic learners.

While raising and teaching two children with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia, Deb Dwyer trained in all four levels of Orton-Gillingham of MN, successfully completing the additional training to become an instructor. In 2019, she completed her Masters in Education in Reading Science at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In addition to tutoring full time, Deb served as the President of Orton-Gillingham of MN for 6 years and is currently serving as a past-president. She continues to teach courses for OGMN. Deb is a board member for IMSLEC (International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council), and coordinates parent and tutoring meetings in her area. She has presented at the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health Conference, public school in-services and community education courses as well as teaching Orton-Gillingham Introductory, Intermediate and Extended Practicum courses.

Before joining Wilson Language as a Literacy Advisor/Literacy Specialist, Candice worked in Chicago Public Schools as a special education teacher, case manager, diverse learner administrator, and special education administrator for structured literacy.

Candice passionately believes that ensuring all students have access to high-quality, evidence-based, science of reading aligned literacy instruction is the cornerstone for achieving equity in education.

Justine Gibbon is a Title 1 Reading Specialist in Kindred, North Dakota. She is married and has three children, the oldest two have been diagnosed with dyslexia. She is an active leader for ND-DPI’s dyslexia pilot program. ND-DPI’s dyslexia pilot program is ND’s first initiative to implement dyslexia screening and intervention in the public-school setting. The dyslexia pilot program has served hundreds of children, and Justine continues to teach other educators how to effectively screen and implement appropriate intervention for students at-risk for dyslexia. Justine has served as President of Decoding Dyslexia North Dakota for the past four years. She has found it especially rewarding to help parents navigate the public school system who have children struggling with dyslexia. Justine is an active member of International Dyslexia Association and North Dakota Literacy Association. During her free-time she also teaches online continuing education courses about dyslexia at North Dakota State University.

Justine comments, “Learning about dyslexia has changed my life, for the better. I am more successful as a reading teacher, more empathetic with parents, a stronger leader, and most importantly, a more confident and knowledgeable advocate for my own children.”

“As a board member, I would bring connections from DDND and my knowledge and expertise as a public-school reading teacher. I helped build Multi-Level Systems of Support (MTSS) that includes dyslexia screening and intervention in five rural school districts. I understand the difficulties rural communities face when implementing programs. I hope IDA-UMB can push forward state-wide implementation of dyslexia screening and intervention in every public school in North Dakota (and all of the upper Midwest) so those in rural communities or underprivileged families get the support they need. I would be most interested in serving on the Education and Communication committees, but I am willing to learn and serve on any IDA-UMB committee.”

Robin Rovick is a Certified Academic Language Therapist, Level IV-trained Orton-Gillingham reading specialist, and a Wilson Level 1 Certified Practitioner. Additionally, she is a Certified Dyslexia Therapist through the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI). Robin is a knowledgeable and creative educator with more than thirty years of experience in nurturing and building the skills of learners of all ages, with a special emphasis on developing the reading, writing, and comprehension skills of individuals with language-based disabilities. She has served the IDA-UMB organization as Vice President, Chair of the Information and Referral Committee, and on several committees including Education/ Conference and Publicity/ Promotion. She provides remediation and advocacy work through her private practice at MultiSensory Reading Solutions, LLC, where she designs individual learning programs based upon student needs both in academic areas and executive function deficits, and provides direct, one-on-one instruction. Robin also works with students and teachers at metro-area charter and private schools, training both general and special education teachers in structured literacy. She provided tutoring through the Groves Academy Outreach program, served on the Board of Directors for Orton-Gillingham of MN, and works with parent outreach organizations including Decoding Dyslexia MN to promote the adoption of multisensory, explicit, research-based reading instruction in schools and tutor training programs. Robin currently is a director on the board of the Great Lakes ALTA Chapter. Robin is passionate about all children and adults having the opportunity to read fluently, accurately, and with enjoyment, as well as helping families navigate through the academic and personal journey of dyslexia and other reading disabilities.

Chris is a retired advertising writer-producer with more than 35 years in consumer, health, and education marketing. Her family includes (at least) five individuals with dyslexia and one with dysgraphia. Therefore, she has plenty of experience living with and advocating for this talented and challenged group. Her mother-in-law, June Stern, was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in her late 60s. Along with Chris and her husband, Leo, June established a foundation that awarded over 200 professional development scholarships to K-3 classroom teachers for Orton-Gillingham training in effective ways to teach reading, writing, and spelling. Chris is a co-founder and a guiding member of the Higher Education Literacy Partnership of Minnesota (HELP).

Jennifer Bennett, M.S., is a Licensed Psychologist who focuses her work on neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessment. At BrainWorks, her private practice, she conducts diagnostic evaluations with people ages 5 to 60 who are experiencing difficulties related to learning, attention, information processing, and cognitive development. With 20+ years of assessment experience, Jennifer’s areas of expertise include learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and nonverbal LD), attention deficit disorders (ADHD with and without hyperactivity/impulsivity, sluggish cognitive tempo), auditory processing difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, and other neurocognitive difficulties that affect thinking, learning, and communication.

I have over 60 years of experience working in the field dyslexia as a diagnostician, tutor, teacher, and professor. I received by initial O-G training directly from Paula Dozier Rome and Jean Osman at The Reading Center in Rochester. Moving to California, I obtained my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University and became a professor in the Division of Special Education at San Jose State University. Serving as a Fulbright Lecturer/ Research Scholar at the University of Trondheim, Norway in 1991 was a highlight of my career. Along with Patterns for Success in Reading and Spelling (2nd ed.), my books include WORDS (2nd ed.), and Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decoding and Spelling Instruction (2nd ed.). I compiled and co-edited Dyslexia – Samuel T. Orton and His Legacy. I served as president of the International Dyslexia Association from 1992-1996 and received the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from the IDA in 2000. Now retired from active teaching, I am a Fellow in the Orton-Gillingham Academy and a member of the Board of Directors for The Reading Center.

Barbara Wilson, Ed.D., is the co-founder and president of Wilson Language Training. She has worked to improve the lives of individuals with dyslexia for over 30 years. Barbara developed and oversaw graduate courses and clinical practicums that lead to Wilson® Dyslexia Practitioner and Therapist certifications, which are accredited International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Tier 3 training programs. This certification is also an integral component for several university programs. Barbara is a founding member of the Global Implementation Society as she is dedicated to implementation and co-edited an International Dyslexia Association publication on this subject with an emphasis on how to bridge the gap between research, educational legislation, and classroom instruction. In 2015, she testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee in support of H.R. 3033, the Research Excellence and Advancements for Dyslexia (READ) Act, which was later signed into law

Arlene Sonday trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach in Rochester, MN. She is a founding member and past president of UMBIDA, past vice-president of IDA, Founding Fellow and first president of the Orton Gillingham Academy. She is a founding member of Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota and guided OGM to certification by IMSLEC. Arlene is the author of the Sonday System, 15 curricula for Special Ed, classroom, and homeschool, and co-author of controlled readers, published by Winsor Learning of Bloomington, MN. She taught courses and supervised practica at Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ, that led to the 30 credit Dyslexia Specialist Certificate program and has graduated close to 1,000 students and continues to serve on the FDU Advisory Board. Arlene has taught courses and presented at conferences in India, Pakistan, Thailand, China, Egypt, Kuwait, England and Jamaica.

Bette’s career in education took a turn when her then eight-year-old daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia. She has since had the pleasure of volunteering as an education policy advocate on the local, state and national level-including a visit to the White House. Her affiliations include the International Dyslexia Association, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Literate Nation, Decoding Dyslexia MN, the MN Reading Corps, and MOMs on a Mission. She has met the certification standards of IMSLEC and CERI and maintains a robust tutoring practice.

Dr. Shelly Bayer is a passionate educator and relentless advocate for dyslexic learners, turning personal experience and professional expertise into meaningful change for students, families, and educators

Her journey as the mother of a dyslexic son gives her unique insight into the challenges and triumphs of supporting struggling readers. From 2018 to 2024, she served on the Board of Directors for the International Dyslexia Association’s Midwest Branch, including two years as President, and has advocated for effective reading instruction with the South Dakota Department
of Education and the South Dakota Legislature.

She holds a B.A. in English Education, a Master of Education in Literacy (Certified Reading Specialist), and a doctorate in Education Administration with a focus on Adult and Higher Education.