Board of Directors
President, Nancy Dressel
Executive & Finance Team Chair
Teacher, Tutor, & Parent Commitee Chair
Teacher, Tutor, & Parent Commitee Chair
Nancy is starting her 21st year working in WI public schools and has served as a library media specialist, educator, instructional coach, and curriculum specialist. She took a brief detour to support her own dyslexic children. Nancy is dyslexic herself. She served on The 2018 Legislative Council Study Committee on the Identification and Management of Dyslexia which resulted in Wisconsin’s first dyslexia bill, Act 86. She was also a member of the advisory council for the WI Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions and is a co-author of the WI Dyslexia Roadmap. Nancy also worked part-time as Justice Involved Educator for Northwood Technical College teaching sub-literate adults in a county jail and providing tutoring, coaching, and educational consulting services through her business Brain Difference. She recently started a new position as a K-5 Curriculum and Instruction Specialist in the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District. She also enjoys doing volunteer work for WI Reads and Turningpoint and anything outside or with her family. Nancy is thrilled to serve as a WI DPI Early Literacy Council Member.
Vice President, Jackie Weissenburger
Executive & Finance Team Member
Higher Education Committee Chair
Higher Education Committee Chair
Jacalyn (Jackie) Weissenburger is a retired educator. She had nineteen years of experience in PK-12 education and 20 years in higher education. She worked as a high school teacher, school psychologist and school counselor in the states of Iowa and Wisconsin before becoming a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After teaching college courses in special education, counseling, and school psychology, she became an administrative leader at UW-Stout and UW-Superior. Jackie earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (with an emphasis in learning disabilities) at the University of Minnesota. She has considerable interest and experience in promoting scientifically validated practices in teaching and the assessment of student learning.
Secretary, Mary Gordon
Executive & Finance Team Member
School Leadership Committee Member
School Leadership Committee Member
Mary possess multiple teaching and admin licenses. Her focus is on skill-development and alternative means of inspiring students to learn. She is currently in the ABD (all but dissertation) part of her doctoral journey.
Treasurer, Phil Hejtmanek
Executive & Finance Team Member
Phil is a retired electronics engineer and manager, who spent his entire career involved in television technical operations, news and sports broadcasting with a major TV network and several prominent television station groups. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Illinois, and has served on the board of another non-profit organization as chairman of the Finance Committee.
Phil enjoys reading, listening to music and working on his ham radio station in his spare time. He also hosts a regular classical music radio program on his local public radio station.
Director, Laura Rhode
Executive & Finance Team Member
School Leadership Committee Member
School Leadership Committee Member
Laura is currently a reading specialist in the Dodgeville School District. While Laura's children were young, she operated a childcare center and completed Southwest Tech's Early Childhood Education program. She continued her education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Laura received her Masters from Viterbo University. She holds the following licenses Reading specialist, principalship, curriculum, and instruction. She has taught Pre-K, Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades. For the past 15 years, Laura has been an adjunct professional at UW-Platteville, where she teaches early education courses. In April 2014, Laura was awarded the Pre-Service Educator Mentor Award from the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education for demonstrating a sustained pattern of mentoring pre-service educators for at least five years.
Director, Dana Glaser
Teacher, Tutor, & Parent Committee Member
Dana Glaser is the owner of Reading Keys, LLC. She earned a Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from UW-Stevens Point and has over 20 years of experience in that field. Dana also completed a reading certification program through UW-Stout and became a Licensed Reading Teacher. Recognizing that children with Dyslexia benefit from a different teaching approach, she began learning more about the Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Language Approach. Dana is an Associate of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) and has also completed her Certified Level coursework. She is licensed in Speech-Language Pathology in South Carolina and Wisconsin.
Dana currently works full time teaching students with dyslexia and other language learning difficulties. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Dana previously served on the Board of Directors of the IDA– South Carolina branch before relocating to Wausau, WI in 2021.
Director, Connie Hicks
Higher Education Committee Member
Connie is the Applied Technology instructor at Gogebic Community College where she teaches developmental English and math. Connie is also the lead CDL instructor. She has a degree in Technical Accounting from Nicolet; a BS in Natural Science from Northland College, and Masters of Science and Mathematics with computer emphasis from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. Connie completed both the beginning and advanced level literacy training in 2007.
Director, Melissa Schmidt
School Leadership Committee Member
Missy completed her undergraduate degree in elementary education at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay in 2022. She became a licensed Reading Teacher/Reading Specialist in 2007 after earning her Master's Degree in Reading from Cardinal Stritch University. As a Wisconsin K-12 educator, Missy has taught Preschool, Kindergarten, and 7th grade Science and Language Arts and is currently providing reading intervention to students in the Grafton School District.
Director, Kris Statz
School Leadership Committee Member
Kris began her teaching career as a Cross-Categorical Special Education teacher and after earning her Reading Specialist license, moved into the role of an Instructional Coach. Currently, she is also the District Reading Specialist which has given her an opportunity to consider the whole picture for students at a deeper level. The majority of her years teaching have been spent not only teaching students but in seeking out and continually developing her own skills. Kris has devoted herself to earning several licenses and a Masters in Education and considers herself a lifelong learner. Prior to working in education, she served on multiple boards such as the local food pantry, Meals on Wheels and helped open the local Boys & Girls Club.
Director, Lauren Zepp
Higher Education Committee Member
Lauren is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater where she trains pre-service and in-service teachers to implement the science of reading. She previously served as a special educator, reading teacher, and reading specialist. Lauren has served on the University of Wisconsin Foundations of Reading Test (FoRT committee for three years and participated in the first ever higher education cohort of Launguage Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling.