Meet the Raising Robust Readers team!
Judy O'Halloran
Co-Developer, Raising Robust Readers
Judy is the mother of a son with Down syndrome who led her on a decade-long search to find an effective reading approach. She has been a classroom teacher and a homeschool mom. As a private reading tutor, her frustration with having children for just one or two hours a week led her to change her focus from teaching children to teaching parents. In addition to co-developing Raising Robust Readers, Judy has written articles for Exceptional Parent Magazine, The Fort Myers News Press, and Down Syndrome News. Her work has also been published in books, where she wrote the chapter "Welcome to Our Family, Casey Patrick" for Cognitive Coping, Families and Disability, published by Paul H. Brookes and co-authored Now Why Didn't I Think Of That? Practical Pointers From Families Of Children With Disabilities. She is also an accomplished speaker and has spoken at many conventions and conferences. She loves to tutor children and adults and share her passion of reading with them. When she isn't working, she loves to read and spend time with her family!
Marilee Senior
Co-Developer, Raising Robust Readers
Marilee is a creative artist and certified optician with specialized certification in Chromo Gem testing for reading problems and dyslexia. Her passion for co-developing Raising Robust Readers comes from her personal experiences as a child struggling with dyslexia. Having spent over 10 years in self-directed study on dyslexia, reading and best practices, Marilee has teamed with Judy in collective exploration, rethinking what is taught and how it is taught. She has brought Wordy Worm to life by taking Judy’s academic knowledge and practical experiences and translated them into child-centered visual learning experiences. Together they have produced innovative, out of the box concepts to simplify reading.
Stephanie Kiesling
Business Manager
Stephanie is the mother of two young children, has been personally touched by the program and has a passion for supporting parents with struggling readers. She has owned and managed several large and small successful businesses. Stephanie supervises the business affairs, social marketing, public relations and company expansion. She makes sure that all aspects of the business are running efficiently. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys being outside and enjoying the gorgeous Florida weather with her husband and children.
Kris Grace
Certified Tutor and Classroom Consultant
After earning her bachelors degree in Elementary Education, Kris joined the “America Reads” initiative, and led her team in an educational summer camp for the native Tlingit children in Kake, Alaska. Returning to the 'lower 48,' she taught preschool for several years before finding her niche with first graders--a position she has enjoyed for the past 16 years. In addition to classroom instruction and tutoring, she is the Raising Robust Readers Staff Development and Curriculum Leader for pre-school 3-year-olds through 2nd grade at her school.
