We’re parents, educators, and community members who believe in Oregon students and Oregon teachers.

Oregon Kids Read is truly a grassroots effort - everyone behind the website, our advocacy, and our first and second petitions is a non-paid volunteer.

Angela Uherbelau started Oregon Kids Read because literacy is a civil right. She is a writer, passionate education advocate and past PTA president. Angela grew up in Southern Oregon and her public school teachers there had a huge, positive impact on her life’s trajectory. She’s worked on various local, state and national political campaigns and also served as a legislative director in the Oregon State Legislature. During the early days of COVID, she helped establish the Irvington Westminster Community Learning Hub which offered free full-time child care to families in need and also helped launch a Portland Public Schools one-on-one virtual tutoring program for struggling readers. Angela is a graduate of Smith College and Columbia University School of Journalism. She and her husband Curtis have daughters in 8th and 9th grade at their local, public schools.

Dr. J. Schuberth is a writer, printmaker, and former assistant professor at Portland State, where they created a popular program in the academic study of religion. They also started a free summer college course at David Douglas High School and have taught in Oregon Humanitiesʼ free college course for adults who face financial barriers to continuing their education. J. was diagnosed with dyslexia in their late 20s and is the parent of a high-schooler with dyslexia. As an educator and parent, they understand the importance of early literacy to emotional health and academic success.

Lisa Lyon, MPH, is a founder & community outreach director of Oregon Decoding Dyslexia, a state-wide advocacy group which spearheaded passage of Oregon's first dyslexia legislation. As the parent of a 10th grade son who has dyslexia, Lisa feels passionate about increasing public awareness of dyslexia. She enjoys connecting with other parents and sharing resources to make their journeys with dyslexia a little easier and more efficient. Currently, Lisa coordinates the monthly lecture series and supports the development of new Oregon Decoding Dyslexia chapters.

Dr. Tania McKey is an Assistant Professor of Instructional Leadership at Alabama A&M University with 30 years of experience in K–12 and higher education.  She earned a Doctorate in Administration, Supervision, and Curriculum from Auburn University.  During her tenure in Portland, she held the positions of Senior Director of Humanities in Portland Public Schools and Assistant Professor at Portland State University. In her role as Senior Director of Humanities, she led districtwide literacy strategy and implementation efforts grounded in the Science of Reading, aligning curriculum, assessment, and professional learning across the district.  She also created systems and professional learning structures to expand teacher access to LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training. As an Assistant Professor, she taught graduate courses in educational leadership and supported aspiring and practicing leaders in systems-level improvement. Dr. McKey is trained in LETRS and brings deep expertise in instructional leadership, whole school sustainability, and equity-centered school improvement, primarily focused on reading.  

Dr. Ronda Fritz iRonda Fritz is an independent consultant and Associate Professor of Education, specializing in early literacy instruction and MTSS at Eastern Oregon University. Prior to coming to EOU in 2014, Ronda was a K-12 teacher for 19 years. She taught kindergarten, Title I Reading, middle school Language Arts, 4th and 5th grade, and ended her K-12 teaching career as a Reading specialist, where she discovered a passion for developing systems for improving outcomes for struggling readers. This passion led her to University of Oregon’s Special Education department where she received her Ph.D. in 2016. Her research interests include prevention and intervention of reading difficulties, teacher preparation, and in-service teacher professional development. Ronda’s current research includes investigating the ways teacher knowledge of reading instruction impacts teacher efficacy and student outcomes, and the impact of one-on-one tutoring delivered by pre-service teachers. Ronda currently is a member of the International Dyslexia Association, Council for Learning Disabilities, The Reading League, and the Evidence Advocacy Center. Ronda is the founder and Executive Director of the EOU Reading Clinic which serves struggling readers of the Eastern Oregon region while training pre-service and in-service teachers in evidence-based methods for teaching literacy.

Dr. Christine Toribio Pitts is the President and CEO of Open School Inc., leading efforts to transform education for historically underserved students. With experience spanning teaching, district leadership, and national policy, she specializes in using data, not rhetoric, to drive systemic change. She previously held leadership roles at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, NWEA, and Portland Public Schools. Her research on student engagement, school governance, and education policy has been featured in top academic journals and national media outlets. Christine is the mother of four Portland students.

Imani Muhammad is a native of Oregon and began her youth development career over 20 years ago.  She is the founder of Y.O.U.th and currently serves as the Board President.  Imani has dedicated her life to the City of Portland and continues to work with families in a variety of ways.  She works for the Boys & Girls Club as the Senior Director of Equity & Community Engagement.  In her spare time she develops training and curriculum for those who work with youth, parents and members in the judicial system.  She is a proud mother of a 9 year old son and loves cheering him on as he develops his basketball skills and career.  She recently released her first book The Art of Living available at Traveling Pillar.

Danielle Thompson, MAT, C-SLT, is a language arts teacher with over twenty five years of experience, a dyslexia specialist, and President of The International Dyslexia Association - Oregon Branch. Certified as a Structured Literacy Teacher through the Center for Effective Reading Instruction, she brings this knowledge into her work with high school students who did not “grow out” of their reading struggles from elementary school. Danielle supports prioritizing early learning and adolescent literacy initiatives through investing in professional development for all teachers to build deep knowledge - both in the structure of language and in the cognitive science of how our brains learn to read.  Teachers who have a profound understanding of the science of reading are able to teach all students to read, particularly those most vulnerable to struggle. #UntilEveryoneCanRead

Kamelah Adams is the founder of Mimi’s Fresh Tees and PDX Love Over Hate, purpose-driven brands rooted in social justice, community, and civic engagement. Through her work, she transforms powerful messages into wearable movements that inspire dialogue and action around voting rights, racial equity, women’s empowerment, housing justice, and community healing. Kamelah is especially passionate about improving educational outcomes for all students, particularly those who have been historically underserved. She believes education and stable housing are foundational to opportunity and works to uplift policies and community efforts that support families, protect housing stability, and close opportunity gaps. Her leadership is grounded in resilience, lived experience, and a deep commitment to building a more just and compassionate future.

Dr. John Watzke is Dean of the School of Education and Graduate School at the University of Portland. As a teacher educator and parent of children attending Oregon schools, he believes that K-3 literacy should be a priority funding stream for education and that early literacy predicts later academic success and social outcomes for students. Whether in professional discussions or conversations with community advocates, the message to Oregon is clear: the science of reading and the inequities in learning that exist must be addressed through funding and programming. Our teachers, our families, and our students deserve it.

Dr. Scott Smith has been in education for the past 40 years and is a third-generation successful dyslexic. Growing up in Eastern Oregon, he struggled with school. His fifth-grade teacher told his parents he needed to find a trade because he would never be able to spell or read or write or attend college. Instead, Dr. Smith spent 26 years in elementary classrooms in Umatilla, Oregon and became an Assistant Professor at Eastern Oregon University in the Elementary Pre-Service Teacher Program. Currently, Dr. Smith is an instructional coach for the InterMountain ESD, serving 18 rural school districts. His major area of focus is pre-reading skills and reading instruction, along with classroom instructional support. Dr. Smith lives in Hermiston, Oregon with his wife Susan.

Jared Blank is a third-generation Portland native, extreme runner, motivational speaker, sports business professional, dyslexia advocate, and author of Running the Distance—his story of how dyslexia shaped his perseverance and prepared him for one of the world’s most demanding races. Diagnosed with dyslexia at age five, Jared overcame early academic challenges through determination and strong family support. In 2017, he left his collegiate football career to raise awareness for students with learning differences, completing the 2018 World Marathon Challenge—seven marathons on seven continents in seven days—to benefit the International Dyslexia Association. Today, he has returned to the sports industry and continues his mission through the $12,000 Running the Distance Scholarship for Park Academy students, remaining dedicated to advancing K–3 literacy, science-based reading, and educational equity across Oregon.

Dr. Julie Esparza Brown’s 30-year career spans the fields of bilingual, special education and school psychology in K-12 systems and higher education.  As a professor in the Department of Special Education, College of Education, at Portland State University her research focuses on the intersections of multilingual learners and special education.  Currently, she is principal investigator of a model demonstration grant funded by OSEP investigating reading interventions within an MTSS model for English learner students in grades 3 – 5 at-risk for or with disabilities. She has also been principal investigator on three federal personnel preparation grants to prepare bilingual teachers in general and special education. Dr. Esparza Brown also served four years on the Public Portland School Board. Her current co-authored book, Supporting English Learners in the Classroom: Distinguishing Language Acquisition from Learning Disabilities (Haas & Brown, 2019) is available through Teachers College Press. 

Anne Adler is a first-generation Brazilian American, raised in the Pacific Northwest.  After graduating from the University of Washington, she worked in corporate America in Los Angeles and then New York City.  She earned her master’s degree in education at Columbia University, Teachers College and then helped lead the opening of one of New York City’s inaugural charter schools.  She then led the start-up and growth of a successful, reading-science-based early literacy organization in New York, READ Alliance. Since its inception in 2000, READ Alliance has helped thousands of underserved children become successful readers!  Anne now resides in Oregon and is thrilled to be mom to her school-age son, Leo, who is an avid reader.

Paula Byrd is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She graduated at Portland State University with a Bachelors of Arts and completed her Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at the University of Illinois. She joined the Board of Y.O.U.th in 2013 and recently became their Director of Literacy. She is committed to the educational literacy of youth and adults. She desires to change the lives of all young people she works with and drives them to be their best.Paula is also a member of Decoding Dyslexia Oregon’s Board of Directors, serving as Secretary.

Our Mission

Oregon Kids Read is a grassroots literacy advocacy network calling for systemic transformation of the way Oregon teaches and supports our struggling readers.

All photography provided by Shutterstock