Time and again we hear that one of the very special strengths of The Reading Group is the outstanding qualifications and caring attitudes of our instructors. Most specialists hold at least a bachelor's degree, many with master's degrees and/or additional training in a particular area of instruction.

Rita Young
Rita was a Student-Teacher Supervisor for the MECA Montessori Teacher Training Center and was a Teacher and the Director of the Montessori School of Champaign-Urbana for 20 years. At the Reading Group, she specializes in working with preschool and kindergarten children using multisensory instruction and is the Early Childhood Coordinator for the Building Blocks to Literacy Program.

Michael Marks
Michael provides teacher training programs and specializes in working with preschool and kindergarten children who are gifted and at risk for school learning problems. He was the founder and director of the Creative Discovery School in Champaign for 12 years as well as served as an early childhood teacher at University Primary School in Champaign.

Liza Brubaker
Liza recently retired from teaching after 35 years. She graduated from Ball State University with a B.S. degree in elementary education. Liza also has an additional 16 hours in reading courses from Eastern Illinois University. She was nominated for the Golden Apple award while teaching first grade at St. Matthews School. Liza taught in public schools for twenty five years and private schools for the last ten years. Liza's philosophy focuses on the belief that everybody learns in different ways and at different rates. She believes that learning should be positive and fun and she likes to use a lot of hands on activities across the curriculum units.

Mary Rhodes
Mary has had over 20 years of teaching experience in Champaign, Mahomet and Monticello as well as assessment experience with the Carle Child Disability Clinic. She is currently a Cross Categorical Teacher in Special Education with the Monticello School District and also teaches Special Education/Reading Methods at Millikin University and provides Assessment Services at the Reading Group. Mary has a Bachelors Degree in Special Education from Illinois State University and a Masters Degree with an emphasis in reading from the University of Illinois.

Sherri Bolen
Bolen taught kindergarten, first and second grades in the public schools for fifteen years before joining the staff at Holy Cross Elementary School as Library/Media Director. At the Reading Group, she specializes in working with small groups of primary level children in a variety of subjects, with a focus on literature and grammar.

Rachael McMillan
Rachael graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in English. She moved to Los Angeles and became a caseworker for an agency that assisted families in the American Indian community. There, she tutored children who needed academic as well as social assistance. Rachael also taught English and other subjects for the special education program at Rantoul Township High School for four years and has a short-term special education certificate. Currently, she is spending time at home with her two wonderful children, Jack and Kate.

Lynn Holland
Lynn has twenty years experience as a classroom teacher and private tutor for dyslexic students. She has a MA in educational psychology and teaching certificates in secondary language arts and preschool/kindergarten Montessori methods. At The Reading Group, Lynn specializes in a multisensory method of teaching literacy skills to young children.

Carol Bergeson
Carol was a former reading teacher and now serves as a part-time social worker at Holy Cross School in Champaign. At the Reading Group, Carol provides tutoring in the area of reading, composition, and grammar.

Marilyn Kay
Founder of the Reading Group, Marilyn specializes in working with K-8 children with attention and memory problems, and provides in-service training and consultation in reading and learning disabilites for public and private schools. Kay also has been a national presenter on multisensory instruction, phonemic awareness and working with children and adults with dyslexia, attention-deficit disorders and other learning disabilites.

Leyla Lambert
Leyla has a Masters degree in teaching English as a second language (ESL) and extensive experience tutoring students of all ages (from pre-kindergarten to adults). Lessons cover all aspects of foreign language acquisition to include vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, style and cultural awareness, with a curriculum developed to help target the individual needs of each student. She completed a four-week training program in the latest ESL teaching methods at Cambridge (England). In addition to teaching English, Leyla provides preparation for standardized tests (TOEFL, ACT, IELTS).

Debbie Heffernan
Debbie graduated from Illinois State University in Normal and has an MS degree from the University of Illinois. Having taught in the Urbana School District for 33 years (grades 3-6), she especially enjoys helping students grow in their abilities and gain self-confidence in themselves as successful students. Debbie retired from Urbana Schools in June 2009, but continues to work as a substitute teacher in the district. She and her husband have both grown up in the Champaign area, have been married for 35 years and currently live in Savoy. They have one son and another son who passed
away in 2001. They are looking forward to becoming grandparents soon!

Bookkeeper: Brenda Blager

Brenda brings over 25 years of financial and business experience to The Reading Group. She handles financial transactions and records. She also assists the Executive Director with daily operations.

Office Assistant, Alli Meder

Alli is a senior in Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois. She is studying to be a speech/language pathologist. Alli assists the instructors, bookkeeper, and executive director with a variety of tasks that help keep The Reading Group running smoothly.