MEET OUR BOARD MEMBERS

Tina Johnson
President

Tina the owner of First Strokes Swim Academy, teaching Infant Resource Swimming (ISR) survival skills for children 6 months to 6 years, swim lessons and stroke development for ages 7 to adult.   Tina grew up in Urbana and attended Illinois State University, where she received a master’s degree in Communications and an undergraduate degree is in Public Relations. Tina worked in human resources for over 20 years. 

Krista Schwarze
Vice President

Krista is the Sales Curriculum Manager for Pivot Bio, which provides farmers a more predictable, productive, and weatherproof alternative to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.  Prior to focusing on organizational learning, Krista was an elementary teacher and a middle school language arts teacher.  She is a member of Mahomet Rotary Club and the Champaign County Farm Bureau.  Krista knows the importance of literacy skills as they are the foundation of all learning.

Beth Chandler
Secretary

Beth has nearly 20 years of public relations experience in both nonprofit and corporate settings. She currently works as a proposal writer for Henneman Engineering, Inc. and does freelance writing. Beth has loved to read since she was a young child, and she and her husband now enjoy sharing their love of books with their young daughter.

Sarah Bjelland
Board Member

Sarah is a Business Intelligence Specialist for the University of Illinois Alumni Association. Her passion for data, research and education, as well as her current and past experience in collecting and analyzing data related to education outcomes as a Director for Huntington Learning Center in Decatur and the Education Coalition of Macon County, challenge The Reading Group Board to address real challenges in the education community we serve. Sarah’s degree from the University of Illinois, and her advanced certification in the use of data management systems, makes her skills relevant to finance, scholarship, programs and outreach.

Jedd Swisher
Board Member

Jedd was one of Marilyn Kay’s first students when she started tutoring kids with dyslexia back in 1972. His kids and grandkids have also worked with tutors at The Reading Group over the years, since dyslexia is hereditary. He is General Manager at Depke Gases and Welding, Owner of Campus Ink, and an Equity Partner in the Illinois Marathon. Jedd is a living example of the statistic, “Forty percent of entrepreneurs are dyslexic.” Jedd knows first-hand that The Reading Group changes lives.

​Melissa Wills
​Board Member

Melissa has worked with elementary aged students for 20 years as a classroom teacher and librarian.  She holds a master's degree in teaching and leadership and a master's degree in library and information sciences.  She is passionate about helping students find the resources they need in order to meet their full potential.

Brian Bancroft
Board Member

Brian is the Branch and Business Center Manager for PNC Bank
and has volunteered in conjunction with PNC Grow Up Great which is a $500 million initiative to help children from birth to age 5 develop a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime. He enjoys reading books and shares his enjoyment for reading with his son, Preston.

Jean Hinton, EdD
Former Executive Director

Jean brings 35 years of experience with her most recent work being the development of curriculum and instruction for the Leadership segment of Millikin University’s two MBA programs. Jean led the Education Coalition in Decatur which was funded by the Community Foundation of Macon County and focused on improving education through a community cradle-to-career initiative.

Jean holds a doctorate in Education, an MS in Adult and Continuing Education, and an undergraduate degree in history. She is passionate about literacy and is excited to join The Reading Group.

James H. Jones, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Dr Jones started is management career in retail and wholesale after graduating from the University of Minnesota – Moorhead, MN with a BS in Political Science.  After ten years, he entered the University of Illinois and completed his Master’s and Ph.D. in Human Resource Development.  Once he completed his graduate degrees, Jim would spend the next 30 years working in healthcare and higher education.  For fifteen years Dr. Jim worked for the largest healthcare provider in the world, HCA Healthcare.  He retired from HCA in 2005 as the Sr. Vice President, Human Resources.  Following his retirement from HCA he worked for four universities as a professor, dean and vice president of adult education. Joining The Reading Group, is a change of pace to be sure, but it continues to represent an opportunity to provide service to others.  Service to others has always been a primary goal for Dr. Jim and The Reading Group certainly provides a pathway to help individuals who learn differently change their lives and the world.