Executive Committee

Paul Tortolani
Ph.D. President

Paul is the Senior Vice President of Higher Education, Research ＆ Policy at Wilson Language Training. He joined Wilson in 2008 after many years in higher education, government, and business. He has a B.A. and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, and an MPA and Ph.D. in Public Administration from New York University. As an Alliance Board member, Paul serves on the Corporate Development and Planning Committees and is currently President of the Alliance.
Chris Bedenbaugh
M.Ed., LDT, CALT-QI Vice President

Chris is the Director of Outreach and Training at June Shelton School and Evaluation Center in Dallas, Texas. She is also the Director of Shelton’s Academic Language Approach (SALA). Chris has been with Shelton School for 14 years and an educator for 32 years. She is an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University. On the Alliance Board, she is Vice President of Special Projects. Chris graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Elementary Education and a M. A. E. with a specialization in reading.
Beth McClure
M.Ed.,F/AOGPE Treasurer

Beth is a Fellow and the President of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE). Beth has been a member of the AOGPE since 1997. She is a Reading and Writing Specialist as well as the Principal of the charter school she founded. She is the Treasurer of the Alliance, and she sits on the Finance and Exam Committees. She has a Master of Education in Learning and Language Disabilities and a Master of Education in Administration.
Kay Peterson
M.S, CALT-QI Secretary

Kay is a past president of the Alliance. Kay has been a member of the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA) since 1987 and has served as a president of ALTA. She currently serves as president of International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC). On the Alliance board, she serves on the Finance Committee. Kay is on the Professional Learning Board for Boon Philanthropy. She is CEO/Director of LEAD/Literacy Education & Academic Development, Inc., and Program Director of the Master of Education in Dyslexia Therapy at Mississippi College. Kay graduated from Texas Tech University with a B.S. in Child Development and from Amberton University with an M.S. in Business Administration and Human Resources.

Board of Directors

Karen Avrit
M.Ed., LDT, CALT, QI
Karen is the Director of Dyslexia Education at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, Texas. She is also the lead author of Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia. Karen has been with Scottish Rite Hospital for 25 years. Prior to working at Scottish Rite, she was a public-school teacher. On the Alliance Board, Karen represents the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council. Karen graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with a B.S. in Elementary Education and from Texas A&M Commerce with a M.Ed. in Special Education. Karen is a Certified Academic Language Therapist as well as a Qualified Instructor.
Sheila Costello
M.S., F/AOGPE
Sheila is an Accredited Training Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE). Sheila served on the Board of the Academy from 2004 -2018 and as the President from 2015-2018. Sheila did her Orton-Gillingham training at The Carroll School in Massachusetts and worked there from 1997-2004, becoming Director of the Garside Institute for Teacher Training in 2003. After relocating to South Carolina in 2004 she taught at Trident Academy, and as Director of the Language Enrichment and Development department she tutored, administered the tutorial and outreach programs and trained teachers at the AOGPE Associate and Certified levels. Sheila retired from Trident in 2015 and in 2018 became the Founding Fellow of The Orton-Gillingham Center of Charleston. As an Alliance board member, Sheila is on the Bylaws and Alliance Review committees. Sheila received her B.Sc from the University of Surrey U.K. and her M.S degree in Clinical Chemistry from Northeastern University.
Rosalie Davis
M.Ed., F/AOGPE
Rosalie is the former Associate Head of School and Director of Teacher Training for The Schenck School, in Atlanta, Georgia. She retired from The Schenck School the end of June 2018, after 28 years with the school. She is currently the owner and principal consultant for OG Therapists, Inc., consulting with schools, and training and supervising teachers in the Orton-Gillingham Approach. Rosalie is a former President of the Board of Trustees for The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, (AOGPE) and is an Accredited Training Fellow. She is a member of the Alliance Board and also serves on the Professional Learning Advisory Board for Boon Philanthropy. Rosalie received her B. S. and M.Ed degrees from The University of Georgia in Learning Disabilities.
Deanna Fogarty
M.Ed., W.C.T., W.D.T.
Deanna is the Vice President of Curriculum and Professional Learning and a member of the Fidelity Team at Wilson Language Training (WLT). Deanna completed her Wilson Reading System Practitioner and Therapist Level Certifications and has been a Wilson Credentialed Trainer since 1998. She has experience in a variety of educational settings as a regular education teacher including working with high-risk students and multi-age instruction in grades three through six. Deanna taught in public and private school settings in Georgia and Massachusetts and has taught many struggling readers and students with dyslexia in private practice throughout the years. On the Alliance Board, Deanna sits on the Exam Committee. Deanna received a B.A. in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Worcester State University, Worcester, MA.
Diane Milner
Ph.D., F/AOGPE
Diane is a Fellow and board member of the AOGPE. She is the founder of the Key School at Carolina Day and the Director of the Key Learning Center which is accredited by the AOGPE and IMSLEC. She has her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and her master’s degree in Special Education. She is a former board member and past president of NCIDA.
Dee Rosenberg
M.A., LDT-C, W.E.T., W.C.T.
Dee Rosenberg is the Senior Director of Literacy Solutions and Educator Success at Wilson Language Training. She has been a Wilson Language trainer for over 23 years. Prior to working at Wilson, for over 40 years, Dee worked as a special and regular classroom teacher, and as an educational consultant/ public speaker, consulting with school districts and training teachers about dyslexia, improving literacy and other related topics. In December 2021, after over 20 years, Dee retired from the Laurel School of Princeton, which she cofounded, and the Directorship of the Robinowitz Education Center. Dee served two terms as the President of the Board of the New Jersey Branch of the IDA and is the co-founder of the New Jersey chapter of the Reading League. She coauthored the New Jersey State Dyslexia Handbook. Dee received her B.A.in Elementary Education from Towson University and her M.A., LDT-C in Learning Disabilities from Montclair University.
Alicia Sartori
M.P.A.
Alicia is the Executive Director of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE). Alicia has been with AOGPE for ten years directing the operations of the Academy from the main office in Amenia, N.Y. Prior to working with AOGPE, she spent 20 years in management positions in the nonprofit sector. On the Alliance Board, she sits on the Website and Corporate Development and Planning Committees. Alicia graduated from Manhattanville College with a B.A. in Management and from New York University with an M.P.A in Nonprofit Management.
Nanci King Shepardson
M.S.Ed., Ed.S., W.D.P.
Nanci is the Director of Accessibility and Assistive Technology Solutions and a Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner (W.D.P.) at Wilson Language Training (WLT). Prior to joining WLT in 2017, she was an administrator, educational and assistive technology specialist, a reading specialist, consultant/public speaker, and a classroom teacher at a variety of independent and public schools in the Northeast. On the Alliance Board, Nanci chairs the Website Committee and sits on the Ethical Standards and Practices Committee. Nanci graduated from Wheelock College in Boston with a B.S. in Infant/Toddler Development and Preschool/ Kindergarten Curriculum and from Simmons University in Boston with a M.S.Ed. in Language and Literacy and an Ed.S. in Assistive Technology.
Connie Steigerwald
M.Ed., W.D.T, W.C.T.
Connie Steigerwald, M.Ed., W.D.T., W.C.T., is the Senior Director of Partner Development and Literacy Advisor at Wilson Language Training. Connie has been with Wilson Language Training for ten years. Prior to working at Wilson, she worked as a special educator, literacy coach, Wilson in-district trainer, and as a Literacy Consultant for the NC Department of Public Instruction/Exceptional Children Division. A Wilson® Credentialed Trainer since 2004, Connie currently works with administrators in the Southeast and supports the work of Wilson® Accredited Partners throughout the country. On the Alliance Board, she sits on the Conference Committee. Connie graduated from UNC-Greensboro with a B.S. in Communication Disorders and from NC State Univ. with an M.Ed. in Special Education.
Nancy Cushen White
Ed.D., CALT-QI
Nancy Cushen White is a Clinical Professor, Dept of Pediatrics-Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine, at the University of CA-San Francisco. She has been a member of IMSLEC’s board of directors since 2002 and represents the Slingerland Institute for Literacy on the Council. She was chair of IMSLEC’s CEU Committee and has served on the Accreditation, Colleges and Universities, Publications, Research, Standards & Competencies, and Nominating Committees. For 40+ years, she has taught students in general/special education classrooms at public/private schools, provided psycho-educational assessment and literacy intervention, trained pre-/in-service teachers and practitioners, developed curricula, been involved in policy, and been training teachers in use of the Slingerland Multisensory Structured Language Approach. Nancy earned an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from University of San Francisco, an M.Ed. in Specific Language Disability from College of Notre Dame (renamed Notre Dame de Namur University) in Belmont, CA, and a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.