Valdine Bjornson

Valdine Bjornson (EdD) has earned a Doctor of Education degree focusing on adults with dyslexia in Manitoba. She has also completed a MEd., Special Education Certificate, C-TESL, and a Graduate Certificate (M. A. Program) in International Education. She has worked in several Manitoba school divisions and international schools teaching EAL, music, and in early years classrooms. Over the past several years, she has served as a Reading Clinician-Specialist at University, in public schools, and in private practice. Valdine frequently provides workshops, training, and professional development for educators across Canada and internationally. She is completing training to become a Fellow member with the Orton-Gillingham Academy and is certified by the International Dyslexia Association as a Tier 3 Dyslexia Therapist. She has a loving husband and three incredible daughters who inspire her every day.

Stuart Bruce

Stuart is a Canadian serial entrepreneur founding eight companies over the past two decades. As someone with Dyslexia himself, Stuart understands the challenges that those with Dyslexia face early on in their education and throughout their lives. Stuart is currently Chief Executive Officer of FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada and an active member of the insurance industry in Canada. In 1995 Stuart obtained an Honors Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. In 2001 Stuart obtained a Chartered Accountant designation from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Stuart has been a member of the Canadian National Sailing Team competing at the national and international level and was a member of the Canadian Olympic Sailing Team for the 1992 games.

Rachel Engler-Stringer

Rachel Engler-Stringer is an associate professor in Community Health and Epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan who does research on nutrition inequities. She is also the mother of two children with dyslexia. The social determinants of health are central to her research and teaching and they have now become the lens through which she views advocacy for children and adults who have dyslexia. She firmly believes that as a society if we can ensure everyone has access to education that meets their needs then many social problems can be prevented.

Keith Gray

Keith is a retired executive of the TD Bank and is dyslexic himself. He is also retired from a number of corporate and volunteer boards. He is past chair of the Ontario Judge's Pension Board and an Honorary Life Governor of the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

Brian Medeiros

Brian is an executive at IBM with over 20 years of technology, sales and business transformation experience.  He has held leadership positions across Canada, Ireland and South America and has built a reputation for consistently achieving his business objectives, building winning teams, and ultimately bringing value to his clients, partners and teammates every day.  In 2001 Brian obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from The DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University.  In 2007 he became a certified Sales Executive from Harvard Business School and in 2018 was recognized as a Master Deal Maker, Leading Major Client Partnerships, from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
Brian was also a mentor in the Calgary Junior Achievement program from 2006 - 2015 where he helped grade school students who struggled in school.

Corey Zylstra

Corey has been in the field of education for over 25 years. She has taught in colleges, elementary schools, private clinics and community facilities. Corey is a regular conference and workshop presenter worldwide. Since specializing in the field of learning difficulties and multi-sensory language remediation using the Orton-Gillingham approach, Corey has served on several non-profit boards in executive, board and advisory positions. She holds a Masters of Education degree from SFU, a Provincial Instructor’s Diploma, and has been recognized and accredited as an Orton-Gillingham Master Trainer for the Canadian Orton-Gillingham Academy (MT/ CATT, OG), an Honorary Fellow of the American OG Academy (HF/ AOGPE) and a Certified Dyslexia Therapist through the International Dyslexia Association (CDT/IDA). Corey lives in North Vancouver, Canada and is the daughter to a person with dyslexia, as well as a parent to a son with dyslexia.

Pina Lamb

Pina Lamb is a career educator who has spent the past 33 years in both instructional and consulting capacities within the education sector. Having worked directly with young children and teenagers she is acutely aware of the challenges they face. These experiences strengthened her commitment to facilitating equitable access to education by removing barriers and increasing awareness. After 10+ years as a teacher, she transitioned into an advisory role with Castle Rock Research Corporation, working to strengthen the school infrastructure in Calgary through education resource development and advocacy. Most recently, she has been involved in program management and fundraising with a range of charitable/not-for-profit organizations including the Owen Hart Foundation, The Educational Partnership Foundation and Notre Dame High School. Pina holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary and completed the Foundations of Orton-Gillingham Multisensory- Structured Language course of the Teacher Training Program by Liisa Freure.

Kirsten Downey

Kirsten Downey has earned a Master of Business Administration as well as a B. Admin. She is currently the program head for the Business Management and Supply Chain Management Post Grad Programs at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. She has taught for over 5 years a variety of business courses including strategic management, project management and public relations. Prior to moving into post-secondary, she primarily worked in strategic planning. Her youngest son has dyslexia which drives her passion to advocate for systemic change and evidenced-based supports within school systems.

Raffaela Profiti

Raffaela is an Ontario physician and mother of 2 children with dyslexia. In her personal experience advocating for her own children and seeking evidence-based interventions, Raffaela has come to realize that more needs to be done across Canada in this regard. She is passionate that every child with dyslexia be given equal opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential.

Alicia Smith

Executive Director

Sandra Magill

Operations Coordinator

Tianna Voort

Community Outreach Coordinator

Christine Staley

Advisor