ACF Leadership
Lynne Fitzhugh, Ph.D., CALT-QI
Founder and President of the Colorado Literacy & Learning Center and Director and Lecturer of the Master of Arts in Teaching –Dyslexia Specialist Program at Colorado College. A Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor, Dr. Fitzhugh is the current President of the ALTA Charitable Foundation and Past-President of the Academic Language Therapy Association. She is a representative to the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and a former board member of the International Dyslexia Association and the International Multisensory Structured Education Council. Dr. Fitzhugh received her doctorate in psychology from Southern Methodist University. She completed her CALT requirements through Southern Methodist University’s Learning Therapy Department and her Qualified Instructor of CALTs from the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Fitzhugh was the 2018 recipient of the Council of Learning Disabilities Floyd G. Hudson Outstanding Service Award, the Colorado Council of Learning Disabilities 2018 Professional of the Year Award and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs 2006 Friends and Family Award.
President
Kathy Tenney, MS, CALT-QI
Kathy Tenney, MS, CALT-QI has been a member of ALTA since 1998. She received her CALT training from Southern Methodist University. She received her MS from the University of Utah. She has been in private practice since 1998. She founded Dyslexia Therapy Utah in 2021. She trains future CALTs for the Shelton School’s Utah Outreach program. She is on the board of Decoding Dyslexia Utah and has presented at state reading conferences in Utah. She loves hiking, traveling, entertaining, and spending time with her husband, 5 children and their spouses, and 4 adorable grandchildren.
Secretary
Angela Williams, MAT, CALT
Angela Williams, MAT, CALT has been a member of ALTA since 2017 as a Certified Academic Language Therapist. She received her MAT in Literacy Intervention at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Angela is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada where she taught elementary grade levels for over ten years. Since moving to Colorado in 2009, she has taught for five years with a focus on Literacy Intervention. Angela holds a teaching license in Elementary Education and has obtained a Reading Specialist endorsement from the Colorado Department of Education. Presently, Angela has opened her own dyslexia and learning center, Away with Words. She is passionate about helping dyslexic students succeed through small group intervention, and online. In her free time, Angela loves spending time with her husband, Jason, and her three wonderful children: Abigail, Dean, and Blake.
Treasurer
Genevieve "G-g" Shryer, MAT, LDT, CALT-QI
G-g Shryer, MAT, CALT-QI, LDT, earned her membership into ALTA in 2001. She has Montessori certification in Early Childhood and Elementary. She received her Master of Arts in Teaching from DBU. G-g has enjoyed training teachers at the Teaching and Therapy level for the Take Flight curriculum and training teachers in Language for Elementary I Montessori. Her roles with the Texas ALTA Chapter have included North Texas Regional Chairman, Treasurer, and, more recently, Event Chairman for the Summit. In addition, she has enjoyed originating Kids with HeART, a program that showcases sets of notecards of original art drawings from dyslexic students. Donations raised from this program go to the ACF for teacher training. G-g has taught children with learning differences for 30 years and teaches elementary students at the Shelton School in Dallas, TX.
Co-Chair Scholarships
Kara Lee, Ed.S., CALT-ICALP
Kara Lee is the owner and principal trainer at Horton Educational Services(HES). Ms. Lee earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University, a Master of Science and Educational Specialist degree from Miami University. She worked as a school psychologist for six years before going into the classroom as an intervention Specialist. Ms. Lee has worked as a Trainer and Supervisor for the Children’s Dyslexia Center in Columbus, Ohio, and has taught classes and conducted training for a variety of school districts. She has been a member of the Academic Language Therapy Association since 2012 and has served on the Board of Directors since 2017.
Co-Chair Scholarships
Libby Grafa, MAT, LDT, CALT-QI
Libby Graffa's journey began at the Jame Phillips Williams Memorial Foundation in 1992, leading to her CALT qualification in 1994. With degrees from Angelo State University and Colorado College, she boasts 30+ years of diverse teaching experience.
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Libby's expertise, evident through her ICALP and QI credentials, has left an indelible mark. Former President of Texas ALTA, she remains integral to its committees and the ACF board, driving positive change in education and therapy.
Board Member
Margaret DeTullio, MAT, LDT, CALT
Board Member
Margaret DeTullio, MAT, CALT, LDT has been a member of ALTA since 2011. She is a Certified Academic Therapist in both Take Flight and SEE Therapies. She received both language therapy certification through Shelton School. She has her Montessori certification in Elementary Education. She received her Masters in the Art of Teaching from DBU and undergraduate degree through The University of Houston. Margaret has been teaching at Shelton School in Dallas,Texas for 17 years as a third/fourth grade advisor. She also is a private tutor to serve her community. She is thoroughly honored to empower her dyslexic students to read. It’s truly a joy to watch her students develop the joy of reading. Her passion is to grow professionally and academically with the help of ALTA leading her to better serve her students and community. In her spare time she enjoys clamping with her husband,spending quality time with her family and friends, shopping, reading a good mystery novel or binge watching her favorite streaming show.
Melissa Dodd, MAT, LDT, CALT
Board Member
Melissa Dodd, MAT, LDT, CALT, joined ALTA in 2015. She holds a Montessori certification in Elementary I as well as Apple Teacher certification.
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Melissa received her undergraduate degree in real estate and then Master of Arts in Teaching from Dallas Baptist University. She is a Certified Academic Language Therapist in both Sequential English Education and Take Flight. She has enjoyed teaching learning different children at the June Shelton School in Dallas since 2008. Prior to joining the Shelton School, Melissa was an Algebra teacher. She loves spending time with her family in the beautiful great outdoors.
Pauline Novak, M.Ed., MAT, CALT
Board Member
Pauline Novak was extensively trained in techniques to improve the education of those individuals with learning differences while working at the Shelton School in Dallas from 2003-2017. She holds certificates as a Certified Academic Language Therapist since 2011, a Dyslexia Therapist, and a trainer for Montessori as Applied to Children at Risk for Learning Differences. Certified as an Early Childhood and Elementary I Montessori teacher, she has taught in the Montessori classroom for over 25 years while combining the SEE language therapy method. Pauline has previously served as the ALTA VA President and on the AMS Board.
Traci Barrientos, M.Ed., LDT, CALT, CDS
Board Member
Traci Barrientos started her teaching career in 1994 after majoring in Reading Education at St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX. In 2014, Traci completed her Master's in Dyslexia Therapy through William Carey University when she founded Coast Reading Solutions, L.L.C. Additionally, Traci has co-founded numerous organizations to serve those with dyslexia. Some of these organizations include Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia in Ocean Springs, MS, The Southeastern Dyslexia Summit, hosted annually at M.G.M.'s Beau Rivage Casino & Resort, and Resourcing Educators & Advocates of Dyslexia-Mississippi (R.E.A.D. MS), a dyslexia public policy advocacy organization. She began training as a CALT-QI under the Dyslexia Resource Center of Baton Rouge, LA, in 2022.