Click on the photos below to find out more about our committee members, and their work within the field of reading. Documents and links are included where appropriate.
Professor James Chapman: New Zealand
James Chapman is Professor of Educational Psychology and International Advisor at the Massey University Institute of Education. He received his M.A. with Distinction in Education from Victoria University of Wellington, and his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Alberta, Canada, specializing in cognitive-motivational factors associated with learning disabilities. Professor Chapman trained as a […]
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Dr Molly de Lemos AM, BSc (Hons), MSc (Natal), PhD (ANU), MAPsS: Australia
Dr Molly de Lemos is a former President of Learning Difficulties Australia (LDA), an organization dedicated to assisting students with learning difficulties through effective teaching practices based on scientific research. Her initial training was in psychology, and her post graduate research was in the area of conceptual development, using Piagetian tasks to examine conceptual development […]
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Anne Glennie: Scotland
Anne Glennie is a literacy consultant and trainer, author of Reflective Reading and Phonics Forever, and owner of The Learning Zoo. To date, she has trained over 7000 teachers across 600 schools and counting, in all aspects of literacy and assessment in Scotland. A classroom teacher first and foremost, Anne provides training that delegates describe […]
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Susan Godsland: England
Susan’s introduction to evidence-informed reading instruction and synthetic phonics came through reading Diane McGuinness’s book Why Children Can’t Read and Bonnie Macmillan’s book Why Schoolchildren Can’t Read. These two books first opened her eyes to the real reason why huge numbers of English-speaking children were failing to learn to read and write and why so […]
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Debbie Hepplewhite MBE FRSA: England
A former teacher, special needs teacher and headteacher, Debbie has campaigned extensively over many years to achieve national, research-informed, systematic synthetic phonics teaching in primary schools. As a representative of the UK Reading Reform Foundation (former editor of the RRF newsletter, founder of the RRF website and Honorary Committee Member), she advised the British Government […]
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Yvonne Meyer: Australia
“When my son started school, I was excited to see how different his classroom was to anything I had experienced in my childhood. There were no assigned seats, and the children could move around at will in a room full of beanbags, books and toys. At the end of the first year, I told my […]
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Professor Tom Nicholson: New Zealand
Tom Nicholson is a Professor of Education in the Institute of Education at Massey University. Tom gained his PhD at the University of Minnesota and worked at the University of Waikato and then at the University of Auckland where he held a personal chair in Education and was co-head of the School of Education before […]
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Sir Jim Rose CBE, LLD, FRSA: England
Update: Sir Jim Rose was a founding member of the International Foundation for Effective Reading Instruction. Very sadly, Jim died on 9th February 2023 aged 83. His contribution to literacy is profound and his work renowned internationally. Jim’s wife, Pauline (the ‘love of his life’) died in 2021. Jim and Pauline are survived by daughter, […]
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Dr. Linda Siegel: Canada
Linda Siegel is the former Dorothy C. Lam Chair in Special Education and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She has over 200 publications on early identification and intervention to prevent reading problems, dyslexia, reading and language development, mathematical […]
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Abigail Steel BA Hons PTE LLB: England
“I come from a long line of teachers: my mother, grandmother and great grandmother – and aren’t all mothers teachers anyway? At first I resisted the profession and then discovered that I had a talent and passion in life for teaching children but also for teaching the adults that work with children. I became particularly […]
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Professor William Tunmer: New Zealand
William Tunmer is Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at the Massey University Institute of Education. He received his PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979, specializing in the areas of theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive development. From 1980 to 1988 he held the positions of Research Fellow, Lecturer, and […]
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The Right Honorable Robert W. Sweet, Jr: USA
Update: Bob Sweet was a founding member of the International Foundation for Effective Reading Instruction. Very sadly, Bob died on 17th July 2019. In doing so, not only did he leave his wonderful wife, Joy, and a family of several generations broken-hearted, he left us all broken-hearted. Some people describe that Bob did more than […]
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Grace Vilar – South America
Grace Vilar, former English teacher and Headteacher, is a Bilingual Literacy and Educational Consultant and Synthetic Phonics trainer based in Argentina. Grace has wide experience in bilingual Spanish and English schools in Latin America. As an expert in the field of Literacy in the bilingual context, Grace gives training and sustained consultancy support on ‘How […]
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Emeritus Professor Kevin Wheldall AM, BA, PhD, C.Psychol, FASSA, FBPsS, FCollP, FIARLD, MAPS, MCEDP: Australia
Current and previous positions Prior to his retirement at the end of 2011, Emeritus Professor Kevin Wheldall, AM served as Professor and Director of Macquarie University Special Education Centre (MUSEC) for over twenty years. He continues to serve as Chairman of the Board (and as a director) of MultiLit Pty Ltd, a university spin-off company established […]
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