We are grateful for the inspiration and counsel of these esteemed leaders in the field of reading instruction. We call them our “luminaries,” for the guiding light they shine for us and for all those around them.

Marcia Henry, Ph.D.—an expert with nearly 50 years of experience in the field of reading and dyslexia, as a teacher, diagnostician, tutor and professor; past president of the International Dyslexia Association; former director of the Center for Educational Research on Dyslexia at San Jose University; consultant for school districts and states on informed reading instruction; author of Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decoding and Spelling Instruction; author of Madeline Island ABC Book; Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE); and recipient of the IDA's Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award

Jean Osman, M.A.—classroom teacher, teacher-of-teachers, diagnostician, educational therapist, college professor and lecturer with 52 years' experience in the field; co-founder, with Paula Rome, and former clinical director of The Reading Center (Dyslexia Institute of Minnesota); co-author, with Paula Rome, of the Language Tool Kit, an internationally recognized text for teaching those with dyslexia; Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE); and recipient of the IDA's Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award

Arlene Sonday, M.A.—Orton-Gillingham practitioner and teacher for more than 40 years; founding fellow and first president, Academy of Orton Gilllingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE); author, The Sonday System, a group of highly successful, multisensory, structured phonics curricula for teaching reading, writing and spelling; co-founder of Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota; teacher-trainer in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Kuwait, Thailand, China, Canada and throughout the USA; and adjunct faculty, Hamline University, MN and Farleigh Dickinson University, NJ

Hannah Tolles, M.A.—teacher, learning specialist, private tutor and educational consultant; co-founder of Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota, providing scientifically based reading research instruction and supervised practicum experience in the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading, spelling and writing; past president and former board member of The International Dyslexia Association-Upper Midwest Branch (IDA-UMB); adjunct professor, Hamline University; teacher-trainer and supervisor for IDA-UMB; speaker on phonemic awareness and training volunteers in the teaching of reading