IDA Oregon ♦ Board of Directors 

 

Shelbe Park – President

Shelbe Park is a native Portlander and now lives in Vancouver Washington with her husband. She has two grown children. She became active in the Oregon branch of IDA  when her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia at age nine.  Shelbe has served on the Board of Directors, as Vice-President, and two terms as President.  Her daughter is now a successful engineer and Shelbe contributes that to the support she received from IDA.  Shelbe is a full-time tutor for students with Dyslexia and believes that it is important to teach students with dyslexia to advocate for themselves.  She is the mentor of the IDA Oregon Student Empowerment Group. She is in awe of the amazing students she has met and mentored.


Danielle Thompson

Danielle Thompson – Immediate Past President

Danielle’s journey into dyslexia began when people she cared about found out they were dyslexic and she realized she needed to learn more.  The more she learned of the science of dyslexia and the science of reading, the more she began to understand why many of her high school students continued to struggle with reading, writing, and spelling despite their best efforts over the years.  A public high school teacher for over 20 years, and a dyslexia screener and tutor, Danielle joined the Board of Directors of IDA-Oregon Branch out of a desire to improve the life of the next struggling student in her classroom, as well as all students and adults with dyslexia, and to share best practices with the educators, parents, and professionals who want to learn more.  Danielle also serves as the Pacific Region Representative at the International Dyslexia Association.


Jim Snyder – Vice President

Jim spent the last 17 years in the education field as a marketer and researcher working with educators around the world.  He has presented at conferences throughout the world (EARCOS, CEESA, NESA, WAFLT, ACTFL, Fusion, and AAIE, QM Connect) speaking on how growth measures, longitudinal data, assessments and online course design can support educators.  He spent 8 years with the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) focused on competency-based assessment for core content areas. and with Quality Matters since 2013 working to market quality assurance in online education to Higher Ed and K12 institutions.  His focus is on expanding Quality Matters presence in K-16 education space.

Jim has a BA in physics and mathematics from Kenyon College, an MS in Physics from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from Portland State University.  He earned an Ed.D. in 2010 from George Fox University and his dissertation was on the use of audio in computerized adaptive assessments. In addition, since 2003, Dr. Snyder has been the director of the NW Education Cluster.  The cluster is a collection of more than three dozen Portland area companies who meeting regularly, networking to learn about each other’s businesses, discover synergies, and explore the potential of the education/training industry as an economic driver for Portland and its metro area. From 2019 to 2023 Dr. Snyder was the Treasurer for the Oregon Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and in 2024 he became the Vice President. Jim is married with 2 kids and enjoys running and playing soccer in his free time.


Tanya Haas – Treasurer

Tanya Haas is a graduate of the University of California, Davis (BS) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (MS), and has had the privilege of living and traveling around the world for both work and pleasure.   As a proud mother of 2 boys with dyslexia provided first-hand experience of living and navigating the world (and public school) with learning differences.  For the last 30 years Portland, Oregon has been home and Tanya’s mission is to help, educate and support the next family that finds themselves on a similar journey with dyslexia.


Myrna Soule – Secretary

Myrna has been involved with IDA since 1977 and after teaching for 49 years she is now a private tutor. Presently Myrna tutors 21 students each week (K- high school and adults).  Myrna started three private schools for students with specific educational needs, is a Slingerland Teacher Training Director and on the Slingerland Faculty Senate, and was on the LDA National Board for 20 years. Most recently, Myrna was Secretary of the Oregon Federation of Independent Schools also for 20 years and just recently retired from that position. Presently Myrna is active in her church as an AWANA leader for 3rd thru 5th graders and continues to support IDA Oregon.

Ebonee Bell – Director

Ebonee Bell graduated from Smith College with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Language, and received her Master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ebonee has been an Amazon Diversity series speaker, a Multnomah County Black History Month speaker, and a speaker at the Tualatin Martin Luther King Day celebration. She has spoken at the Rosewood Initiative, the Tribute to Toni Morrison, and the Tribute to Ursula Leguin. She works for the Books2U literacy promotion program — a program that encourages reading for public school kids in the 3rd – 5th grades, and she provides library services to pre-adjudicated minors in juvenile detention. Ebonee has dedicated her career to advancing the education of children and youth through the various literacy initiatives she promotes locally and nationally. She believes that books have the power to change lives.


Jesse Cox – Director

Hello, I am Jesse Cox, a dyslexic working professional with a master’s degree, and I still hesitate to try to spell dyslexia every single time. Dyslexia never goes away, and although I still struggle with it every day, I am excited to share my journey with others and give some insight into how I found joy and success despite lifelong hardships trying to navigate traditional education systems.  I spent much of my adolescence with debilitating anxiety because I was never able to measure up in the classroom. I learned that asking for help, building a community of support, and advocating for myself was the only way I would ever find success, and ultimately happiness, in a world that was not made for brains like mine. 
I was my great privilege to work as a Student Affairs professional in higher education,  and it is my great passion to help young adults discover who they want to be and realize the dream of a college education despite any challenges they have to overcome. After ten years at universities, I am proudly working as the Director of Post-Secondary Transitions at my alma mater, Edison High School. This is a small school for students with learning disabilities and truly where my heart is within the education world.  I relocated back to Oregon with my husband and one-year-old son, Sullivan in 2021.  I am so thrilled to be working with The International Dyslexia Association- Oregon Branch to help develop the Professional Dyslexia Network, a virtual monthly live chat, to help build connections among adults with dyslexia to help them discover tools to live fulfilling lives as students or as professionals in the workplace. Learning differences do not disappear at 18, and we want to help people navigate adulthood living with dyslexia. 

Kimberly Ferrell – Director

 


Lynn Lamping – Director

Lynn became interested in learning about dyslexia when one of her four children struggled to learn to read, write, and memorize math facts. She discovered a genetic marker for dyslexia in her family history. Over the next decade, Lynn learned effective methods to help her child learn how to read, write, spell, and achieve success in math. She is a licensed K-12 Special Education Teacher in the state of Oregon. Lynn earned her Fellow Level with the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) in November 2018, and her Structured Literacy/Dyslexia Specialist with the International Dyslexia Association. Lynn is the director and trainer for the Oregon Dyslexia Institute. She spends her time training Oregon teachers how to recognize dyslexia, understand the foundational skills of the English language, and how to intensify instruction to meet the needs of struggling readers, including dyslexia, in compliance with the Oregon State Approved Dyslexia Training.


Elena Mendoza – Director
 
 

Anna Myers- Director
 
 

Marla Resnick – Director
 
 

 

Katie Vincent – Director

Katie Vincent, Ed.D is a native Oregonian and a long-time educator in the Portland area. Having held positions as a teacher, in administration, and as a higher education faculty member, Katie is committed to making certain that educators have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure that each of their students has the literacy skills required for success.  Katie currently serves as Associate Faculty at Prescott College, Prescott AZ and Adjunct Faculty at Warner Pacific University, Portland OR.

 

 

 

For more information on IDA Oregon…please email:  info@orbida.org

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