Local Work With A Global Reach

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck is an educational consultant, author, and researcher. She served as Executive Consultant to the Washington State Reading Initiative and as an advisor to the Texas Reading Initiative. Dr. Hasbrouck worked as a reading specialist and literacy coach for 15 years before teaching at the University of Oregon and later became a professor at Texas A&M University. Dr. Hasbrouck has provided educational consulting to individual schools across the globe, helping teachers, specialists, and administrators design and implement effective assessment and instructional programs targeted to help low-performing readers.

Dr. Hasbrouck earned her BA and MA from the University of Oregon, and completed her PhD at Texas A&M.  Her research in areas of reading fluency, reading assessment, coaching, and second language learners has been published in numerous professional books and journals.  She is the author and coauthor of several books including “Conquering Dyslexia”, “Reading Fluency”, “The Reading Coach: A How-to Manual for Success”, and “Educators as Physicians”, along with some assessment tools.  Dr. Hasbrouck works with the McGraw Hill publishers as an author of their “Wonders” and “WonderWorks” reading and intervention programs. She also enjoys her volunteer work at her grandson’s K-8 school in Seattle.

Julie Bedell, MS, is in the 36th year of her public school teaching career as both a reading specialist and a K-8 classroom teacher.  Her passion for the science of reading was sparked when she was introduced to The Writing Road to Reading: The Spalding Method in her second year of teaching. Julie has seen countless students become confident readers and writers using this Orton-based instructional approach. In addition to her time with children, Julie is committed to staying abreast of the latest reading science by attending conferences and receiving additional training in both linguistic and Orton-based methodologies. Julie shares her enthusiasm for the science of reading by leading classes for teachers on phonology, orthography, spelling, handwriting, and reading. As president of Read Washington, Julie is dedicated to helping other teachers learn the science of reading and put it into practice in their classrooms.  

Amy Fleisher, MIT, is a primary-grade reading interventionist working in the Seattle public schools. Prior to her work with fragile readers, Amy has had a varied teaching career, working with preschoolers and their parents to providing corporate training. It wasn't until she was introduced to the science of reading that she felt she truly understood how to teach her students to read. As the daughter of a dyslexic father, the mother of dyslexic sons, and a dyslexic herself, Amy knows the power of science-based literacy instruction as both a reader and a practicing educator. Through her work with Read Washington, Amy is eager to spread the word about the science of reading and the hope it brings for all readers.

Frank Greif brings the ReadWA board years of experience as a business consultant and Executive Coach. Frank has worked with such diverse corporations as Apple, Nokia, AT&T, HBO, and Getty Images. He started his career as a journalist producing nightly television news, and anchoring a daily television show. Frank also started and ultimately sold a specialized telephone company; served as a Cabinet Member for the Mayor of Seattle; founded a national association to lobby the US Congress on telecommunication issues, and managed the marketing arm of a commercial real estate development firm. 

A graduate of The Evergreen State College and the State and Local Government Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Frank has maintained his ties to the education community. He has served as Chair of the Advisory Board of the Graduate Management Program at Antioch University, has been a visiting instructor at Highline College, and a guest lecturer at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the University of Washington.

Involved in numerous civic organizations, Frank has served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Seattle Public Library and has been an on-camera fund-raiser for KCTS Television, the Public Broadcasting System station in Seattle.