Our Team - Decoding Dyslexia Oregon

Board Members

Ross Faulkenberg, President
Ross joined Decoding Dyslexia Oregon in 2019. He is a teacher in SW Portland and an Orton-Gillingham trained linguistics tutor. In 2010, he graduated from Portland State University with a degree in English and Creative Writing.

For ten years he worked as a piano technician with Classic Pianos in southeast Portland and spent the following three years as a music educator with the local non-profit Ethos Music Center. He has volunteered with many local organizations such as Write Around Portland, Lines For Life, IRCO, and serves as the board president for Decoding Dyslexia Oregon. Ross completed his Masters of Special Education at Portland State University in Spring 2021. He is originally from Plainfield, Indiana or as some like to call it, “corn country”.

Meg Hagan, Licensed Tax Preparer, Treasurer
Meg owns a thriving tax consultant business in SE Portland. Meg and her family began their formal dyslexia journey when her son was diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and executive function disorder in 3rd grade. Her husband, father, brother, and two nephews (on each side of the family) also have dyslexia.

Meg is passionate about children receiving appropriate and early dyslexia identification and services in public school. She also believes being able to read is a civil right; every child deserves evidence based instruction and every teacher deserves evidence based training. She encourages families to engage their legislative representatives about changing how pre-service teachers learn to teach reading at Oregon universities and to engage their school boards about getting current teachers the training they need to effectively teach reading, no matter the curriculum they are using.

Paula Byrd, Secretary
Paula Byrd is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She graduated at Portland State University with a Bachelors of Arts and completed her Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at the University of Illinois. She joined the Board of Y.O.U.th in 2013 and recently became the Executive Director in 2019. She is committed to the educational literacy of youth and adults. She desires to change the lives of all young people she works with and drives them to be their best. Paula serves as the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council Co-Chair.

Cézanne Tyner
Cézanne Tyner is a former classroom teacher with a passion towards education success – especially with dyslexia. Her experience in teaching spans countries such as Kenya, Nicaragua, Romania and Japan. Cézanne has an undergraduate degree in Family and Human Services and a Masters in Teaching with an emphasis in English language arts and English as a Second Language.

She has been able to assume roles with public, charter, alternative, and catholic schools in Oregon and abroad. Cézanne’s love for education includes her learning and growing as well. She is a product of a Portland Public Schools education and determined to give back. Cézanne is a member of the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council.

Dr. Elizabeth Barker
Dr. Elizabeth Barker is an Accessibility Research Manager for NWEA a not-for-profit organization. At NWEA, Dr. Barker is part of the Collaborative for Student Growth where she is devoted to using data-driven insight to remove barriers for students with disabilities.

In addition to her work at NWEA, Elizabeth serves as an instructor at the University of Portland, providing instruction around assessment and special education topics. Prior to her work at NWEA and UP, Elizabeth was a K-12 special education teacher in Oregon, Colorado, and Michigan with a focus on students with learning disabilities. Having dyslexia herself, Elizabeth has dedicated her career to the improvement of reading instruction, accessibility to curriculum and assessment, and providing an education to all students. She is passionate about advocating for children and families with dyslexia and other disabilities.

Iyabo Bello
Iyabo Bello is currently a graduate student in the Masters of Special Education program at Portland State University. Iyabo is excited to finish school and to use her education to empower younger generations. Iyabo believes that education is a powerful tool to build and grow individually and as a community. “Being able to read is empowering and makes you resourceful. Iyabo is a member of the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council.

Julisa Rodriguez
Julisa Rodriguez is a product of Salem Keizer Public schools in Salem, Oregon, which is where she currently serves as an elementary bilingual classroom teacher. She received Bachelor degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her bachelor degrees include a Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Bilingual (Spanish ) Education and a Bachelors in Mexican – American studies. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Education – Dyslexia Specialist program from Colorado College. Julisa is passionate about dismantling the school to prison pipeline by way of literacy justice. Julisa is a member of the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council.

Kamala Arumugam
Kamala Arumugam works for the Beaverton School District and is pursuing her Masters in Special education at Portland State University. Kamala is passionate about literacy, improving education and wants to have a positive influence on students. She is also the founder of a non-profit organization “Tamil Arambap Palli” that was founded to teach Tamil language and Tamil culture to diaspora Tamil children in and around Portland. Kamala is a member of the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council.

Liz Dominguez-Jackson
Liz Dominguez-Jackson grew up on the West Coast and moved to Portland in the autumn of 2012. Since moving to Portland, she has been involved in various community outreach efforts, mostly involving youth and education. Currently, she works on the marketing team at a technology education company. Liz is passionate about accessible education for all learners, regardless of learning style or ability. Liz is a member of the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council.

Dr. Scott Smith
Dr. Scott Smith has been in education for the past 40 years. Growing up in Eastern Oregon he struggled with school. His fifth-grade teacher told his parents he needed to find a trade because he would never be able to read or spell or write and attend college. Dr. Smith is a third-generation successful dyslexic.

His parents knew with the support that would not be the case. He obtained his Bachelors Degree from Western Oregon University, Masters from Lesley University, in Cambridge, MA and his Doctorate from Northcentral University in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He spent 26 years in elementary classrooms in Umatilla, Oregon, finishing his experience there as their Reading Coach. He then became an Assistant Professor at Eastern Oregon University in the Elementary Pre-Service teacher program. He worked as an instructional coach for the InterMountain ESD serving 18 rural school districts area of focus is pre-reading skills and reading instruction and dyslexia along with classroom instructional support. His book “Discovering Effective Reading Reading Instruction” (2019) he explains the hows and whys of Science-Based reading instruction. Scott contributes to Decoding Dyslexia as the Parent Support Coordinator for the Parent to Parent program.

Dr. Shaheen Munir-McHill
Dr. Shaheen Munir-McHill is an assistant professor of practice at Portland State University and the coordinator of the PSU Special Education K-12 license and endorsement programs.

Shaheen has served in a wide range of roles in the education system, including an elementary resource room teacher, a school psychologist, a DIBELS mentor, a reading interventionist, a student teaching coach, and the coordinator of a reading intervention clinic. Shaheen is passionate about supporting all learners to become successful readers. Her interests include the use of formative and diagnostic assessment tools to drive reading instructional practices, early screening for potential reading challenges, multi-tiered systems of instructional support, and working with families to navigate special education systems and reinforcing evidenced-based instructional practices at home. Shaheen is a member of the Decoding Dyslexia Oregon Equity Council.

Tracy Morgan
Tracy is the Executive Director for the Alzheimer’s Association. As the parent of two children with dyslexia, Tracy loves helping bring resources to families as they navigate their journeys with dyslexia. She is passionate about showing kids that dyslexia is a true advantage for them. Tracy is the founder and coordinator of the Decoding Dyslexia Kids Network. She enjoys creating a program that allows children to connect with others and embrace their dyslexic advantages.

Interested in joining our Board? Click Here for more information.

Staff

Lisa Lyon, MPH, Founder & Community Outreach Director
As the parent of a 10th grade son who has dyslexia, Lisa feels passionate about increasing public awareness of dyslexia. She enjoys connecting with other parents and sharing resources to make their journeys with dyslexia a little easier and more efficient. Currently, Lisa coordinates the monthly lecture series and supports the development of new Oregon Decoding Dyslexia chapters.

Diana Sticker, MPH, Founder & Marketing Director
Diana is a former research professional with a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She and her daughter have dyslexia. Diana is passionate about creating systematic change that supports children with dyslexia and manages the marketing, communications and operations efforts and contributes to the legislative arm of Decoding Dyslexia Oregon.