Michelle is a WA state certified teacher with endorsements in K-8 Elementary Education, K-12 Reading and K-12 English as a Second Language. She is the founder and director of the Cedar Literacy Center where she serves students and families that are navigating dyslexia in their school experience.

Michelle has worked in the field of education for more than twenty years using Orton-Gillingham/structured literacy methods.

1. What excites you most about working with the INW Dyslexia Alliance?

Helping children learn to love literacy as reading and writing becomes less of a challenge. Seeing a child go from discouraged to being excited about reading and writing is something that may take a little while, but it is so worth it in the long run! 

2. What’s your favorite part about living in the Inland Northwest?

The scenery. I love getting to go outside and see all the greenery in the spring and summer, the oranges and yellows in the fall, and the snow covered trees in the winter. I love living in a place that has all four seasons that enhance the beauty of the nature around us. 

3. What do you enjoy doing during your free time?   

I love to do a lot of different activities! Sometimes I prefer to stay in and read a book or knit, and other times I prefer to go out to fun events like escape rooms or concerts. Though, I tend to stay inside and read as I am a homebody.

4. What’s your favorite book?

My favorite book is called Ella Minoe Pea. It's a book about a small island that slowly loses certain letters of the alphabet. As the letters fall from a plaque in town, the town council bans the letters from being written. As the story goes on, more and more letters are taken away. I love this book because the author is telling the story through notes and letters to and from the characters, meaning that as soon as the letters are prohibited, the author can also no longer use them. By the end of the book, there are only a few letters left in the alphabet and most words are spelled phonetically or with letters that sound similar to the one that was lost.

To me, this book is a love letter to language, which as a speech language pathologist and someone with an interest in dyslexia, is something I loved! I also thought the story itself was creative and well executed. I know I could never write a book with a limit on what letters I could and could not use!

Maddie graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders and is currently pursuing her master's degree to become a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP).

1. What excites you most about working with the INW Dyslexia Alliance?

I love providing kids access to the tools they need to thrive!

2. What’s your favorite part about living in the Inland Northwest?

The mountains and the lakes, especially in fall and spring.

3. What do you enjoy doing during your free time?   

I love reading, hiking, thrifting, and visiting local cafes!

4. What’s your favorite book?

I have so many favorites! But the one that first  taught me to love reading was the Peter and the Starcatchers series!