Dr. Robin Thoma spent the first eighteen years of her career as a high school special teacher where she specialized in working with students with specific learning disabilities and autism. Following her time in the classroom, Robin worked at the university-level serving as interim Chairperson of the Education Department, Assistant Professor, and Licensing Advisor at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and as an instructor at Indiana State University and Minot State University. Robin developed curricula in Mild Intervention and Intense Intervention programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Indiana State University and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Learning Disability Association of America. Robin has spent her twenty-six year career advocating for students with special needs and helping train preservice teachers on inclusive practices. She is incredibly excited to support teachers across the state of Illinois by facilitating professional learning opportunities to improve academic outcomes for students with specific learning disabilities.
Project Manager
Robin Thoma, Ph.D.
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In her 26 years as an Illinois educator, Shannon Smith has been privileged to work with students and teachers in various K-12 settings. She has worked as a classroom teacher, Librarian/Media Specialist, Instructional Technology Curriculum Liaison, and Director of Technology.
Committed to sharing her passion for instructional technology, Shannon joined the IL SLD Support Project as Lead Tech where she provides professional learning opportunities for educators and maintains the on-demand learning platform.
Shannon earned her Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Science in Educational Administration from Eastern Illinois University. She is also a Google Certified Trainer.
Lead Tech
Shannon Smith, M.Ed.
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Shelly has worked in schools in various roles for the past nine years. In February 2014, she started working in education at a middle school in the health room. In July of that year, she was transferred to the main office and served as the school treasurer. Shelly stayed in that position for eight years. In October of 2021, she moved to the Administration Building in the same corporation and served as the Administrative Assistant to the Curriculum Coordinator. In October of 2022, she was asked to also work with the Deputy Superintendent along with the Curriculum Coordinator.
Shelly has three adult children. Her oldest daughter, Ashley is married and lives in Terre Haute, IN, her son, Cole, is single and lives in Granby, CO, and her youngest daughter Ainsley, is a junior at Indiana State University where she is studying to be a special education teacher. Her hobbies include going to the UP in Michigan and hiking, snowmobiling, and enjoying all things the outdoors has to offer. She also enjoys spending time with her kids and parents.
In addition to working in schools, she spent the first 25 years of her professional career as a licensed Cosmetologist. She still does hair on a part-time basis.
Administrative Assistant
Shelly Osborn
COntact Shelly
Aubrey Durkin has been working in education since 2009. She has taught or tutored students leveled pre-k to 12th grade. She completed an elementary math program through UIC in 2020 and has her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a math endorsement (5-8). In the past year, she continued mathematical education by completing Lord Math: Decoding Math courses as well as Orton Gillingham Math training.
Most of her career was spent in Calumet City working as an interventionist, parent liaison, and instructional coach. In her tenure there, she helped create intervention groupings and monitor outcomes to ensure success. During her time with the SLD Support Project, she has worked on providing professional development that highlights fact fluency and word problem strategies, and she has spent time coaching and co-planning with math best practices at the forefront in selected districts.
Aubrey spends her free time with her husband and four children, usually in the backyard playing Wiffle ball.
Content specialist
Math
Aubrey Durkin, M.Ed.
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Kellyn Sirach is a passionate and motivated educator who has committed her career to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn to read. Over the past year, she has served as the Reading Content Specialist for the IL SLD Support Project developing professional development throughout the state of Illinois on literacy. She has a genuine passion for literacy and in her current role does everything she can to ensure that school districts, educators, and families have the tools they need to be effective in a child’s reading journey.
Kellyn has a diverse background in literacy development working with students in pre-kindergarten through college. She is co-chair of the Illinois Dyslexia Guide and was a member of the draft writing team for the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan. Additionally, she is pursuing her Certified Academic Language Therapy (CALT) certification, is a 2022-2023 Teach Plus Policy Fellow Alumna, and co-founded Camp Monarch - Evolving with Dyslexia, the first summer camp in Champaign-Urbana dedicated to students with dyslexia and reading disabilities. In 2016, Kellyn was awarded the 30-Under-30 award from the International Literacy Association, and she is a current board member for The Reading League Illinois. Kellyn plans to continue to develop unique, student-centered professional development throughout the next year to continue to inspire and empower educators, students, and families across Illinois.
Content Specialist
Reading
Kellyn Sirach, M.Ed.
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Jess Rodriguez is an experienced educator with a diverse background in teaching and curriculum development. For the last year, Jess honed her expertise in educational strategies providing support as a regional specialist; however, she is excited to now embark on a new journey as an Early Writing Content Specialist. Jess hopes to focus on creating engaging and effective writing PD to help educators teach young, developing writers. Jess is an alumnus of Eastern Illinois University, where she studied music education, special education, multilingual learner instruction, and reading instruction. Her multifaceted educational background and passion for early literacy drive her commitment to fostering strong foundational skills in writing.
Content Specialist
Early Writing
Jess Rodriguez
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Jill Rogers is the Writing Content Specialist for the Illinois Specific Learning Disability Support Project. She has a B.A. and M.A. in English and an Ed. S. in Education Administration. Jill started her teaching career at Eastern Illinois University teaching Basic Composition and English as a Second Language. She then taught English to grades 7-12 before becoming a PK-12 principal and superintendent. One of her favorite areas of study is the history of the English language, and she is excited to put that to use as a local LETRS facilitator for the Project.
Content specialist
Writing
Jill Rogers, Ed. S.
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REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 4
Amy Magers, SSP, Ed.M.
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REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 4
Lauren Brewer, M.Ed.
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REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 2
Chanita Jones, M.Ed., NBCT
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REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 2
Amy Weltin, M.Ed.
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REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 1
Tari Jansen, M.Ed.
Regional Specialists
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 5
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 6
Josh Quick, Ed.S.
Janet Flesch, M.Ed.
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REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 3
Christie Johnson, M.Ed.
Starting with the SLD Support Project in 2023, Tari Jansen brought her 27 years of experience as a special education teacher and administrator into the role of Regional Specialist for Region 1. While she has experience across PreK-12 and across most disability categories, she has spent the majority of her career leading K-5 educators and joyously teaching young children. Tari has also served as a special education coordinator, a special education director, and an elementary principal.
Having spent several years implementing Response to Intervention Systems in schools after co-writing and being awarded the ASPIRE grant in 2005, her passion for evidence-based instructional approaches in reading and writing was fueled by her own experience as a mother, recognizing the profound impact of early screening and monitoring.
In addition to her passion for and experience with academic instructional coaching, Tari has significant expertise in developing explicit instruction models using structured teaching methods, visual supports, and picture exchange communication systems to support students instructionally and behaviorally. She has also focused on integrating data-driven systems to enhance educational outcomes and ensure that interventions are targeted and effective. Tari is especially passionate about supporting PreK-3 language development, understanding that strong early language skills are foundational for academic and social emotional success.
Tari brings excitement to the SLD Support Project and looks forward to bringing her enthusiasm and expertise to Illinois’s finest educators. Be on the lookout for Tari Jansen, beat reporter, at one of the many events on the SLDSP calendar!
Regional specialist
Region 1
Tari Jansen
COntact Tari
With nearly three decades in education, Christie brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to student success for students with specific learning disabilities. Her journey began 29 years ago, focusing on literacy and fostering inclusive learning environments. She thrives on collaborating with fellow educators to enhance student outcomes, especially in schools facing challenges with their special education programs.
As Regional 3 Specialist for the Illinois SLD Support Project, Christie enjoys working directly with schools that need extra support on co-teaching and specially designed instruction. As a former school administrator, she also has a passion for helping administrators increase their knowledge in structured literacy and best practices in reading instruction. Christie holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Eastern Illinois University. In 2021, she earned her certification in Orton-Gillingham, which helps her better meet the needs of students with Dyslexia and support educators in all areas of reading instruction.
Always eager to learn, Christie remains committed to stay updated on the latest research and techniques to improve her skills in supporting students and educators alike. She strongly believes in education's power to change lives and is passionate about making a positive impact on students with learning disabilities.
Regional specialist
Region 3
Christie Johnson
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Amy Magers began her career as a school psychologist and has served students in both small, rural schools as well as a large urban school district in Illinois. Amy has served as a Special Education Administrator, so her educational focus is on meaningful educational evaluations, legal issues in Special Education, and ensuring students have access to a Free Appropriate Public Education. Always a school psychologist, she also has interests in creating robust MTSS systems, social-emotional learning, and data literacy.
As a Regional Specialist supporting East Central Illinois, Amy develops and delivers professional development to teachers across the state of Illinois, both virtually and face to face. Amy loves to help districts simplify data collection and analysis to ensure the right students get the right instruction at the right time. Her background as a psychologist and special education administrator allows for development of training for both the individual learner as well as district systems change.
Amy attended Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Psychology and Minors in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies prior to receiving her Master’s and Specialist degree in School Psychology at Northern Illinois University. Her administrative certification was obtained from the Educational Policy, Organization & Leadership program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Always learning, Amy is now a local LETRS facilitator and drowning in professional books and articles. If you're still reading, please check on her.
When not working or reading, Amy loves to travel with her husband and daughter.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 4
Amy Magers, SSP, Ed.M.
COntact Amy
Lauren is a Regional Specialist for the Illinois Specific Learning Disability Support Project, supporting East Central Illinois. As a regional specialist with the program, Lauren develops and delivers professional development to teachers across the state of Illinois, both virtually and face to face. She is committed to help teachers across Illinois implement socially just, evidence-based practices to close the achievement gap for students with learning disabilities and promote student independence. Lauren's expertise includes helping support schools implement best practices in reading, writing, and math by focusing on co-teaching, instructional coaching, and executive functioning.
Previously, Lauren worked in public schools as a special education teacher, case manager, instructional coach, and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention trainer. In these roles, she was able to help increase the knowledge and skills of K-12 educational teams through collaboration, training and technical assistance, supported by evidence-based practices in order to enhance the quality of life for students with disabilities.
Lauren attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in English Secondary Education prior to receiving her Master’s degree in Special Education, LBS1 at the University of Illinois. She is also a LETRS Local Certified Facilitator and MAX Teaching Trainer.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 4
Lauren Brewer
COntact Lauren
Josh brings 29 years of experience in education to his role as Region 5 Specialist. He began his career as K-4 special education teacher and has also served as a first grade teacher, PreK-2 principal, and superintendent of a PK-12 unit school district. Throughout his academic training and his various roles as educator, Josh has had an intense interest in the development of language and reading skills in young students. He has experience in many facets of education as both a teacher and an administrator including assessment, data analysis, curriculum development, best practices in instruction, problem-solving, and conflict management. During his career, Josh has consistently prioritized student needs, implemented data-driven processes, and fostered community consensus. Now, Josh looks forward to leveraging his experiences with the SLD Support Project to support educators statewide.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 5
Josh Quick, Ed.S.
COntact Josh
Janet just finished her 26th year in the field of special education. Janet holds a B.S. in Education from Eastern Illinois University and a M.A. in Educational Administration from University of Illinois. She started her career as a special education teacher for students in primary and intermediate grades with experience in an itinerant position providing services for students within private school settings. She later moved to Southern Illinois and began providing services for students at the high school setting with all learning needs, focusing on a more functional curriculum. After a total of 14 years of teaching, Janet transitioned to a special education administrator and served in this capacity for eleven years. This is Janet's second year with the project.
Janet is excited to be a LETRS facilitator for her region along with the opportunity to partner with other state agencies to share great information to parents across the state.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 6
Janet Flesch
COntact Janet
Amy first joined the field of education 24 years ago as a self-contained special education teacher. After four years, she became an inclusion facilitator at the elementary level where she co-taught with all grade levels.
After spending 6 years teaching, Amy became an assistant principal at two dual-language elementary schools. Here, she discovered a love for supporting multilingual learners. After four years as an assistant principal, Amy moved into the role of special education coordinator. In this position, she supported teachers, students, and parents to provide FAPE to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.
After staying at home with her children for a period of time, Amy returned to public schools at the high school level. Here, she co-taught with general education high school teachers. She also taught multiple different self-contained subjects for students with learning disabilities and social-emotional needs. During her high school experience, she developed a passion for exploring the executive functioning needs of children and adolescents. This passion led her to develop a class specifically to support students with executive functioning needs.
When not working, Amy enjoys traveling with her husband and friends and attending the athletic events of her children.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 2
Amy Weltin
COntact Amy
An educator by-nature and by-trade, Chanita began serving in the field of education at an early age. She is a National Board-Certified Teacher-Exceptional Needs Specialist, and has worked as a teacher-leader in varying capacities in traditional public, private and charter schools, as well as community-based organizations, throughout Illinois. Passionate about improving quality of life conditions for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, she is a fierce advocate for equity, inclusion and accessibility. A celebrated public speaker, Chanita’s TEDx, Our Education System Does More Harm Than Good, An Invitation to Change, invites all to consider how student-centered, as opposed to standards-centered, approaches to education create a more harmonious society.
Chanita earned a B.S. in Special Education at SIU-Carbondale and a M.Ed. in Spec. Ed.-Curriculum Adaptation, focusing on Culturally-Responsive Differentiated Instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In addition to providing professional development to educators, Chanita serves to empower parents, youth and young adults to understand and advocate for diverse learning needs and take more of a leadership role in their education. Outside of working to improve education, Chanita enjoys traveling to national parks, arts and crafts, and spending time with family.
Chanita is a Regional Specialist for the Illinois Specific Learning Disability Support Project, supporting Will, Cook, Dekalb, Kane, DuPage and Lake counties.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 2
Chanita Jones
COntact Chanita
Janet just finished her 25th year in the field of special education. She started her career as a special education teacher for students in primary and intermediate grades with experience in an itinerant position providing services for students within private school settings. She later moved to Southern Illinois and began providing services for students at the high school setting with all learning needs, focusing on a more functional curriculum. After a total of 14 years of teaching, she transitioned to a special education administrator for Tri-County Special Education and Williamson County Education Services and has served in this capacity for eleven years.
Janet holds a B.S. in Education from Eastern Illinois University and a M.A. in Educational Administration from University of Illinois.
REGIONAL SPECIALIST
REGION 6
Example
COntact Janet
Jeremy Doughty has worked with students with disabilities since 1998 when he began at Eastern Illinois Area of Special Education (EIASE) in a program for students with emotional disabilities. After acquiring his LBS1, Jeremy taught seventh graders for Charleston CUSD#1. As a cross-categorical teacher, Jeremy instructed reading, math and writing, and then partnered with general education teachers for other academic instruction through co-teaching.
In 2009, Jeremy returned to EIASE as an Associate Director, and consulted with school districts on special education issues, programming, professional development and mediation as well as supervising school psychologists, school social workers, and the EIASE Autism team. For the past seven years, Jeremy has been an Assistant Director for EIASE. Professional and Staff Development and Programming have been his main focus in this position. His passion has been helping employees attain higher education through partnerships with universities for teacher development and closing the gap on shortage areas within EIASE.
Jeremy is involved in his community by serving on his local county board, public health board, and the local education credit union board. He serves at his local church and volunteers through Compassion Services International for humanitarian work worldwide. He has traveled to forty-three countries.
GRANT PARTNER
Jeremy Doughty
COntact Jeremy
Dr. Kathryn Havercroft is a Professor and Department Chair for the Department of Special Education at Eastern Illinois University. She earned her doctoral degree from Indiana University and has focused much of her work in the area of School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS), along with mental health supports for children and young adults. Additionally, she is interested in programming and curricular decisions for students with low incidence disabilities and transition services.
GRANT PARTNER
Kathryn Havercroft, Ph.D.
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Melissa Jones-Bromenshenkel is currently a professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Special Education at Eastern Illinois University. Prior to this, Missy taught children with various types of disabilities at Cumberland Elementary and Middle School where she implemented a co-teaching model and coached Special Olympics. Dr. Jones is currently a partner, along with Eastern Illinois Area of Special Education (EIASE), on the SLD Support Project grant through which she serves as the Chair of the Dyslexia Handbook Work Group. She is also the Principal Investigator on the C2C (College to Classroom) Grant which provides induction supports to new special educators.
Dr. Jones is a member of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) Executive Board, serves as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Illinois Teacher Education Division (ITED) of CEC, and is on the Advisory Group for the Illinois Elevating Special Educators (IESE) Grant. In addition to working towards preparing quality teachers, Missy strives to ensure that all children receive effective educational services by volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a family advocate, and an Educational Surrogate.
GRANT PARTNER
Missy Jones, Ph.D.
COntact Missy
Tony Reeley has been the Executive Director of Eastern Illinois Area of Special Education in Charleston since 2010. Tony is in his 24th year in special education, serving in central Illinois districts as a teacher, dean of students, and Associate Director prior to his current position. Tony's graduate work consists of a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Specialist Degree in Educational Administration from Eastern Illinois University, where he currently teaches courses in the Educational Leadership Program.
GRANT PARTNER
Tony Reely, Ed.S.
COntact Tony
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