Read it LOUD! is being led by the Board of Directors and executive
staff of the Read it LOUD! Foundation and the Center for the Book in the Library
of Congress in collaboration with partners from the public and private sector.
Read
it LOUD! Foundation Board of Directors
Wally Amos, Chairman
While he is most famous for his cookies, for the past three decades Amos has been
a tireless advocate and driving force on behalf of children’s literacy. Most
recently, he created the Read it LOUD! Foundation in order to bring national
attention to the importance and proven benefits of reading aloud to children in
their most formative years. Amos continues to be an active and successful businessman
and that too supports his philanthropic work—ten percent of the net profits
realized by Amos’s Chip & Cookie Company benefit the Foundation.
On behalf of literacy, Amos also partnered with the White House, business leaders,
and community leaders as well as served as the National Spokesman for Literacy Volunteers
of America from 1979 until 2002 (when they merged with Laubach Literacy Council
to create ProLiteracy Worldwide). He is the recipient of many honors and awards
including the President’s Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, the Horatio
Alger Award, and the National Literacy Honors Award. He has been inducted into the
Babson College Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. He has also authored nine
books and is sought after on the lecture circuit for his inspiring, positive attitude.
Carlos M. Collazo, Non-executive Chairman
Collazo is an American global technology entrepreneur, technology innovator and
past intelligence analysis advisor to the U.S. administrations of two Presidents.
He is an advocate for literacy, education, and helping children fulfill their potential.
This concern has led to the MARSYS company providing the digital platform and systems
management that will be integral to the expansive reach and success of the Read
it LOUD! awareness campaign.
In 1982 Collazo founded the MARSYS Group of international technology and services
companies via its flagship company, Mariner Systems. MARSYS and the MARSYS Group
have since grown to a global scope comprising 22 countries. Collazo is on the Advisory
Board for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship Bay Area and serves on the MIS
Board of Advisors at University of Arizona's Eller College of Management as
well as the Board of Trustees at the University of Notre Dame de Namur.
Charles A. Lynch, Treasurer
Lynch is the Chairman of Market Value Partners Company, a management, mentor and
advisor resource for existing and emerging businesses. He is a Director of The Bay
Area Council, former Chairman of The California Business Roundtable, former Chairman
of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and is a former member of the Board of Directors
and Chairman of the United Way of the Bay Area. Through both his business and philanthropic
efforts, Lynch continues to promote literacy, education, health and providing positive
growth opportunities for young children.
Lynch is a Director of Fresh Choice Inc. and of Spectrum Organic Products Inc. He
is also an advisor to numerous corporations and has been a Director, Chairman and/or
Chief Executive Officer of a number of major corporations during his career, including
Pacific Life Insurance Company, SRI International, Southern Pacific Transportation
Company, Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp., Syntex Corp., Mid-Peninsula Bank, Hexcel
Corp., Nordstrom, Inc., DHL Airways, Inc., and Greyhound Lines Inc.
Laura Bailet, Ph.D.
Executive Director of the Nemours BrightStart! Dyslexia Initiative in Jacksonville,
Florida, Dr. Bailet has expertise on a wide range of neurocognitive problems including
dyslexia, autism, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other
learning disorders. She is the driving force behind a unique and innovative program
that identifies young children at risk for dyslexia and intervenes to help give
them a boost before they enter kindergarten.
Dr. Bailet established and directed the Neurocognitive Assessment Program within
the Division of Neurology at Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, and
then created the Nemours BrightStart! Dyslexia Initiative. She has conducted several
clinical research studies and published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles
and book chapters. She is a frequent speaker at local, state and national professional
conferences.
Kenneth (Kenny) Gamble
A two-time Grammy winner, Gamble’s efforts have resulted in more than 170
platinum and gold albums and songs. Many of the songs Gamble has written have themes
of social change and empowerment. Gamble founded the nonprofit Universal Companies
in 1993 to establish a workforce development center offering adult education and
job training; a construction company to provide training and jobs; a business support
center; a charter school; and other entities aimed at empowering the inner city
and its residents.
The community revitalization programs Gamble has launched and nurtured have created
hundreds of jobs and more than 120 homes have been constructed or renovated. Universal
has been rebuilding African American communities’ one family at a time. Universal’s
comprehensive, holistic approach to community revitalization, integrates real estate,
economic development, education, social and supportive services and technology –
a model called the Universal Plan. This model has become the new approach to community
development in the 21st century.
Bill Halamandaris
As co-Founder and Chairman of The Heart of America Foundation (HOA), a national
nonprofit headquartered in Washington, DC, that uniquely combines volunteerism and
literacy, Halamandaris and HOA provides children in need with the tools
and the books to read, succeed and make a difference.
Halamandaris formed HOA upon retirement from a long and distinguished career in
public service. He served with the Department of Interior, Bureau of Budget and
Finance; the Pentagon Counter Intelligence Force, Office of the Deputy Chief of
Staff, Intelligence, MDW; as Counsel, Chief Investigator, and Director of Oversight,
U.S. Senate; and as Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Aging, Subcommittee
on Health and Long-Term Care. In addition, he is a long-time Board member and past
Chairman of America's Charities, a consortium of 120 national charities, and a member
of the Board of Directors of the Jane Goodall Institute.
Jane Hileman
Jane Hileman founded American Reading Company to help educators learn the power
of using independent reading to drive both instruction and assessment. Prior to
starting the company in 1998, she spent ten years teaching in inner-city Philadelphia,
nine years teaching at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of
Education, three years as a reading specialist in suburban Philadelphia, four years
as staff developer for the School District of Philadelphia, and three years as the
associate director of PHILADELPHIA READS. American Reading Company has grown from
a few passionate teachers working from Ms. Hileman’s dining room to a group
of more than 100 determined people working out of a warehouse in King of Prussia,
Pennsylvania. Ms. Hileman has been the recipient of many awards including the Ernst
& Young Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of the Year and was lauded as one
of the 50 Best Women in Business (Eastern PA Business Journal). In addition, American
Reading Company was included in Inc. magazine as one of America’s 500 Fastest-Growing
Private Companies. Ms. Hileman serves as a member of the National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP) Steering Committee. She holds a master’s of
science degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
The
Read it LOUD! Campaign Leadership Team
Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Dr. John Cole
Founding Director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, Dr. Cole
is a librarian and historian who has dedicated his career to forwarding the role
of the Library of Congress in American society and culture. The Center for the Book,
established by law as a public-private partnership, has grown into an office of
national and international importance. All 50 states and the District of Columbia
have established affiliates, and the Center has developed a nationwide network of
organizational partners dedicated to promoting the wonders and benefits of reading.
The Center for the Book plays a major role in the National Book Festival and numerous
other reading promotion programs.
In 2000, the American Library Association honored Cole with its Joseph A. Lippincott
Award for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship. He has published
extensively about the history of books and libraries in society and the history
of the Library of Congress.
Read it LOUD! Foundation Executive Staff
Thomas Ruppanner, President
Internationally recognized investment executive and expert on venture capital engagement,
and independent sector development, Ruppanner is also a recognized leader with 30
years of achievement as a CEO of non-profit organizations and profitable business
ventures. As United Way of the Bay Area CEO, Ruppanner raised almost a billion dollars
in charitable funds and has been honored by political, academic, business and Independent
sector leaders. He is a frequent keynoter and lecturer for foundations, institutes
and university seminars.
Ruppanner has successfully addressed numerous community issues, nationally and regionally,
through the creative development of public-private collaborations. With Wally Amos
and community leaders in Savannah, Georgia, Ruppanner created the effective and
unique one-year pilot project, Read it LOUD! Savannah. The success of this venture
and the partnerships established set the stage for the development of this national
Read it LOUD! campaign.
Michael Groza, Chief Executive Officer
Groza is an accomplished leader and senior executive in philanthropic and educational
endeavors, including secondary schools and college, education reform, collaborative
public-private initiatives, environment, coordinated disaster response, delinquency
prevention and treatment, community development, and strengthening community-based
organizations. He has received numerous awards and commendations for innovatively
addressing difficult community and regional issues through collaborations and partnerships,
and creative philanthropy.
In 1986, Groza was tapped to establish the Marin Community Foundation, the third
largest community foundation in the nation with a corpus valued at more than $1
billion today. Groza oversaw the development of MCF’s mission, guidelines,
procedures, grantmaking, communications, community outreach, and led nearly all
the major community initiatives, both local and regional.