National Board of Directors
Dipesh Navsaria, MD, MPH, MSLIS, FAAP
Chair
Chair
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Medical Director, Reach Out and Read Wisconsin
Madison, WI
Dipesh Navsaria is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and a Clinical Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Human Ecology. He has practiced primary care pediatrics in a variety of settings with special interest in underserved populations. He is the founding medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin. Dr Navsaria is involved in both training and in the practice of child health advocacy — writing and speaking publicly locally, regionally and nationally on early brain and child development, early literacy, and advocacy to a broad variety of audiences.
He also works with the American Academy of Pediatrics on a state level, and is currently the immediate past president of the Wisconsin Chapter. He also has served nationally on a number of committees, including being the founding co-chair of the Early Literacy Subcommittee of the Council on Early Childhood. He regularly writes op-eds on health-related topics, does radio and television interviews, and frequently speaks locally, regionally and nationally on early brain and child development, early literacy, and advocacy to a broad variety of audiences. He is also the host of the Reach Out and Read Podcast!
He describes himself as a pediatrician in the public interest, blending the roles of physician, occasional children’s librarian, educator, public health professional and child health advocate. With graduate degrees in public health, children’s librarianship, physician assistant studies, and medicine, he brings a unique combination of interests and experience together. Dr. Navsaria received his Master’s in Public Health from Boston University and his Physician Assistant training from The George Washington University in DC. He practiced as a pediatric physician assistant in East Central Illinois before attending medical school at the University of Illinois in Urbana. He also completed a master’s in library and information science at the University of Illinois, focusing on children’s librarianship.
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Claudia Aristy, BA
Director, Reach Out and Read and the H.E.L.P. Project, Children of Bellevue, New York, NY
Claudia Aristy has been Director of Children of Bellevue’s Reach Out and Read Program and The HELP Project since 2013. Her career at Bellevue Hospital began in 2000 as a bilingual Parent Educator in both programs. Aristy was instrumental in developing all aspects of HELP including its Instructional DVD’s. She was also responsible for training bilingual HELP volunteers and for translating and field-testing Spanish language materials for HELP and for the HELPix low literacy medication sheets.
Currently, Aristy oversees both programs–from administration to staff and volunteer training. Her passion for her work inspires staff and volunteers as well as the many professionals and media representatives who visit the programs. She serves on the Advisory Board of Leyendo Juntos-a National Reach Out and Read initiative, as well as on the Advisory Board of Reach Out and Read of Greater NY. In 2018, Aristy was awarded the prestigious Joan H. Tisch Prize from Hunter College. Aristy has a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree from Hunter College.
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Laura Bailet, PhD
Chief Academic Officer
Kaplan Early Learning Company
Jacksonville, FL
Dr. Laura Bailet is Chief Academic Officer for Kaplan Early Learning Company. She earned her B.A. in English at Wake Forest University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in communicative disorders from Northwestern University. She is a licensed school psychologist with expertise in early childhood development, literacy, and learning disorders. Prior to her position at Kaplan, she worked at Nemours Children’s Health System for 30 years, where she fulfilled clinical, research, leadership, and community outreach roles. She created the Nemours BrightStart! program to promote reading success for all children. By combining the fields of neuroscience, population health, child development, and education, Nemours BrightStart! created powerful tools that level the playing field for all budding readers. Dr. Bailet has conducted research and published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She has won multiple community awards, including Jacksonville’s 2006 EVE Award for Employment, and is a current member of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Board.
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Nathan Chomilo, MD, FAAP
Medicaid Medical Director
Pediatrician, Park Nicollet Health Services/HealthPartners
Minneapolis, MN
Dr. Nathan T. Chomilo is Medical Director for the State of Minnesota’s Medicaid & MinnesotaCare programs and practices as a General Pediatrician and an Internal Medicine Hospitalist with Park Nicollet Health Services/HealthPartners. He received a Zoology degree from Miami University (Oxford, OH) and graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. He completed his combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and was the Pediatric Chief Resident at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. His advocacy work has included the impact of early childhood intervention and healthcare access have on the long-term prospects of our children and how physicians and health systems can address racial & health equity. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood and the Section on Minority Health, Equity & Inclusion, is one of the Early Childhood Champions for the MN chapter of the AAP where he also serves on the board of directors, is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School, co-founded the organization Minnesota Doctors for Health Equity (MDHEQ), was formerly appointed to the Minnesota Governor’s Early Learning Council and previously served as the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Minnesota. He is on the board of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) and the steering committee of the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative. His advocacy work has been recognized by Reach Out and Read National which awarded him the 2018 Medical Champion Achievement Award, and by the City of Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights which recognized him as a 2019 History Maker at Home recipient.
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Mark Del Monte, JD
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President, American Academy of Pediatrics
Itasca, IL
Mark Del Monte, JD serves as the CEO/Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In this capacity, Mark leads a strong chief executive team for the organization which serves 67,000 pediatrician, pediatric medical subspecialist, and pediatric surgical specialist members. Prior to this role, Mark served as the AAP’s Chief Deputy and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and External Affairs where he directed the organization’s communications, public relations and advocacy activities.
Prior to joining AAP in 2005, Mark served as Director of Policy and Government Affairs for the AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families, a national organization advocating for children and families with HIV/AIDS. Before moving to Washington, DC, Mark worked as a lawyer in his home state of California, providing direct legal services to HIV-positive, low-income children and families.
Mark holds a law degree from the University of California (Berkeley) and a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University.
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Lilly deSouza Burr, JD
Associate, Adjuvant Capital
New York, NY
Lilly deSouza Burr is an associate at Adjuvant Capital, a life sciences investment firm focused on global health. She joined the Adjuvant investment team from Citi, where she was an associate in Citi’s healthcare investment banking group, advising clients across the biotech, pharma, medtech and services sectors on strategic and operational planning, mergers & acquisitions transactions and equity and debt financings. Prior to Citi, Lilly practiced law in the M&A group at Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP. Lilly also spent time before law school at the Neurosciences Clinic at the Ottawa Hospital, where she managed a clinical neurosurgery practice and focused on spinal cord injury research. She holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BS from the University of Ottawa.
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Thomas G. DeWitt, MD, FAAP
Professor and Associate Chair for Education, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Thomas G. DeWitt, MD, FAAP, is the Carl Weihl Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the Division of General and Community Pediatrics and Associate Chair for Education, in the Department of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He has served as President of the Academic Pediatric Association and Chair of both the American Academy of Pediatrics Steering Committee of the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network and Committee on Pediatric Education. Dr. DeWitt has served as a member of the United States Preventative Services Task Force and the ACGME Transition Year and Pediatric Residencies Review Committees. He has pursued innovative and effective approaches to graduate education, including an innovative online Masters in Medical Education program. With over ninety-five peer reviewed publications and senior editor of two general pediatric textbooks, he is nationally and internationally known for his publications and presentations in the areas of faculty development and community-based education and research.
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Curtis L. Gray, MBA
Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration,
BAE Systems, Inc., Arlington, VA
Curt Gray is Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration for BAE Systems, Inc., responsible for all human resources and employment-related activities for the company’s U.S.-based operating groups, which collectively employ some 50,000 employees in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Israel, Germany, Mexico, and South Africa and generate annual sales in excess of $10 billion. His background encompasses a broad array of businesses including information and communications, commercial airplanes, and both commercial and defense electronics. Previously, Gray was director of the People organization for the Boeing Company’s Phantom Works. He also supported the Engineering Process Council and represented Phantom Works on the Company People Process Council. Gray holds a bachelor’s degree in personnel administration from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. and a master’s degree in organization development from Pepperdine University.
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Robie H. Harris
Children’s Book Author
New York, NY
Robie H. Harris has written award-winning and internationally acclaimed picture books and nonfiction books. She is known for writing about serious issues with honesty and humor. Her picture book titles include Turtle and Me, Maybe A Bear Ate It!, When Lions Roar, Mail Harry to the Moon!, Goodbye Mousie, I’m Not Going To School Today, Don’t Forget to Come Back!, and other earlier titles. They center on the emotional lives of young children.
Her nonfiction books for preschoolers to teens, It’s Perfectly Normal, It’s So Amazing!, It’s Not the Stork!, Who Has What?, Who’s In My Family?, What’s So Yummy?, What’s In There? and Who We Are! provide accurate, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information for children as a way to help them stay physically and emotionally healthy and safe. Her most recent books include two early math picture books Crash! Boom! A Math Tale and Now What! A Math Tale and her first set of infant board books, Who? and Look! Harris is currently working on two new children’s books to be published in 2021. To learn more about her work visit her website.
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Trude Haecker, MD
Vice Chair
Vice Chair
Medical Director, Global Patient Services, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Medical Advisory Committee Member,
Philadelphia, PA
Trude Haecker, M.D., Medical Director of Global Patient Services at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), oversees medical care for CHOP’s international patients and coordinates with faculty, referring physicians and patients to provide comprehensive pediatric healthcare while families are here in the US. Dr. Haecker has 25 years of experience as a physician at CHOP and has worked to establish CHOP’s primary care center network. She is also the Medical Director of CHOP’s Reach Out and Read Program and has been the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Greater Philadelphia since the Affiliate’s establishment in October 2002. A general pediatrician, well versed in the developmental issues of young children, Dr. Haecker first brought Reach Out and Read to CHOP in 1996. Her outpatient practice focuses on children with chronic medical conditions, developmental delays, and care coordination. She has written about the medical care and developmental needs of young children at-risk and those in foster care. Dr. Haecker is the current President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Jordan Haviland, MBA
CEO of Brattle Point, LLC
Cambridge, MA
Jordan Haviland is the CEO of Brattle Point, LLC. In this role, he leads a diversified holding company of scientific technology, industrial and service businesses. His primary responsibilities include setting strategic direction and directing capital allocation across the organization as well as leading new mergers and acquisitions. He received his AB, Cum Laude, from Harvard University where he was captain of the Division I Varsity Baseball Team. He later received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Jordan’s support of Reach Out and Read is in honor of his late sister and late brother-in-law, Dr. Courtney Haviland and Dr. William Shrauner, two exceptional doctors who were passionate about supporting children and literacy.
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Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Dr. Nia Heard-Garris is a pediatrician and a physician-investigator at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and in the Department of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She examines the influence of social adversities experienced in childhood and subsequent child and adolescent health. Dr. Heard-Garris is also interested in the factors that contribute to a child’s ability to thrive despite these experiences. In August 2019, she received her career development award (K01), which is funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and with this award she plans to investigate adolescent cardiometabolic health. She believes in using research to better inform clinical practice and policy that supports children, their families, and their communities. Dr. Heard-Garris is also an active member in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and serves as the Chair and founding member of the Section of Minority Health, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Heard-Garris completed a prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Fellowship at the University of Michigan. She earned her Master of Science in Health and Healthcare Research. She received her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Howard University College of Medicine and helped to launch the student-run free clinic serving DC residents. Dr. Heard-Garris earned her Bachelor of Science in biology at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Shana Hoffman, MBA
President & CEO New Directions Behavioral Health
New York, NY
Shana Hoffman is President & Chief Executive Officer of New Directions. Her background combines a unique understanding of the healthcare industry through her experience in Fortune 500, private equity-backed and early stage healthcare companies. Prior to joining New Directions, Shana served as both senior vice president of Corporate Transformation and Chief Operating Officer of the Tri-State Mid-Atlantic Region at Beacon Health Options. While in this role, she led client and provider operations for a region serving over 20 health plans and state direct customers and over nine million members. She improved operational performance for clients and the organization overall.
Before joining Beacon, Shana directed client development and growth efforts at Kyruus, a leader in provider search and scheduling solutions for hospitals and health systems. While there, she was instrumental in establishing key client relationships and developing a go-to-market strategy. During her tenure, she increased revenue five-fold. Earlier in her career, Shana worked at DaVita Inc. in the corporate strategy group and began her career at Deloitte Consulting.
Hoffman also was the co-founder of CareSolver a senior care technology startup helping family caregivers of seniors manage and coordinate care.
Shana graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Evan Keyser, MBA
Operating Advisor, Nautic Partners, Nashville, TN
Evan Keyser is an Operating Advisor with Nautic Partners, a middle-market private equity firm with a focused investment strategy targeting the health care, industrial, and services sectors.
Evan previously served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer of LifePoint Health, a leading health care company that owns and operates community acute care and behavioral health hospitals, physician practices, outpatient centers, and post-acute facilities across the country. In this role, Evan oversaw LifePoint’s growth strategy and led the overall development initiatives, strategic acquisitions, and partnerships for the organization.
Prior to joining LifePoint, Evan spent nearly 10 years with Citi’s Global Healthcare Investment Banking group, where he was involved in the successful execution of numerous capital raising events and M&A transactions for prominent health organizations. Before Citi, Evan was part of the health care investment banking groups at Stifel and Cowen, both middle-market financial services firms.
Evan received his MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and his BS in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University.
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Perri Klass, MD, FAAP, National Medical Director
Professor of Journalism and Pediatrics
New York University, New York, NY
Perri Klass, MD, FAAP, led the National Center from 1993 to 2006, during which time Reach Out and Read grew from a single program into a national network of more than 3,000 program sites. She is a professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University, where she works in the pediatric clinic at Bellevue Hospital. Klass received her M.D. from Harvard University and completed her training in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, and in pediatric infectious diseases at Boston City Hospital. She received the 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics Education Award for her work with Reach Out and Read, and the 2011 Alvarez Award from the American Medical Writers Association. She writes frequently about children’s issues, including the weekly “The Checkup” column for the New York Times.
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Tiffany R. Kuehner
Owner & Manager
TRK Consulting, LLC
New Canaan, CT.
Tiffany R. Kuehner is the Owner and Manager of TRK Consulting, LLC, a privately held company committed to global poverty alleviation, gender equity, social justice, and implementing highly effective and quality holistic solutions to complex problems. Graduating from Georgetown University in Women’s Studies with a specific focus on International Development, Kuehner has dedicated her career to tackling poverty and gender inequality in the U.S., China, Thailand, Tanzania, Uganda, and Haiti. Her passion for addressing our world’s greatest challenges through philanthropy, investing, strategic public and private partnerships, social business, technology, and holistic sustainable programming, has driven her work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Mwanza Women’s Development Association, Hope for Haiti, Women Moving Millions, Catholic Relief Services, Book Trust, and other private family and corporate foundations. Kuehner is a Board Emeritus Member and former Board Chair and President & CEO for the leading global nonprofit organization, Hope for Haiti, that works to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children. She has been a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) since 2014. She finds joy in reading, learning, art, nature, staying active, good food, photography, travel, dancing, and most importantly, celebrating life with family and friends.
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Paul LeBlanc
Vice President, Paper
Boise Paper, A Division of Packaging Corporation of America
Lake Forest, IL
Mr. LeBlanc has served in this role since October 2015. Previously Mr. LeBlanc was Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Boise Paper, A Division of Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), and held various positions in marketing and category management for the office papers and printing papers businesses in his 15 years with Boise/PCA. Prior to Boise/PCA, Mr. LeBlanc spent 18 years in the consumer goods industry in various R&D, manufacturing, and marketing positions, mostly with The Clorox Company and Tyson Foods. Mr. LeBlanc received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from San Jose State University.
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Lisa Lebovitz, MBA
Board Member
Weston, MA
Emeritus Director
Lisa Lebovitz has been an active volunteer with Reach Out and Read since 1999, providing strategic and marketing counsel to the organization. Lebovitz also serves on the Board of City Year Boston and as a member of the Advisory Board at Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Her work experience includes Bronner Slosberg Humphrey (Digitas), Loyalty Management Group (AirMiles), and Bain & Company. Lebovitz, who was honored as Reach Out and Read’s 2013 Literacy Champion, is a graduate of Tufts University and Harvard Business School.
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Terri D. McFadden, MD, FAAP
Medical Director, Reach Out and Read Georgia
General Pediatrician & Professor
Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine
Medical Director of Primary Care
Hughes Spalding Campus, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
Dr. McFadden is a General Pediatrician and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics of the Emory University School of Medicine. She serves as Medical Director of Primary Care at the Hughes Spalding campus of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta where she sees patients and teaches medical students, pediatric residents and allied health students. She is also the Medical Director for primary care with the Emory Department of Pediatrics PARTNERS for Equity in Child and Adolescent Health program. She is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), where she serves on the Executive Committee of the Council on Early Childhood. She also serves as Vice-President and President-Elect of the Georgia Chapter of the AAP. McFadden has served as the Medical Director Reach Out and Read Georgia for over 10 years and worked to strengthen the Reach Out and Read program at her on site for more than 20 years. Her academic and professional interests include comprehensive care for the underserved, early brain development and preschool literacy promotion, breastfeeding promotion, childhood injury prevention, and medical education. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Spelman College and a medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
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Leora Mogilner, MD
Medical Director, Reach Out and Read Greater New York
Director, Advocacy and Community Pediatrics Rotation
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Program
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
Dr. Mogilner is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She serves as Director of Advocacy for the Department of Pediatrics and oversees the resident Advocacy and Community Pediatrics rotation. Dr. Mogilner founded the Reach Out and Read program at Mount Sinai in 1997 and is Medical Director and Vice-Chair of the Board of Reach Out and Read of Greater New York and a member of the Board of National Reach Out and Read. She is a member of the AAP Committee on Early Childhood Education Subcommittee on Early Childhood Literacy. Dr. Mogilner serves as Co-Director of the New York State Pediatric Advocacy Coalition, a consortium of the 30 pediatric residency training programs in New York State dedicated to improving resident training in community pediatrics and advocacy. She is a co-chair of the Academic Pediatric Association’s Advocacy Education Special Interest Group and is a faculty member and cohort co-leader of the APA’s Educational Scholars Program. She oversees the pediatric social determinants of health screening program at the Mount Sinai pediatric clinic and is involved in research on social determinants of health, early literacy, and medical education.
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Robert Needlman, MD, FAAP
Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Professor of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Pediatrician, MetroHealth Medical Center,
Cleveland, OH
Robert Needlman, MD, FAAP, is co-founder of Reach Out and Read and President of the Greater Cleveland Reach Out and Read Coalition. He is the author of “Dr. Spock’s Baby Basics” and co-author of the ninth edition of “Baby and Child Care,” Dr. Benjamin Spock’s classic parenting manual. He has also been a columnist for Parent and Child Magazine, and has written for parents online at DrSpock.com, parenting.com, and as a Yahoo health expert. His published academic work includes studies on pediatric literacy promotion, the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, iron deficiency, maternal depression, and resident training. A graduate of Yale College (English Literature) and the Yale School of Medicine, Needlman practices and teaches Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and is Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
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Judy Newman
Executive Vice President, Scholastic Inc.,
President, Scholastic Book Clubs and eCommerce
New York, NY
Judy Newman is Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc., and President of Scholastic Book Clubs and eCommerce. Since joining the company in 1993, Judy has overseen Scholastic Book Clubs, the company’s unique school-based book and reading distribution business. Treasured by teachers, students, and parents since 1948, Book Clubs shares the vital importance of helping children see themselves as readers by choosing and owning their own books.
Judy spearheads several initiatives to support the company’s mission and excite teachers and students about reading: Classrooms Care, in which kids read to raise awareness and generate book donations to children in underserved schools; a deep partnership with We Need Diverse Books to ensure all children are represented in the books we offer through Scholastic’s distribution channels; the Patterson Partnership in which superstar author, James Patterson, has donated $8.5 million over the past five years to help teachers get the best books to their students through Scholastic Book Clubs.
Judy’s commitment to connecting every child to the right book and helping them see themselves as readers extends to her work through many nonprofit organizations: Reach Out and Read, Book Trust, Pajama Program, Ruby Bridges Foundation, Book Harvest, Behind the Book, and several community organizations in Montclair, NJ where she lives, and is known as The Book Lady who gives out books instead of candy to the thousands of kids who come trick or treating to her house every year.
Judy writes a series of rhyming chapter books called The Bobs and Tweets, published under the pseudonym of Pepper Springfield. She also contributes a monthly column for Story Monsters Ink Magazine.
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Todd Nicolet, PhD
Vice Provost for Digital and Lifelong Learning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Todd A. Nicolet, PhD is the Vice Provost for Digital and Lifelong Learning at the UNC-Chapel Hill. In this role, Dr. Nicolet provides leadership and direction for all the University’s digital, flexible, and lifelong learning programming. Prior to this role, he has held administrative leadership positions at the UNC Gillings School of Public Health and the UNC School of Government. He led strategic initiatives that advanced each unit’s mission, including development of MPH@UNC, a joint MPH with UNC Asheville and MAHEC, and MPA@UNC. Dr. Nicolet also had direct oversight over several functional units within each school, such as Finance, IT, Human Resources, NC Institute for Public Health, Library, Publications, Events Management, and Strategic Analysis and Business Intelligence. He holds a doctorate in higher education administration from UNC-Greensboro, a Master of Arts in English from UNC-Chapel Hill and an undergraduate degree in literature from Eckerd College.
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Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP
Senior Vice President and
Chief Medical Officer, Aetna at CVS Health
Cambridge, MA
Dr. Rhee serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Aetna at CVS Health. He and his team lead the integration and delivery of clinical and population health solutions. Prior to joining CVS Health, Dr. Rhee was the Chief Health Officer of IBM, where he has global responsibilities for Watson Health and assuring a culture of health at IBM. Prior to joining IBM, Dr. Rhee was Chief Public Health Officer at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), where he served on and led numerous national initiatives related to prevention, quality, and public health. Dr. Rhee also served as the Director of the Office of Innovation and Program Coordination at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he led initiatives related to eliminating health disparities and promoting health equity. Prior to his federal government service, he worked in community health settings as the Chief Medical Officer of Baltimore Medical System Inc. Dr. Rhee performed his medical residency training in both internal medicine and pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Southern California and holds a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
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Benita Somerfield, MA
Chair of the International Committee of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards
Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), Hamburg, Germany
New York, NY
ex-officio
Benita Somerfield was the Founding Executive Director of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, serving the Foundation from 1989 to 2012. Prior to that, Benita held several roles at Simon & Schuster Publishing, including Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications; and President, Workplace Resources. Her government work includes serving as Special Advisor in Adult Literacy at the U.S. Department of Education, and member of the Presidentially-appointed Board of the National Institute of Literacy. In addition, Benita has worked for a number of public/private literacy programs in workplace, community, and prison settings.
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Dipesh Navsaria, MD, MPH, MSLIS, FAAP
Chair
Chair
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Medical Director, Reach Out and Read Wisconsin
Madison, WI
Claudia Aristy, BA
Director, Reach Out and Read and the H.E.L.P. Project, Children of Bellevue, New York, NY
Laura Bailet, PhD
Chief Academic Officer
Kaplan Early Learning Company
Jacksonville, FL
Nathan Chomilo, MD, FAAP
Medicaid Medical Director
Pediatrician, Park Nicollet Health Services/HealthPartners
Minneapolis, MN
Mark Del Monte, JD
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President, American Academy of Pediatrics
Itasca, IL
Lilly deSouza Burr, JD
Associate, Adjuvant Capital
New York, NY
Thomas G. DeWitt, MD, FAAP
Professor and Associate Chair for Education, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Curtis L. Gray, MBA
Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration,
BAE Systems, Inc., Arlington, VA
Robie H. Harris
Children’s Book Author
New York, NY
Trude Haecker, MD
Vice Chair
Vice Chair
Medical Director, Global Patient Services, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Medical Advisory Committee Member,
Philadelphia, PA
Jordan Haviland, MBA
CEO of Brattle Point, LLC
Cambridge, MA
Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Shana Hoffman, MBA
President & CEO New Directions Behavioral Health
New York, NY
Evan Keyser, MBA
Operating Advisor, Nautic Partners, Nashville, TN
Perri Klass, MD, FAAP, National Medical Director
Professor of Journalism and Pediatrics
New York University, New York, NY
Tiffany R. Kuehner
Owner & Manager
TRK Consulting, LLC
New Canaan, CT.
Paul LeBlanc
Vice President, Paper
Boise Paper, A Division of Packaging Corporation of America
Lake Forest, IL
Lisa Lebovitz, MBA
Board Member
Weston, MA
Emeritus Director
Terri D. McFadden, MD, FAAP
Medical Director, Reach Out and Read Georgia
General Pediatrician & Professor
Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine
Medical Director of Primary Care
Hughes Spalding Campus, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
Leora Mogilner, MD
Medical Director, Reach Out and Read Greater New York
Director, Advocacy and Community Pediatrics Rotation
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Program
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
Robert Needlman, MD, FAAP
Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Professor of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Pediatrician, MetroHealth Medical Center,
Cleveland, OH
Judy Newman
Executive Vice President, Scholastic Inc.,
President, Scholastic Book Clubs and eCommerce
New York, NY
Todd Nicolet, PhD
Vice Provost for Digital and Lifelong Learning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP
Senior Vice President and
Chief Medical Officer, Aetna at CVS Health
Cambridge, MA
Benita Somerfield, MA
Chair of the International Committee of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards
Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), Hamburg, Germany
New York, NY
ex-officio