Reach Out and Read Midwest, serving the children of Nebraska and Iowa
By incorporating books into primary care, we strengthen parent-child relationships essential for early relational health, as encouraging parents to read aloud together with their children enhances bonding and boosts children's language skills.
In Nebraska and Iowa, only 39% of infants and toddlers are read to daily (State of Babies, 2023). This early interaction is critical, as over 80% of a child’s brain develops within the first three years, shaping lifelong cognitive, social-emotional, and health outcomes. Reading with a loving caregiver promotes language skills, emotional bonding, resilience, and reduces toxic stress. Yet, many children — especially those in poverty — enter kindergarten without essential skills, impacting their future success. By ensuring all children have early support, we help close inequality gaps and build a stronger society.
Reach Out and Read is uniquely positioned to address these challenges faced by children and families in Nebraska and Iowa. We’re scaling our evidence-based model to reach ALL children in these two states, particularly in under-resourced communities, as a tool to combat inequity, address social drivers of health, and alter the trajectories of children’s lives.
Our evidence-based model and two-generational approach is connected to:
Backed by peer-reviewed research, Reach Out and Read promotes positive interactions that foster healthy child development during the critical early years.
“This program helps to bring a positive light to education and certainly helps to bring pleasure to a visit that at times can be frightening if vaccines are involved.”
– Erica Tubbs, PA-C, Greater Sandhills Family Healthcare, Nebraska
| FY24 Nebraska | FY24 Iowa |
Ruth Coleman, Reach Out and Read’s new National Senior Director of Growth, immigrated from Nigeria, West Africa, to the United States at age 9, igniting an unwavering commitment to marginalized communities. With more than two decades in nonprofit work and 13 years as an organizational consultant, she optimizes organizational performance through tailored growth strategies, emphasizing collaboration, communication, and leadership, always underscored by a commitment to equity and inclusion. Ruth holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, an M.A. in Organizational Leadership, a Bachelor of Social Work, and a B.S. in Bible.
She co-founded a nonprofit dedicated to addressing the surgical crisis in Africa, demonstrating her dedication to making a meaningful impact on a global scale. Her diverse experiences and expertise have positioned her to work at the intersection of education and health care, creating opportunities to accelerate the progress of marginalized communities. In her free time, Ruth cherishes time with her husband and two daughters, whom she is raising to change the world; reading a good book; and songwriting.
Iowa Co-Medical Director
Dr. Ashleigh Burt is a Pediatric Hospitalist at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, IA and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. In both of these roles, Dr. Burt works to educate families and fellow healthcare professionals about the importance of creating healthy relationships within families early in a child’s life, and how early reading can be used as a tool to establish these relationships. Dr. Burt has served as Co-Medical Director of Iowa’s Reach Out and Read program since 2021 during which time she has partnered with pediatric primary care providers throughout the state to promote the importance of early reading in, not only the cognitive development of children, but also in their social and emotional development. In addition to her work with ROR, Dr. Burt works with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as a member of the Council on Early Childhood and as a member of the Board of Directors for Iowa’s state AAP chapter.
Iowa Co-Medical Director
Dr. Amy Shriver is a general pediatrician and Assistant Professor of Specialty Medicine at Des Moines University, where she is committed to advancing child health and early literacy. For over 12 years, Dr. Shriver has served as Medical Director of Iowa’s Reach Out and Read program, fostering early literacy by collaborating with pediatric providers across the state to promote shared reading and book distribution during pediatric visits. As President of the Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and an active member of the AAP Council on Early Childhood, Dr. Shriver contributed to policy, education, and advocacy work in early childhood. Dr. Shriver is a member of the task force updating the AAP Early Literacy Toolkit, slated for release in 2025, which will serve as a key resource for providers and families to enhance early literacy engagement.
Kristin is a Nebraska native and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in education. Kristin taught Special Education and Academic Intervention at the elementary level in public schools for nine years. She has a deep passion for increasing literacy skills in the foundational years of kids’ lives to set them up for success.
Kristin also has a background in nonprofit and worked for a local advocacy organization that seeks to protect educators, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and elected officials from harassment. Kristin is excited to have joined the ROR team and leapt at the opportunity to continue to build up a network of family and literacy support in Nebraska among healthcare sites!
Kristin’s primary role as Program Manager is to directly support sites with implementation of the Reach Out and Read program, through frequent contact with site coordinators, visits with clinic staff, and collaboration between sites and community resources. Kristin also offers supports and assistance with clinics interested in beginning a Reach Out and Read program at their site.
Molly works with Iowa Reach Out and Read programs to bring our early literacy program to hundreds of children and families, providing technical assistance, training, and other support. In addition, she works to provide fundraising support and guidance to Iowa sites and the coalition through grants, sponsorships, events, and other fundraising partnerships. She also manages the all-volunteer board, social media, communications, and various projects the coalition is working on. Before joining Reach Out and Read Iowa, Molly worked for 14 years as the Community Relations Manager for Barnes and Noble in which she successfully developed and executed results-oriented, community relations programs. In her professional roles, Ms.Topf has cultivated and maintained positive relationships with educational, literacy, literary, cultural, and arts organizations in the central Iowa area, executed and managed events, managed scheduling, budgeting, team-building, training, staff development, and been the media and public relations liaison. She is an member of St. Augustin’s parish where she leads the Little Flower’s Girls Club, and a Home & School volunteer at St. Augustin school. In her spare time, Molly enjoys creative projects, gardening, reading, exploring new places, and most of all, spending time with her family.
Betty Medinger, MSW retired in June 2022 after serving as Senior Vice President with Nebraska Children and Families Foundation for the prior 10 years. In this role, Betty worked with state/local, public/private partners to support cradle to career opportunities for children and families in Nebraska. Betty has 42 years of experience in human services, working in direct service and administration within state government, (Child Welfare and Economic Assistance) and nonprofits, independent consulting, and as adjunct faculty in Human Services with Southeast Community College and Social Work with Wesleyan University. In a consulting capacity, Betty is assisting Reach Out and Read establish the affiliate office serving Iowa and Nebraska.
Iowa Co-Medical Director
Iowa Co-Medical Director
