Reach Out and Read National Board of Directors

Click a name below to read a short biography.

Judy Newman - Chair
EVP & President, Scholastic Book Clubs & E-Commerce
Scholastic Inc.
New York, NY

Judy Newman, Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc. and President of Scholastic Book Clubs & E-Commerce, oversees a $500 million business consisting of Scholastic Book Clubs, the Company's unique school-based distribution channel. Newman joined Scholastic in 1994 as Vice President of Marketing for the Book Group. She was previously at Bantam Doubleday Dell as Vice President and Director of the Trumpet Book Club. She also served as Publicity Director at Dell/Delacorte Publishing Company. Newman received her undergraduate degree from Connecticut College and an M.B.A. from New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. She attended the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Course.

Neal Baer, M.D.
Executive Producer
Wolf Films/Universal Television
Los Angeles, CA

Neal Baer, M.D., multiple Emmy Award nominee, is Executive Producer of the series "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." Until October 2000, he was Executive Producer of "ER." Baer's primary medical interests are in adolescent health. He has written extensively for teens on health issues for Scholastic Magazine, covering such topics as teen pregnancy, AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse and nutrition. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado College, holds Master's degrees from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Sociology and spent a year at the American Film Institute as a directing fellow. Baer graduated from Harvard Medical School in June of 1996.

Jay Berkelhamer, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Senior Physician Advisor
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Atlanta, GA

Jay Berkelhamer, M.D., F.A.A.P., is Senior Physician Advisor for Graduate Medical Education at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Clinical Professor at Emory, Adjunct Professor at Morehouse, and a general pediatrician. He is a Past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, and the Chicago Pediatric Society. Berkelhamer is the former Chair of Pediatrics at the Henry Ford Health System and the creator of The Child Health Network. He attended the University of Michigan, and trained in Pediatrics at the University of Chicago.

Steve Cohen - Treasurer
CEO
iCollegeCounselor
New York, NY

Steve Cohen is the CEO of iCollegeCounselor and publisher of the College Admission Report. He is successful entrepreneur, having launched and been the CEO of the Child Health Guide, Living Independently, and BrainQuest.com. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Cohen was an "entrepreneur" and publisher for Time Inc. and Scholastic. He also co-chaired the "Prescription for Reading Partnership," a White House Task Force, and is a Director Emeritus of the United States Naval Institute. Cohen attended the United States Naval Academy, graduated from Brown University, and did his graduate work in public policy at the University of California Berkeley.

Thomas G. DeWitt, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Director, Division of General and Community Pediatrics
Professor and Associate Chair for Education and Primary Care, Department of Pediatrics
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center / University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Cincinnati, OH

Thomas DeWitt, M.D., 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 the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He has served as President of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, Chair of the Steering Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network and Committee on Pediatric Education, as well as on the National Academies of Science Board on Children, Youth, and Families. DeWitt currently sits on the United States Preventative Services Task Force and the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Pediatrics. He is internationally-known for his publications and presentations in the areas of faculty development and community-based education and research.

Carol Emig
President
Child Trends
Washington, DC

Carol Emig is President of Child Trends, a nonpartisan research center devoted exclusively to children. Its mission is to improve outcomes for children by conducting research that informs policy makers, practitioners, and others whose decisions affect children and influence their future prospects. Prior to leading Child Trends, Emig was Executive Director of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. Her other professional experiences include Deputy Director of the National Commission on Children; Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy; director of a state children's advocacy organization; and, early in her career, research assistant to First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Emig has an undergraduate degree in international relations from Georgetown University and a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Martha Gershun
Executive Director
Jackson County CASA
Kansas City, MO

Martha Gershun is the Executive Director for Jackson County CASA, a Kansas City-based organization that recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. Previously, she served as Director of National Expansion and then Executive Director for Reach Out and Read. During her tenure, the organization doubled in size to include nearly 4,000 Programs in all 50 states and was honored with Fast Company/The Monitor Group's Social Capitalist Award as one of the nation's most innovative, entrepreneurial, and effective nonprofits. Gershun graduated with a B.A. cum laude from Harvard University and holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. She also earned a graduate diploma in Economics from the University of Stirling, Scotland, where she was a Rotary International Fellow.

Curtis L. Gray
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
BAE Systems, Inc.
Rockville, MD

Curt Gray is Senior Vice President, Human Resources 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 45,000 employees in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, 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. Gray also serves as the head of Organization & Leadership Development for BAE Systems plc. 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.

Betsy Wagner Hoffman
Senior Counsel
Goodman Media International, Inc.
Encino, CA

Betsy Wagner Hoffman is Senior Counsel, based in Los Angeles, for Goodman Media International, Inc. Hoffman is a public relations professional with more than 20 years of public relations experience, having worked in senior positions at Fox, CBS and People magazine. Hoffman also provides publicity expertise to public service campaigns for The White House Literacy Task Force. Hoffman graduated from Tufts University and has an M.A. from Northwestern University.

David Johnson
Partner
Johnson-Roessler Company
Santa Monica, CA

David Johnson is a partner of the Johnson-Roessler Company, LLC, a filmed entertainment company. Johnson was also a founder of Agility Capital, LLC, a venture fund for private companies. Prior to his current activities, Johnson was Senior Executive Vice President of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., where he was responsible for business and legal affairs, finance, and business strategy. Prior to joining MGM, he was partner of the law firm White & Case, specializing in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Johnson serves on the boards of: Children Now, a child policy and advocacy organization; the Dream Foundation, a national wish-granting organization for the terminally ill; and KCET, the Los Angeles affiliate of PBS. Johnson is a Co-Chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). He is past Chairman, and serves on the board, of Public Counsel Law Center, the nation's largest public interest, pro bono law firm, and is a member of the Los Angeles Mayor's Economy and Jobs Committee and the California Council for the Humanities. Johnson is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School.

Susan Cooley King, Ph.D., R.N., C.P.N.P.
Founder, Reach Out and Read Texas
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Retired
The University of Texas-Houston Medical School
Houston, TX

Susan Cooley King, Ph.D., has been a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner since 1974. She retired from the Department of Pediatrics at UT Medical School Houston in 2007 after more than 30 years as a faculty member. In 1995, King received the first grant that brought Reach Out and Read to Texas. Under her direction, Reach Out and Read Texas grew to include over 175 program sites, reaching over 250,000 children annually. King's academic degrees include both B.S.N. and M.P.H. degrees from the University of Texas. She received her P.N.P. from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed her Ph.D. in Nursing at Texas Woman's University.

Perri Klass, M.D., F.A.A.P. - National Medical Director
Professor of Journalism and Pediatrics, New York University
New York, NY

Perri Klass, M.D., F.A.A.P. 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 Sites. She is a professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University, where she works in the clinic at Bellevue Hospital. Klass participated in the Early Childhood Cognitive Summits and the Global Literacy Summit at the invitation of First Lady Laura Bush and is currently a member of the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council at the National Institutes of Health, and a member of the Health Literacy Project Advisory Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. 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 writes the "18 and Under" column for the New York Times.

Patrice M. Kozlowski
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
BNY Mellon Asset Management, The Dreyfus Corporation
New York, NY

Patrice M. Kozlowski serves as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications of The Dreyfus Corporation, where she has worked since 1991. She is a member of the firm's Operating Committee and Senior Management Committee. She has served on board of The Dreyfus Family Needs Charitable Trust and currently serves as an advisor to the Dreyfus Diversity Council. Prior to joining Dreyfus, Kozlowski was a senior account supervisor with Manning, Selvage & Lee. Previously, she was assistant vice president with Georgeson & Company, Inc. and a communications specialist with Philadelphia Life Insurance Company. Kozlowski is a member of the Investment Company Institute Public Information Committee. She received her B.A. in journalism from Temple University.

Lisa Lebovitz
Weston, MA

Lisa Lebovitz has been an active volunteer with Reach Out and Read since 1999, providing strategic and marketing counsel to the organization, co-chairing fundraising events, and running the Boston Marathon as Reach Out and Read's first entry in 2002. She helped to create the annual Read Romp + Rock Event in 2006. Previously, Lebovitz worked at Bronner Slosberg Humphrey (Digitas) implementing direct marketing programs. Prior to that she worked at Loyalty Management Group (AirMiles) and Bain & Company. Currently Lebovitz is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Meadowbrook School in Weston, where she is co-chairing the 2009 Strategic Plan and is a member of the marketing committee. Lebovitz is also co-chairing Milton Academy's Annual Fund. The Lebovitz family founded Safe at Home to help families caring for loved ones inflicted with Alzheimer's. Lebovitz is a graduate of Tufts University and the Harvard Business School.

Linda Fayne Levinson
Lead Director
NCR Corporation
Santa Monica, CA

Linda Levinson is an experienced board member, venture capital and private equity investor, management consultant, and corporate executive. Levinson specializes in creating value, managing growth, and building strong management teams. She was elected the first woman partner at McKinsey & Co. Inc. and has held executive positions at American Express Travel Related Services Co., Inc., Alfred Checchi Associates, Inc., Creative Artists Agency, Inc., Fayne Levinson Associates, GRP Partners, Inc., and Vendare Media, Inc. (now Connexus, Inc.). Levinson currently serves on the Board of Directors at five public companies, is a Trustee of Barnard College, and is the Chair of the Board of Connexus, Inc. She holds a B.A. in Russian Studies from Barnard College, an M.A. in Russian Literature from Harvard University, and an M.B.A. from New York University.

Ann Mercer Logan
Founder and Board Chair
Reach Out and Read Colorado
Denver, CO

Ann Logan is the Founder and current Board Chair of Reach Out and Read Colorado. She has worked as a school librarian in Denver and Tuckahoe, NY, as well as a pre-school teacher, an ESL teacher, and a staff member at a spouse abuse program. She was the Reach Out and Read Program Director at Denver Health for ten years and founded the statewide coalition in Colorado in 2003. Logan was also the co-founder and co-chairman of the Early Childhood Literacy Coalition of Metro Denver. She currently serves on the boards of Denver Public School's Summer Scholars Program, Friends of Denver School of the Arts and the T&R Foundation. Logan received her B.S. from the University of Tennessee and her M.L.S. from St. John's University.

Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. - Founder
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Pediatrician
MetroHealth Medical Center
Cleveland, OH

Robert Needlman, M.D., is co-founder of Reach Out and Read and President of the Greater Cleveland ROR coalition. He is the author of "Dr. Spock's Baby Basics" and co-author of the eighth 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 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 Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Earl Martin Phalen - CEO
Chief Executive Officer
Reach Out and Read
Quincy, MA

Earl Martin Phalen became the Chief Executive Officer of Reach Out and Read in September 2009. In that role, Phalen leads the Reach Out and Read organization, providing vision and direction for its early literacy promotion efforts nationwide. Previously, he was the CEO of Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) a national nonprofit organization he cofounded in 1992. He is a recipient of a Mind Trust Fellowship and is also the Founder and Chair of Summer Advantage USA, which combats summer learning loss. Phalen served on the education policy group for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and as co-chair of Massachusetts Governor Deval Partrick's education task force. President Bill Clinton named him as a recipient of the President's Service Award in 1997. Phalen received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Jennifer Seeman
Weston, MA

Jennifer Seeman has been a strong supporter of Reach Out and Read since 2003. She helped to organize the first Read and Romp event in Boston in 2004 and is a co-creator of the highly successful Read Romp + Rock event. Until 1996, she worked in St. Petersburg, Russia, as the coordinator of Russian operations for McKinsey & Company, the management consultants. In 1992, she went to St. Petersburg as a Thomas J. Watson fellow to teach environmental awareness and outdoor leadership skills to Russian high school students. Seeman is a graduate of Colby College.

Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Literacy, and Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D., professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and director of the Center for Literacy, is a former president of the International Reading Association (IRA). Shanahan served on the White House Assembly on Reading and the National Reading Panel and he chairs the National Literacy Panel on Language and Minority Children and Youth and the National Early Literacy Panel. He has written or edited six books, including Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Literacy, and more than 100 articles and research studies. Shanahan received his B.A. and M.A.T. from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware.

Catherine Snow, Ph.D.
Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Cambridge, MA

Catherine Snow, Ph.D., is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education in the Human Development and Psychology Department at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Snow has co-authored books and published many articles in refereed journals on language development and on literacy development. She chaired the National Research Council Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, the RAND Reading Study Group, and the National Academy of Education committee that produced the 2005 volume Knowledge to support the teaching of reading. She was also a member of the National Research Council Committee that developed the plans for the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) and currently is heading the research effort of the first SERP field site, in the Boston Public Schools. Snow is a former president of the American Educational Research Association. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from McGill.
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