Our Boards
Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF’s) boards help to shape our strategies and programs, ensuring that we are a sustainable, impactful nonprofit organization. Meet the leading executives, literacy experts, visionary educators, and other professionals united by our mission to disrupt the U.S. literacy crisis.
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors steers RIF towards a sustainable future by strategizing and driving sound governance, management, and financial policies. The Board of Directors advances RIF’s mission, which is centered around inspiring the joy of reading—driving the reading frequency, motivation, and engagement that puts children on the path to becoming skilled readers.

Thomas Plath, Vice Chair
Senior Vice President,
Human Resources & Global Citizenship
International Paper

J.J. Johnson, Secretary
Senior Advisor
Fidelity Investments

Alicia Levi
President & CEO
Reading Is Fundamental

Michelle Mesack
Managing Director, Global Head of Government Relations
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Michelle Murphy
Vice President of Human Resources,
Commercial HVAC Americas
Trane Technologies

Kevin Smithson
Washington DC Metro Office
Managing Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Joe Thornton
President, Scooter's Coffee
Race, Equity, and Inclusion National Advisory Board
Our Race, Equity, and Inclusion (REI) National Advisory Board provides diverse voices and expertise that guide RIF’s many diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This work includes putting diverse books, voices, and stories in the hands of children—to reflect their own experiences while providing a powerful window into the experiences of others.

Kathy Burnette
Founder, Brain Lair Books

Charnaie Gordon
Diversity & Inclusion Expert, Here Wee Read

Dr. Violet Harris
Professor Emerita, Curriculum & Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Nicole A. Johnson
Owner, Extraordinary Changes

Carmen Rubin
Author; Founder, One Blue Village; Founder & President, Peppermint Candy Publishing

Don Tate
Author & Illustrator
Middle School Family Literacy Advisory Board
Our Middle School Family Literacy Advisory Board (MSFLAB) provides strategic guidance on the books and resources developed to support RIF’s program, “Race, Equity & Inclusion: Critical Support of COVID Learning Loss Recovery & Resilience in Middle Schools.” Through this initiative, RIF provides our Books for Ownership program to middle schools in priority communities, helping to drive family reading engagement and address drops in reading scores due to the pandemic.

Erin Bailey
Director of Programs and Content

Susan Browne
Associate Professor of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Education

Rubén Cáceres
English Educator and Teacher Leader

Sabrina J. Curtis
Visiting Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Laurie Hahn Ganser
Language Arts and Reading Educator

Charnaie Gordon
Children's Book Author

Shana Haines
Associate Professor of Education

Rosalind Hudson
Adjunct Instructor of Literacy

Jessica Jones
Middle School Assistant Principal

Terra McCrae-Greene
Middle School English Second Language Educator

Daris McInnis
Assistant Professor of Literacy

James Morgan
Managing Director of Programs

Karly O'Brien
Content Developer

Kip Plaisted
English and Social Studies Content Leader

Rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion
RIF’s work incorporates diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in everything we do, from the communities we serve to the stories we tell, to the authors and illustrators we feature. Closing the equity gap has been the driver of our work since our founding in 1966. To reinforce our DEI approach, we created the Race, Equity, and Inclusion (REI) Initiative and REI National Advisory Board.