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.