Kaarina Bauerle has a Master’s in Professional Studies and is certified in Elementary and Special Education and Multisensory Structured Language Education by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Counsel (IMSLEC). She has over thirty years of classroom experience teaching PAF. She began her career teaching at The Windward School; after twenty years in the classroom, she became the Coordinator of Language Arts for grades 1-4 and mentored teachers and provided in-service training. Kaarina is a Senior Master Teacher Trainer at PAF.

Phyllis Bertin, M.S. is the co-author of the PAF Reading Program, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and Dyslexia Therapists certified by the International Dyslexia Association.a noted lecturer, teacher trainer, and school consultant, is a former senior faculty member of the Windward Teacher Training Institute in White Plains, New York. She has taught mainstream and special education classes, and served as the Director of Special Education for the Weston Connecticut Public Schools and the Director of Education for Windward School in White Plains. Phyllis has been a Board Member of the New York State Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and received the Branch Award from the International Dyslexia Association in 1999. Phyllis is the co-author of an Orton-Gillingham-based Spanish reading program, Aprendo Leyendo, for native Spanish speakers.

Tina DeVoe holds graduate degrees in special education from Fordham University and early childhood education from Hunter College, bringing extensive expertise in supporting children with diverse learning needs. Her background includes serving students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, language-based disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and ADHD in public and private schools across New York City, Westchester, and Connecticut. As a former educator at The Windward School, she has first-hand experience with the PAF Reading Program and joined the PAF team in 2025. Tina is passionate about fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments for all students.

Guillermo Jasson is the President of PAF Reading Program. He has been involved in education for the past four decades in different capacities including lower, middle, and high school teacher, professor at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, and member of various advisory boards and councils at the Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College. He earned an Industrial Engineering degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College. He worked at McKinsey & Co in Europe, Morgan Stanley in New York, and was Vice Chair of the Smithsonian Latino Center Advisory Board. He is currently a partner at Sterling Legacy, a member of the Woodrow Wilson Mexico Institute Advisory Board, and the Chair of Tuck School’s Latin American & Caribbean Council.

William LaConte holds a Master’s degree in Special Education from Lehman College and a BA in Elementary Education from Roger Williams University. He spent ten years teaching in elementary schools, primarily as a lead teacher in 1st and 2nd grade. During this time, he focused on addressing literacy gaps among early learners, designing targeted instruction, and implementing differentiated strategies to support diverse student needs. He transitioned into instructional coaching, serving as a Senior Literacy Consultant for the past four years. In this role, he partnered with schools in underserved communities, providing professional development, modeling best practices, and collaborating with educators to improve literacy instruction. He joined the PAF team in 2025.

Amy Linden has been in the teaching profession for over forty years. She received a Master’s in Special Education from Columbia University and a BA in Elementary Education from Temple University. She has taught in public schools in New York City, Chicago, and White Plains. In White Plains, she coordinated the Learning Strategies Program, designed to provide academic support. Amy also worked as a Reading Specialist for over twelve years at The Windward School, an independent school for students with language-based learning disabilities. Currently, Amy leads PAF’s team of Master Teacher Trainers.

Elizabeth McGoldrick launched her lifelong career in education directly after graduating from Dartmouth College with a BA in Psychology, a concentration in Education, and a newly minted teaching license. She holds a Master’s in Education from Regis University and a permanent New York State teaching certification for PK-6. She has taught in a variety of educational settings, both public and private, for more than twenty years, most recently serving as the Literacy Coordinator at Waterside School in Stamford, Connecticut. She is a founding member of KEEP, and leads book clubs for tweens at her local library. Elizabeth has worked with PAF since 2009 in content development.

Eileen Perlman, M.S.  is the co-author of the PAF Reading Program, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and Dyslexia Therapists certified by the International Dyslexia Association. She began her career as a classroom teacher and reading specialist and later served as Clinical Director of the Reading Initiative at the Churchill Center in Manhattan. For over thirty years, she was a learning disabilities specialist for the White Plains Public Schools. In addition to her private practice involving diagnosis and remediation, Eileen is a highly regarded lecturer, teacher trainer, and educational consultant.

Sophia Schwatka has a Master’s in Childhood General and Special Education from Bank Street College of Education. She is certified in New York State and by IMSLEC. She began her career teaching at The Windward School, has worked as a Learning Specialist for grades K-4 at an independent school, and has taught Kindergarten. Sophia joined the PAF team in 2016 when she co-authored several of the books in the PAF Reading Series.

Annie Stutzman has a passion for making literacy research accessible and actionable for all educators, families, and communities, which began during her undergraduate studies in Elementary and Special Education at New York University and continued through her graduate work in Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University. She began her post-grad career at Haskins Laboratories as a Research Associate and Coordinator of Educational Outreach. She continued her work with educators, advocates, and families as the Associate Director of an institute within a school for children with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities, which led her to her current position at the PAF Reading Program.

Anthony Sylvester is the Technology Manager for the PAF Program. He started his career in education where he worked in various IT, AV, and production roles. He later moved onto the tech sector where he built and managed IT and AV infrastructure globally. He has a Master’s degree in Information Design and Technology from SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Erica Zanzarella has a BA in Childhood Education and a Master’s in Special Education from Manhattan College. She is certified in New York State and by IMSLEC. Erica taught in the New York City public schools as a special education teacher for three years. She then worked at The Windward School, for seven years where was introduced to the PAF Reading Program. Erica joined the PAF team in 2023.

Magdalena Zavalia is the CEO of the PAF Reading Program. As a parent, she became deeply familiar with the current crisis in literacy education and made it her personal mission to help bring change to the way reading is taught in schools. Before her work in education, Magdalena practiced law at Latham and Watkins LLP. She graduated from the Universidad Católica Argentina Law School in Buenos Aires and has an LLM (Master of Laws) from Columbia University. She is admitted to practice in Buenos Aires and New York. Magdalena is also Founder and CEO of Aprendo Leyendo and serves on the board at The Windward School, the Achelis & Bodman Foundation, and the Whiting Foundation. She is a member of the Haskins Global Literacy Hub.