The Reading League Connecticut
The Reading League Connecticut chapter was established in 2021 to support the advancement of the Science of Reading. The Reading League Connecticut shares the mission of the national organization of advancing the awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-based reading instruction.
Meet Our Team
Meet Lisa Gianni M.A., AIT/OGA, C-SLCT
Lisa is an experienced educator and professional learning facilitator. She has over 20 years in public education where her roles included classroom teacher, remedial reading specialist, and district level instructional coach. Her passion for literacy, for supporting students with reading difficulties and dyslexia, and her belief that literacy is a fundamental human right and that with informed and supported educators, all children can become skillful readers and writers led her to join the State Department of Education as an associate education consultant in the Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities. Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Central Connecticut State University, a master’s degree from the University of Saint Joseph, and remedial reading and remedial language arts specialist certification from Albertus Magnus College. She is a National LETRS Professional Learning Facilitator, is Orton Gillingham trained at the Associate level, and is a certified Structured Literacy Classroom Teacher through CERI/IDA. Lisa also teaches as an Adjunct Professor for Albertus Magnus College in the advanced alternate preparation for literacy specialist program supervising the candidate tutorial and leading the seminar in Best Practices in Intervention. She currently serves as President of the Connecticut chapter of The Reading League.
Meet Janice Yanni M.S., CAGS, C-SLDI
Janice has over 15 years of experience in public education working as a classroom teacher, literacy coach, interventionist, and Lead Facilitator for professional learning at HILL for Literacy. Janice earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Roger Williams University and both a master’s degree and certificate of advanced graduate study in reading from Central Connecticut State University. She is passionate about early literacy, supporting students with dyslexia, and parent and family advocacy. Janice is a Wilson certified instructor and a CERI certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist with a wealth of experience supporting students through tiered intervention and special education. She currently serves as Vice President for the Connecticut chapter of The Reading League and is a proud fellow of NEAG’s PreK-3 Leadership program at UCONN.
Meet Cynthia Hoemann M.S., A/OGA, C-SLDI
Cynthia has over 25 years of experience in the education field. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a dual Master’s degree in Special Education and Literacy. Cynthia began her career teaching elementary grades. After observing that many of her students struggled with the acquisition of reading skills, she pursued Orton-Gillingham training and earned her Associate Level accreditation through the Academy. Additionally, she holds a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist certification from CERI/IDA and is currently the reading specialist at Greens Farms Academy in Westport, CT. Cynthia serves as the Secretary of the Connecticut chapter of The Reading League. In this role, she continues to expand her knowledge of the Science of Reading and advocates for high-quality literacy instruction for both students and educators.
Meet Sarah Levine M.S., M.Ed, CE/OGA
Sarah is a dedicated educator with over 20 years of experience in the field of education, currently serving as a Literacy Specialist. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from New York University and a Master’s in Administration and Supervision from Grand Canyon University. Additionally, Sarah has earned certifications in TESOL from ACES and in Remedial Reading and Language Arts from Albertus Magnus College. As an Orton-Gillingham Classroom educator and LETRS trained professional, she is committed to fostering literacy skills and supporting teachers in enhancing student learning outcomes. Sarah currently serves as the Treasurer of the Connecticut chapter of The Reading League.
Meet Claire Conroy, Ed.D.
Claire Conroy currently leads the Specific Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia initiative at the State Education Resource Center. She co-leads the Assistive Technology, Accessible Educational Materials, and the Universal Design for Learning Initiatives, and is also an Individualized Education Program Quality Trainer. As someone with a learning disability in math, her passion lies in educating others who teach students with learning disabilities. In the spring of 2024, Claire graduated with her doctorate in education from the University of New England, where she examined Tier I literacy instruction and its connection to racial equity.
After Claire earned her bachelor’s degree in integrated elementary and special education from the University of Hartford, she worked as a Hartford area special education teacher for eight years at the elementary and middle school level. During that time, Claire earned her master’s degree in learning design and technology from Purdue University. Additionally, she became trained at the Certified level in the Orton-Gillingham approach. Claire serves on the board of The Reading League – Connecticut chapter.
Meet Bonnie Dombrowski
Bonnie is the Operations Manager at White Mountains Advisors, LLC with experience at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Financial Accounting Standards Board prior to joining White Mountains. She grew up in Texas and earned her Bachelors in Accounting and Masters in Finance from Texas A&M University. She is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas.
Bonnie is also a dedicated mother of 3 children, 2 of whom are identified with dyslexia and dysgraphia and experienced early reading, comprehension and writing struggles. As a parent of children with literacy struggles, Bonnie learned how critical early intervention is for reading and self-confidence success, and how highly trained and experienced educators utilizing evidence-based and research backed intensive interventions can make all the difference for readers and their families. As the daughter of 2 educators, Bonnie is passionate about paying forward the opportunity to help educators teach more children effectively how to read with evidence based methodologies. Bonnie serves as the Scholarship Committee Chair and has helped raise over $60,000 to date towards teacher training scholarships for educators in Connecticut.
Meet Tera Dunn M.Ed., 092 cert
Tera has over 20 years of experience in education in a variety of capacities at the elementary level including literacy interventionist, para-educator and classroom teacher at the primary grade level. Prior to receiving her Master of Education from The University of Hartford, Tera earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Disorders. While teaching at the elementary level, Tera went on to earn an advanced degree in Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University. As a Lead Facilitator at the HILL for Literacy, she supports districts in the understanding and development of a MTSS through the lens of leadership, assessment, tiered instruction, and professional development. Tera is dedicated to helping teachers understand the science of reading and empower them to do better for all students. Tera currently serves on the Scholarship and Events Committees of the Connecticut chapter of the The Reading League.
Meet Virginia Quinn-Mooney M.S., 092 cert., OG Cert
Virginia has over 20 years of experience in education as both a classroom teacher and professional development writer and provider. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, from The College of New Rochelle and a Master’s degree specializing in Curriculum, from Western Connecticut University. Virginia’s first role in education was to develop a multicultural curriculum for the New York City schools, and then transferred into the classroom. Most of her career has been teaching first grade in Connecticut, which she still does with joy. Virginia has worked to impact literacy instruction on a larger scale. Virginia is a moderator on the influential “What I Should have Learned in College” facebook page. She hosts a virtual forum for Science of Reading influencers including Emily Hanford, Kareem Weaver, Natalie Wexler and many others. She has appeared on several podcasts such as “Triple R” and “Melissa and Lori Love Literacy” as well as a bonus episode of “Sold a Story”. She is a Goyen fellow and began a highly successful international virtual training event “teachers teach teachers”. Virginia currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Event Committee of the Connecticut chapter of The Reading League.
Meet Dan Baginski
Dan is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Citation Capital Management. Dan has over fifteen years of experience within the private equity industry. Prior to joining Citation, Dan spent over a decade at TowerBrook Capital Partners, L.P and was most recently a Principal and Controller. He began his career at Deloitte and Touche as a member of the Assurance Risk Services team focusing on alternative investment vehicles. Dan graduated magna cum laude from Saint Michael’s College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance and the University of Connecticut with a Masters in Accounting. He is a certified public accountant in New York.