Lorraine Donovan
President and Founder
Lorraine Donovan is a successful Orange County, Calif., businesswoman, communicator, author and dyslexia advocate. Lorraine’s commitment to dyslexia education began the day she learned that she and her son had dyslexia. Securing a bright future for her son meant she needed to ask the right questions, find answers quickly and pursue learning solutions for him. Without understanding dyslexia herself, she could not advocate that schools use proper learning techniques with her son.
Lorraine began relentlessly consulting with professional learning disability association data (The International Dyslexia Association, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Decoding Dyslexia, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Academic Language Therapy Association, National Institute for Learning Development), researched government and academic reports, attended parental support groups, and battled for her son’s right to educational accommodations in school. Digging deeply into subject’s scope, she interviewed pediatricians, special education teachers, classroom teachers and parents of children with dyslexia, and joined with experts who work to change the education system.
Anne Webber
Member, Board of Directors
Anne Webber has been passionate about helping students with dyslexia and learning differences for more than 20 years. In 1994, she came across a book titled, “The Gift of Dyslexia,” by Ron Davis. She decided to read this book after meeting Jason, who would later become her husband, who is also one of her greatest sources of inspiration. Anne was instantly attracted to Jason’s out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem solving. He was very driven to “just get out of school,” a place that had battered him around for his entire school career except for a select few exceptional special education teachers. “The Gift of Dyslexia” book helped her to understand the dyslexic mindset and shaped her thinking to realize the gift that dyslexia can be.
As a teacher, Anne recognized early that most dyslexics do not realize their gift. Sadly, it’s because they are often told they are “not smart” or “they are not trying hard enough.” Could you imagine having a gift that you cannot even open? Or worse, the gift you have makes you feel anxious, worried and defeated every, single day at school. Anne made it her mission to make school a safe place for all her students. She was on the lookout for kids that would normally slip through the cracks and worked tirelessly to get to know them better and adapted her teaching to their learning styles and unique needs.
Herb Silverman
Member, Board of Directors
After meeting Lorraine, Herb was introduced to Dyslexia and became interested in understanding the causes and benefits of the dyslexic mind.
Herb has in depth experience in technology and business practices. He can help guide and expand the reach of Dyslexia Voice as it strives to influence early childhood diagnosis throughout the educational framework. He is very interested in teaching methods that can benefit both the dyslexic and non-dyslexic students.
Herb can also help support Dyslexia Voice’s outreach to the donor community and help ensure that donation dollars benefit dyslexic students with particular emphasis on reducing the student to prison pipeline that is undermining many of the communities in the US.