About Us
The Reading League New Mexico
The Reading League New Mexico chapter was established in 2024. The Reading League New Mexico shares the mission of the national organization of advancing the awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-based reading instruction.
Meet Our Team
Meet Allison Caldwell, TRL-NM President
Allison Caldwell began her career in education with an interest in speech and language therapy. That was 16 years ago and through that journey realized her commitment to ensuring that all children learn to read. She has a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Elementary Reading, certified special education teacher PreK-12th grade and a licensed school administrator. Allison also holds a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist certification from the International Dyslexia Association.
Allison’s experience in the classroom, as a reading specialist and as a building administrator as well as at the state level where she currently worked as a structured literacy coach allowed her to meet the needs of both teachers and students through collaborative conversations as well as support with implementation for evidence based literacy practices.
Allison began working with IMSE as an Orton Gillingham instructor as well as a practicum supervisor in 2021. She is now working full time with the academic team as the Instruction Team Lead. In her free time, Allison enjoys spending time with her husband, four children and granddaughter.
Adjunct Professor, UNM-Taos
Meet Kendra Peralta, TRL-NM Vice President
Kendra Peralta is a Structured Literacy Coach for the Central Regional Education Cooperative and an adjunct professor at UNM-Taos. She is Co-founder and Vice President of The Reading League New Mexico.
Kendra holds a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from New Mexico Highlands University and received her Dyslexia Therapy training at the New Mexico Multisensory Language Therapy Institute.
She is a National Board Certified Teacher in Literacy, a Dyslexia tutor, and a LETRS Local Certified Facilitator. She received her Montessori training from the Princeton Center for Teacher Education and the North American Montessori Training Center. Over the past 27 years, Kendra has been a general education and special education teacher, interventionist, and coach in public and private schools in New Mexico and North Carolina. She is grateful to her family and her current and past mentors.
Meet Dr. Michelle Hopper, TRL-NM Board Member
Michelle has been working to advance reading achievement in New Mexico for the past 15 years. She has taught at the elementary level, championed as an administrator, taught and mentored preservice teachers through the University of Colorado.Currently, she works as a structured literacy coach and LETRS facilitator serving northern New Mexico.
Her love of learning and passion for reading led her to pursue a terminal degree in Curriculum and Instruction focused on writing. When she is not teaching, learning or writing, Michelle loves spending time outdoors with her family paddle boarding, running, biking, or horseback riding.
Meet Jillian Patten, TRL-MN Treasurer
Jillian Patten is originally from Chicago and moved to New Mexico last year to her husband’s hometown, Albuquerque. She attended the University of Texas at Austin as a Dedman Scholar and holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations with a specialty in Arabic and Cyber Security. Her career pivoted when she found out she had dyslexia and decided to help run an after-school tutoring program for students with learning differences. She has spent the past 5 years at Redwood Literacy where she is the current Director of Partnerships and passionate about getting life changing intervention to students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.
Meet Erin Brown, TRL-NM Board Member
Erin Brown is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist whose work in education spans 15+ years. Erin specializes in dyslexia therapy and best practices related to the science of literacy instruction, including structured literacy implementation and supporting students with learning differences. She holds a Master’s degree in special education. Erin maintains a private dyslexia therapy practice in Albuquerque and supports New Mexico teachers through her work as a literacy coach with the May Center for Learning. She is also a co-founder of the Bridge Literacy program, a structured literacy summer intensive. In 2022, Erin was awarded IMSLEC’s Innovator Award for Outstanding MSLE Therapist in the field of multisensory structured language education (MSLE).
As a Certified Instructor of Academic Language Practitioners, Erin provides therapy-level teacher training through the Multisensory Language Training Institute of New Mexico. She contributes to professional development opportunities for educators and is a frequent conference presenter. Dedicated to several outreach efforts, Erin serves as an advisory council member of the Southwest Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and a board member of the newly established New Mexico Chapter of the Reading League. Erin is also a founding member and current president of the Academic Language Therapy Association, New Mexico Chapter, and a passionate advocate for students with learning differences.
Meet Nicole Florez, TRL-NM Board Member
Nicole is a Literacy Specialist at the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE). She has 25+ years of experience in the elementary school setting, including teaching internationally in Spain and Argentina. Nicole has been a K-3 classroom teacher, a Kindergarten Dual-Language Teacher, a K-5 Spanish as a Second Language teacher, a Pre-K-5 Gifted Teacher, a K-5 Reading Interventionist, as well as a site-level Administrator. She is currently a doctoral student in Mount St. Joseph’s Reading Science program. In her free time, Nicole loves to read, cook, and go on adventures with her husband, Brook, and son, Liam.
Meet Sarah Lister, TRL-NM Board Member
Sara Lister is currently the President and CEO of Make-A-Wish New Mexico and began serving in that role in May 2018. She previously served as the Senior Director of Development at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to her work in nonprofits, Sara worked both in politics and government at the federal, state and local level for the first 17 years of her career. She served both U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and President George W. Bush. Sara is a graduate of Valparaiso University in Indiana. She is the proud aunt of five, soon to be six, nieces and nephews and the fur mom to Windsor Elizabeth, an English bulldog named for Queen Elizabeth II.
Meet Christine Quesada, TRL-NM Board Member
Christine Quesada is a resident of Rio Rancho, New Mexico and former Rio Rancho Public Schools teacher. She has over twenty years of experience in education, thirteen of which were in the classroom and seven years as an instructional coach and coordinator. Christine is currently the Assistant Director of the Literacy and Humanities Bureau with the New Mexico Public Education Department. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and International Studies from Texas A&M University. Christine is married and has three children. Christine is a passionate advocate of the science of reading and professional learning for teachers so all students can have equitable and effective instruction in reading.
Meet Nereida Antunez-Gamon, TRL-NM Board Member
Nereida is a Literacy Specialist for the Gadsden Independent School District. She has 18 years of experience working in the public school setting as a bilingual teacher, instructional coach, and literacy specialist in the Gadsden Independent School District. Nereida is a National Board Certified teacher with a certificate in English as a New Language: Early Middle Childhood. Nereida is currently a doctoral student at Mount St. Joseph University, where she is pursuing a deeper understanding of the Science of Reading and the English Learner.Nereida is a Literacy Specialist for the Gadsden Independent School District. She has 18 years of experience working in the public school setting as a bilingual teacher, instructional coach, and literacy specialist in the Gadsden Independent School District. Nereida is a National Board Certified teacher with a certificate in English as a New Language: Early Middle Childhood. Nereida is currently a doctoral student at Mount St. Joseph University, where she is pursuing a deeper understanding of the Science of Reading and the English Learners.
Meet Jessica Lance, TRL-NM Board Member
Jessica Lance is a transplant New Mexican making Hobbs, New Mexico her home for the past five years with her husband of nearly 16 years.
She has been an Elementary teacher for over 30 years, teaching in Texas, Minnesota, and New Mexico. Currently, she is a 2nd grade teacher; and has taught Kindergarten, 1st and 3rd grades.
Jessica holds a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Concordia College, a Master’s in Curriculum and Technology from the University of Phoenix, an Educational Specialist degree from Concordia University–St. Paul, and a Master of Arts in Reading from Grand Canyon University. She is passionate about literacy, the Science of Reading, and creating engaging, student-centered classrooms that support every child’s growth.
Meet Dr. Sunaina Shenoy, TRL-NM Board Member
Dr. Sunaina Shenoy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of New Mexico. She earned a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of California, Berkeley and completed her post-doctoral work at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University. She teaches in the Educational Diagnosis Certificate Program at UNM, specializing in courses related to the assessment and identification of students with disabilities. Her research interests are in dyslexia; reading; assessment; MTSS models; culturally and linguistically diverse students; and international special education.
Meet Monica Trujillo, TRL-NM Board Member
public school teacher for over 21 years, Monica Trujillo is an Associate Level Orton-Gillingham Practitioner through the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (OGA/AOGPE). For the past seven years, Monica has been a reading interventionist, bringing evidence-based practices to students who need them most. A native New Mexican, Monica is married and the parent of three children. She is committed to ensuring that every child in New Mexico has access to effective, science-based reading instruction.
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