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Rebecca Mullen, M.S.Ed., Executive Director
Rebecca Mullen is a certified reading specialist with a Master in the Science of Education 
in Reading degree from Illinois State University, where she also received her B.S. in Elementary Education. Prior to joining Reading Power, Ms. Mullen served as coordinator
of the Mary and Jean Borg Center for Reading and Literacy, a tutoring program at ISU in Normal, IL.
Rebecca's broad classroom experience includes teaching positions in preschool, kindergarten, second, and sixth through eighth grades, throughout Illinois, as well as in Eastbourne, England, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. She has designed and implemented interactive, student-centered, technology-driven language arts curricula, including: writing and reading workshops, literature circles, blog writing, and website design through teaching methods based on theory and experience.
She co-authored an article, with Dr. Linda Wedwick, Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting started in the classroom with YouTube, digital stories and blogs (2008) in The Clearinghouse: A journal of educational strategies, issues and ideas. In 2008, Ms. Mullen was the recipient of the LaSalle, County (Illinois) Excellence in Education Award.
Mary Jane N. Hender, Ed. D., Co-Founder
Dr. Hender is the co-founder and former Executive Director of Reading Power, Inc. as well as board Vice President.
For five and a half years, Dr. Hender recruited, trained and supervised the volunteers and the professional staff. As a teacher for 20 years, Dr. Hender taught students in kindergarten through the master's degree level including serving as a public school reading specialist coordinating early intervention programs.
Dr. Hender's research focused on struggling readers, specifically those who are bicultural.
Reverend Gordon Butcher, D. Min., Co-Founder
Rev. Dr. Butcher, a Presbyterian minister and literacy activist, collaborated with Dr. Hender in launching Reading Power, Inc.
He is a founding member of the Board of Directors and became the President in 2005.
For 41 years, Rev. Butcher had many achievements as a pastor of the Presbyterian Church.
Some include mission outreach programs as well as initiating a literacy program for Latino
immigrants and those coming from the Balkans.
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