The We Shall Read Board Members
Jennifer Arnold, Board President
Jennifer Arnold has been a music educator in the state of Michigan for over 30 years.
As a clinician for the Southwest Michigan and West Michigan Honors Bands, Jennifer taught other directors how to incorporate brain building activities into rehearsals. It was in general music where she found her love of teaching with the brain in mind. After taking Shirley Handy’s course, The Singing/Reading Connection, Jennifer became more interested in teaching using methods that activated the pathways between the hemispheres.
Jennifer also has served in numerous leadership roles in MSBO, MEA, and as the Choral/Orchestral director for her church.
Jennifer comes to We Shall Read with a great deal of experience, enthusiasm, and a practical understanding of the importance of play and building pathways in the brain.
Nicole St. Laurent, Secretary
Nicole has always approached education from the perspective of “Life Long Learning.” She has worked with many local and international non-profit organizations to improve their reach and broaden access to education and quality of life for underserved communities.
As a globally certified ESL teacher and long-time homeschooling parent of two high school-aged sons, Nicole has a lot of experience in foundational language acquisition and reading instruction. She has seen over and over how simplified, hands-on reading programs can make a difference in the lives of her students. Building confidence, increasing communication skills and fluency and improving the quality of education for students in all socio-economic groups is the driving force behind her interest in joining the board of We Shall Read.
Rychee Vetor, Treasurer
Rychee Vetor is the Director, Workplace Experience at JLL, a global commercial real estate services company. She is known for designing workplace experience strategies, improving business practices, and managing new business transitions.
Prior to her current role, Rychee served as the Manager of Account Initiatives with oversight of the health and safety compliance program and secured $480,000 in state grant funds to advance the workforce skill set. Rychee was responsible for implementing culture-based initiatives; reward and recognition programs that boosted morale, coordinated leadership site visits that focused on sharing best practices, and enhanced service delivery by facilitating customer experience training.
Ms. Vetor’s passion for diversity, equity, and wellbeing is evident in her leadership of the Michigan Chapters of the Women Business Resource Group and Health Champions. She has curated initiatives that promoted professional development and wellbeing.
Lauren Stevenson
Lauren is the mother to two boys, one with dyslexia who is the inspiration for her joining the board. Her family has been fortunate to have found The Brain Friendly Reading™ program along their journey with dyslexia.
During the day she is a Health Services researcher with the VA hospitals and enjoys learning through evaluation of new programs and initiatives. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a master of science in social administration with an emphasis in non-profit management and a doctorate of philosophy in Social Welfare.
Lauren has served as a member of several other local non-profit boards during her time in Metro Detroit. She brings her passion for helping others and her knowledge of program implementation to the board.
Ebony Matthews
Ebony is an exceptional scholar and actress who is currently studying biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and is a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority among other school organizations.
Ebony has been involved in several educational equity focused organizations in the past several years (LSAMP, MSAN, etc.) and has a passion for diversity.
She brings her experience in social media management, consulting, and diversity and inclusion efforts to the We Shall Read team.
Farah Jalloul
Dr. Farah Jalloul graduated from Ferris State University with a Doctorate of Pharmacy and Master’s in Business in 2017 and has been on a non-stop mission to provide a better quality of life for the people of Michigan since. Farah currently serves as the director of professional development and state pharmacy emergency preparedness coordinator for the Michigan Pharmacists Association.
Farah’s efforts in bettering public health during the COVID-19 crisis have won her many accolades and recognitions including the Arab American Foundation’s 40 Under 40, Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Rising Stars in Healthcare of 2021, the 2023 recipient of Ferris State University’s Pacesetter Award, and an appointment to the Michigan Public Health Advisory Council by Gov. Whitmer.
Farah enjoys precepting and is a tireless advocate for the pharmacists and people of Michigan. She is happy to bring her high-level strategic experience to We Shall Read.
Mark Laginess
Mark recently retired from Consumers Energy where he worked as a Director of Project Quality Management for almost five years. Previously Mark had a length career in the automotive industry.
Mark brings to the board executive leadership experience, program management and product development. We Shall Read will benefit from his experience executing business strategies, projecting cost estimates, and experience leading teams to meet intended objectives.
Equally important, Mark brings to board a deep passion for helping children and adults learn to read. Mark volunteered for decades at Tyler Elementary School in Belleville, MI and is currently volunteering in an Adult Literacy program at the Belleville Area District Library with his with Joani.
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