Meet Our Board of Directors
Dr. Karen Kohler, President
Dr. Karen Kohler is an educational leader with expertise in early childhood/elementary education, family engagement, and literacy. She was the former founder and executive director of early childhood literacy programs that focused on professional development for pre-kindergarten and Head Start educators and parents in Texas and California.
Dr. Kohler started her career in education as an elementary school teacher and later a family specialist known for increasing and sustaining parent involvement and family engagement on Title I campuses. Currently, Dr. Kohler is an Adjunct Professor at Texas A&M University, San Antonio, and the University of the Incarnate Word. In addition to teaching classes in Reading, Literacy, and Instructional Methods for pre-service teachers, she was hired to research and develop new program minors for the University of the Incarnate Word.
Dr. Kohler is passionate about educating parents and guardians to be engaged in their children’s education process. She holds a Master’s in Education with an emphasis on Elementary Education and a Doctorate in Education, specializing in Reading and Literacy. Her research interests include family engagement in education, the collaboration between classroom teachers and speech-language pathologists, and best practices for supporting secondary special education teachers and staff.
Rachel Krueger, Vice President
Rachel Krueger is the mother of three children, one with Learning Disabilities. Rachel works for the Learning Disabilities Association of America as their Director of Affiliate Relations. She is a former preschool teacher trained in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Pediatric Occupational Therapy. Rachel is also a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and a Board Certified Special Education Advocate. She has worked with children who have bipolar issues, are on the Autism Spectrum, and have Oppositional Defiance Disorders.
Rachel is Co-Chair of the Mental Health Committee, and Co-Chair of the 61st Annual International Conference, all with the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
Rachel is passionate about educating parents about learning disabilities and how to have their child diagnosed at an earlier age. She is thankful for LDA of America and is grateful to be part of such a wonderful organization
Jenn Cohen, Treasurer
Jenn Cohen has been in the test prep trenches for almost 20 years, but she prides herself in never feeling too comfortable calling herself an expert. She is always learning from her students, families, other pros, and the research literature. She’s a lover of art and science and believes the world is a better place with both. Meeting Neil deGrasse Tyson is on her bucket list.
She has been featured in The Dallas Morning News, ADDitude Magazine, and Good Morning Texas, as well as numerous blogs around the web. She has also been a presenter at the Learning Disabilities Association national conference, as well as a speaker at high schools and parent associations. She is the leading national expert on test prep for students with special needs. If you don’t believe her, just ask Google. She is also the owner of Word-Nerd.com, an awesome SAT vocabulary website. She is a graduate of Duke University and completed graduate work in clinical psychology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She is a hardcore Duke sports fan, and general sports junkie, so she gets a particular kick out of her student’s sports victories.
Jenn lives in Dallas, TX with her husband and business guru, Gary, and her daughter, Erin. She enjoys cooking, museums, ’80’s bands, and playing “fake Pac-Man” with Erin. It’s just as much fun as it sounds!
Pam Smith, Healthy Children Project Coordinator
Pam is the mother of two adult children with ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia. Helping her kids navigate school and life with as much dignity and tools as they can have been her prayer and goal.
Pam is a Registered Nurse by trade, working as a staff nurse on a hospital surgical floor, then in a large medical clinic for over 14 years, as well as part-time in pediatrics with children with disabilities, as well as a pediatric home health nurse.
When her first son was born and diagnosed with significant learning issues, she decided to leave her full-time job and devote her time to her son. Four years later her second son arrived who was also diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. Pam and her husband live in Dallas, TX, and have located many resources to help her two boys through school all the way to college.
Pam looks forward to working with LDA Texas and the Healthy Children Project.
Dr. Anneke Schreuder, Community Outreach Coordinator
Anneke Schreuder is a Dutch pediatrician and neonatologist, with a special interest in the field of developmental epidemiology. It brought her to several hospitals and research centers in the Netherlands, South Africa, and Oxford, UK. After the family moved to Texas, her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia. This brought her deeper into the world of learning disabilities which she had already looked into for her Ph.D. research. For several years, she worked as a dyslexia tester/tutor at UT Health Science Center.
Seeing how many students struggled as much in math as in reading, she decided to return to her all-time favorite area of math. Math is her true passion, awareness, communication, research, and remediation of Dyscalculia are her mission. In 2010, she started Dyscalculia Services to provide assessments and in-person and online tutoring for children and adults. She is a frequent speaker on Dyscalculia and a consultant to various local schools who does podcasts and shares her experience through webinars and a series of online courses.
She lives in Katy TX with her husband and enjoys traveling, art, and theater performances.
Kara Mowrey, Ed.D., Board Member
Her journey with advocacy began when her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia, and she has worked to support families and students with dyslexia as they navigate the educational system. She hopes to empower students to find the services needed to be academically successful.
Edward Schultz, Ph.D., Board Member
Edward Schultz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the West College of Education at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX. He received his B.S. and Master’s Degree at Midwestern State University and his Ph.D. at the University of North Texas.
In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses at MSU, he is also program coordinator for the Educational Diagnostician Program. He is the co-author of the C-SEP model. His areas of expertise include SLD identification, multi-tiered systems of support, and emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD).
Beth McGaw, Past President
Beth McGaw became an outspoken advocate for children with learning disabilities after her youngest son was diagnosed at an early age. She has been an active member of LDA for over 10 years and in 2012 was elected to the LDA Board of Directors, currently serving as co-chair of the Communications Committee. Other activities within LDA include Marketing, Affiliate Support, Adult Topics, and VP of LDA Georgia. Although Beth started her career as an Industrial Engineer, she pursued her passion for education by obtaining her M.Ed. from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She co-founded the Atlanta-based, award-winning magazine Kids Enabled in response to her frustration in locating appropriate resources for her son.
Beth currently lives in Dallas and works as an Independent Educational Consultant at Launch Pad Consulting Group, which assists families and their students with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and/or autism spectrum disorders locating post-secondary options, including college, job search, and residential living options. She also volunteers for LaunchAbility, a Dallas nonprofit that offers supportive employment services for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Beth and her husband have three adult sons, one in New York, another in California, and the third in Arkansas. They enjoy adventurous vacations with their family to stay connected.