Meet Our amazing reading specialist tutors

Dr. Mindy Smith, owner of Lavender's Bleu, has had a passion for instilling a love of reading in children and adults over her 35+ years in education. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tulsa, her Masters’ Degree in Reading Education from Northeastern State University and her Doctorate in Curriculum Instruction/Educational Leadership with an emphasis on Reading from Oklahoma State University. 

Over the course of her career, she has worked with students of all ages, starting as a primary grade teacher, then a reading specialist, district reading teacher trainer and then moving on to higher education; teaching reading education courses at NSU for the last 15 years of her teaching career. This desire to make books come alive, instill a love of reading and help struggling readers was the motivation behind opening Lavender’s Bleu Children’s Bookstore and Reading Tutoring Center in 2018. However, after 3 years, the tutoring center had outgrown the space. The need for expansion led to the move to our new Reading Tutoring Center in November 2021. It truly is her dream come true to get to help so many children to become successful, engaged readers! 

 Carrie Fatigante has been working with students of all ages for over 25 years, and believes strong reading education fosters student success across all subject areas. Her education credentials include a Bachelor of Business Administration from Northeastern State University, a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State University, and a post-Master’s Reading Specialist Certificate from Northeastern State University. Carrie has held positions at Rogers State University, the University of Tulsa, and Bishop Kelley High School. She also has extensive volunteer and professional tutoring experience with elementary and middle school students. She strives to build reader confidence and skill by creating an environment where students feel safe to ask questions and take learning risks. No mistake is a bad mistake, just another opportunity to learn. Carrie has been with Lavender’s Bleu Literacy Market since 2019.  

Amber Kubiak has been an early childhood educator for 18 years in grades K-2.  She is a certified reading specialist with degrees from the University of Oklahoma and Northeastern State University.  Amber is passionate about helping children strengthen their foundational skills in phonological awareness and phonics as they grow a love for reading.  Building life-long learners is one of her greatest joys!

 Allison Liang received her bachelor’s degree in special education and her master’s degree in reading. She is certified in early childhood education, mild-moderate disabilities, severe/profound disabilities, and is a reading specialist. She taught in public schools for 12 years but now solely does tutoring. She believes in play-based, hands-on, multisensory learning. Her primary goal is for students to have fun so they never feel like learning to read is a chore. She believes the ability to read is the most important thing we learn to do. It opens doors, takes us on adventures, and provides us with unlimited knowledge. 

Dr. Meagan Moreland earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education, and her master's in reading from Northeastern State University. She earned her Ph.D in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with an emphasis in reading from the University of Oklahoma. She is certified in elementary education and is a certified reading specialist. She has taught for seventeen years in both the elementary classroom and now in higher education. Her primary goal is to motivate and engage students so they will love reading. Growing up, she knew she always wanted to teach reading and she is excited to share her love of reading with future generations. 

Dr. Sarah Ramsey is a certified reading specialist with over 15 years of experience in helping students to improve their literacy skills. Sarah has a passion for empowering her students to become confident readers and lifelong learners. She firmly believes the foundational skills of phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency are critical for students to become proficient readers. 
In her teaching, she incorporates a variety of evidence-based strategies to meet the unique needs of each student. She uses multisensory approaches to teach phonemic awareness and phonics, engages students in meaningful discussions to develop comprehension, and bolsters students' vocabularies through a range of interesting and interactive methods. 
As a professor who teaches both undergraduate and graduate literacy courses, Sarah is deeply enthusiastic about helping all her students to reach their full potential and is committed to on-going professional development to stay-up-to-date on the latest research and best practices in reading instruction. She believes that every student can become a successful reader with the right instruction and support. 

 Mandy Shimp has been a Title I reading specialist for nine years for grades K-3rd. She is an early childhood educator and previously taught kindergarten and first grade. She has had training in Orton Gillingham, Lindamood-bell, Literacy First, and SIPPS (Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight words). She is very passionate about early literacy and finds so much joy in being a part of a child's reading journey.  

 Dr. Amanda Wilson is a certified reading specialist with other certifications in mild-moderate disabilities, elementary, and early childhood education. She earned her bachelor’s and doctorate from Oral Roberts University and her two master’s degrees from Northeastern State University. She has always loved education and knew she wanted to be a teacher from a very early age. From babysitting jobs to the Teacher Cadet program at her high school, she worked with young children to garner experiences that would propel her toward her goals in education. Now, she trains budding teachers at ORU when she is not tutoring at Lavender’s Bleu! One of her favorite things to do is teach a child to read! 

 Dr. Jarilyn Haney earned her bachelor’s degree in mild-moderate disabilities and her master’s degree in reading from Northeastern State University. She completed her Ph.D. in Professional Education Studies with an emphasis in Special Education from Oklahoma State University. She is certified in mild-moderate disabilities, elementary education, and is a certified reading specialist. Her research interests include dyslexia, the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.