National literacy advocates L to R: Diane Dragan; Ameer Baraka; Harvey Hubbell; Missy Purcell and Sherri Marie Lucas at the 2025 International Dyslexia Association national conference in Atlanta, GA.
I didn’t start my career thinking I would become a literacy advocate.
I started as an educator in the classroom who wanted my students to succeed—and realized that I didn’t have the tools and knowledge I needed to help them learn to read.
While still teaching in the classroom, I began digging deeper into how reading actually works. That journey led me to the Science of Reading and structured literacy—frameworks that finally explained what I had been seeing all along.
From there, my work expanded:
Teaching in early elementary classrooms
Launching a tutoring business
Training educators across the country
Today, my work sits at the intersection of:
Student support
Educator training
Literacy advocacy
Because solving this problem (our literacy crisis) requires all three.
I believe:
Every child can learn to read with the right instruction
Educators deserve better training and support
Systems must change—not just students
About my journey:
Why This Work Matters
Too many students—especially students of color—have not received the reading instruction they deserve.
This isn’t about effort. It’s about access to the right methods.
I believe real change happens when:
Educators are deeply trained in structured literacy
Schools commit to evidence-based instruction
Communities invest in early, effective intervention
When we get this right, we change outcomes for life.
Experience & Credibility
15+ years in education (paraprofessional, teacher, and literacy advocate)
Former National Professional Learning Facilitator with Lexia
LETRS-trained and certified in structured literacy
Founder of Designed to Teach Tutoring Services
Contact me:
Please reach out to me anytime via the contact form or directly at designed2teach2019@gmail.com.