KSLA Board

2020-2021 KSLA Board of Directors

President - Sondra Jones

After working in education for 27 years in different positions and school districts, Sondra retired as a Reading Specialist from the Blue Mountain School District in September. Sondra earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania and her Masters degree in reading education from Anna Maria College in Massachusetts. She continued her reading education in the Reading and Language Arts Doctoral program at Widener University. Sondra is currently co-chair of the Council Awards committee and serves as a member of the Keystone to Reading Book Awards committee of KSLA. She is Membership Chair of her local council, KSLA Schuylkill after serving many years as President and Vice President..

President-elect - Glendia Kennedy

Glendia retired from the Chester County Intermediate Unit after 18 years as a reading specialist for Nonpublic School Services. Her previous experiences include five years in Michigan as a high school English and Journalism teacher, three years in Georgia as a middle and high school reading specialist and six years at Hill Top Prep in Rosemont teaching reading and drama. Glendia stayed at home with her three children for twelve years supporting them at their schools and extracurricular activities. Glendia is a past president of KSLA Brandywine Valley Forge and remains on that board as Membership Chair. She presently co-chairs KSLA’s Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Awards. Glendia is active in her book club with long time friends and of course, is sharing her love of books with her granddaughter.

Vice President - Sandee Cecchini

Sandee has been in education for 20 years. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education at Clarion University. She began her career in the McKeesport School District teaching reading. She then received her Master’s Degree in Literacy from Indiana University. Sandee then accepted a position at the Apollo-Ridge School District as a fifth grade classroom teacher in the elementary. She then moved to the middle school where she currently teaches reading. Sandee is also the past president of KSLA Central Western and has held the offices of treasurer and membership. She also held the position of Act 48/Professional Development Co-chair for KSLA Ad-Hoc for 15 years. Finished...

Past President - Kathy Sagl

Kathy has been in education for more than 20 years. She began her career as a library volunteer at Cathedral School located in Allentown. She received her degree in Library Technical Assistance. From 1996 to 2008, she held the position as Library Media Specialist at Cathedral School for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8, sharing stories and children’s literature, and teaching research skills and proper computer/internet citizenship and responsibility. In 2008, she accepted a position with Nazareth Area High School Library sharing young adult literature with students and providing faculty with materials to assist with their curriculum. Kathy retired from her position with Nazareth School District in 2016. As a member of KSLA Central Eastern PA, she held positions of Membership Chair, Vice President, and President. Kathy is also a member of Pennsylvania School Library Association (PSLA).

Treasurer - Katherine Mack

Katherine retired from the Northampton Area School District in 2004 after serving 35 years in the same school district. She began as an elementary teacher, then became a reading specialist assigned to both elementary and secondary levels, continued as a K-12 reading supervisor and ended her career as an elementary principal. During those years and throughout her retirement she maintained her membership in IRA, KSLA and her local council, KSLA Central Eastern PA for which she served as president and treasurer. She volunteered as the registration coordinator for several KSLA conferences and later was employed by KSLA to provide the same service. She also worked as membership coordinator for KSLA for a few years. Katherine’s interest in and support of these professional organizations has always been in the underlying mission they promote, but she is mostly drawn to serve because of the integrity and dedication of the people who are connected with these associations.

Secretary - Debbie Urso

Debbie is a Title I reading specialist in the Chambersburg Area School District. She has been in this role for 14 years, and, prior to that, taught 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd grades. In addition to serving as KSLA’s Secretary, she is the Families & Reading Committee Chair. Even though April is Families & Reading Month, Debbie promotes reading and family literacy events throughout the entire year in her school district and reading council. For the past few KSLA conferences, she has been the Hospitality Chair or Decorations Co-chair, and this year she is serving as the Exhibits Co-chair. She proudly serves as KSLA Franklin County's Secretary and Act 48 Chair. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, singing, gardening, and of course reading professional books and novels.

ILA Coordinator - Eric C. MacDonald

Eric is a middle school teacher and Asst. Middle School Head at Benchmark School in Media, PA, where he has taught for 35 years. He has served as President of KSRA (1999-2000), among numerous other positions. KSLA Delaware Valley is his local council where he continues to serve on the Advisory Committee. What he loves most about KSLA is the people he has gotten to know and with which he has served.

DIRECTOR of Member Services - Emily Reed

Emily is a Reading Specialist at Dillsburg Elementary School in the Northern York County School District. She has served in this position for 22 years. She graduated from Millersville University with an undergraduate degree in Elementary, Early Childhood, and Physical Education. She later earned her Master's degree in Reading from there as well. She continued her education while receiving a principal and supervisory certificate from Shippensburg University. She serves as KSLA Director of Member Services, as well as serving on the Keystone to Reading Book Award Elementary committee and acting as co-chair of the Secondary committee.This year, she will be President of KSLA York Adams and Act 48 Chair of KSLA Capital Area. In her free time she serves the children in her community through the Kiwanis Club of Dillsburg. She loves to sing, watch Hershey Bears ice hockey, play disc golf, and kayak with her husband. And of course, you will always find Emily reading. Being a part of KSLA gives her the opportunity to share her love of literacy with other teachers, children and the community.

Director of Literacy Advocacy - Cindy Anderson

Cindy retired from Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13 after 20 years as a Curriculum and Instruction Specialist for Literacy and ESL. The last 6 years of her tenure with IU13, Cindy was the Pennsylvania Department of Education Project Coordinator for the Keystones to Opportunity Grant. Her previous experiences included 5 years as a consultant for Scholastic and Scott Foresman Companies and 15 years as an elementary teacher and administrator. Cindy has been a longtime member of KSLA Lancaster-Lebanon and served as treasurer for 18 years. Presently she is the Governing Chair for the council. She has also been a part of the KSLA Literacy Advocacy Committee for over 20 years.

Conference and Meeting Coordinator - Michael Williams

Michael is a Second Grade Teacher at Mountain View Elementary School in the Central Dauphin School District. He has served in this position since 2005. He graduated from Lebanon Valley College with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. He later earned his Master's degree from Wilkes University. At the local level, Michael is President of KSLA Capital Area. He gives back to his profession by serving on the district’s Language Arts curriculum committee and his school’s leadership team. Michael is the Co-President of the Central Dauphin Education Association. On the weekends, Michael also serves as a religious education catechist at Holy Name of Jesus Church. He is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and serves on the Parish Council at Saint Catherine Laboure Church. And of course, Michael is a huge Notre Dame fan!

Regional Directors

Region I - Crystal Long

Crystal has been in education for 19 years. She received her Bachelor’s degree and early childhood certification from Slippery Rock University. She started her career in Head Start and is now working in a PA Pre-K Counts classroom for the last 12 years. She has been a member of Central Western Council for more than 15 years holding the offices of President and membership. Also a member of KSLA for more than 15 years as ACT 48 ad-hoc co-chair.

Region II - Jenny Gadd

Jenny has been in education for 34 years. She was a self-contained 3^rd grade teacher for the majority of the time but has also taught 1^st through 6^th grades. She is currently a reading coach at a K-5 school. Although she has been at 4 different schools in a very large school district, they have all been within the same area of the city. She loves seeing former students as parents of current students! She is a National Board Certified Teacher Middle Generalist, and she has gone through the renewal process. She is involved with the PDE/DRC Text Dependent Analysis study group, range finding, data review, and new item committees. Jenny has been a member of KSLA Southwestern PA and KSLA for over 25 years. She is the current President and long-time Treasurer for KSLA Southwestern PA. Of course, she LOVES reading!

Region III - Janice Adair

Janice taught in North Carolina for one and a half years as an elementary learning support resource teacher. She and her husband moved to Pennsylvania, and she taught in the Shikellamy School District for 33 years as a middle school learning support teacher, Title 1 Reading Specialist, and an elementary literacy coach. Currently, Janice volunteers in the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way’s early childhood education program. Also, she served on the Selinsgrove School District’s Literacy Council and has been an adjunct professor at Susquehanna University. Janice has been the KSLA Susquehanna Valley Co-President for many years and in 2013 she received their Celebrate Literacy Award. She is the KSLA Council Awards Co-Chairperson and thrilled to continue her term as KSLA Region 3 Director. Janice feels that KSLA is an awesome organization that provides exceptional professional development and the opportunities to collaborate with passionate educators throughout Pennsylvania who want to make a difference in the lives of children and adults regarding literacy.

Region IV - Andrea Morrison

Andrea, everyone calls her Andy, worked for two school districts during her 35 year career. She started in the Harrisburg School District in 1971 as a second grade teacher, which is the grade she still loves and teaches at church. During the 18 ½ years with this district she wore many hats, as a Title I reading specialist, a diagnostician, and a PCRP (Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading Program) teacher visiting all 11 elementary schools. She moved to Elizabethtown Area School District in 1988 where she was the Reading Supervisor, but still taught Title I in the elementary schools. The opportunity at this district for the yearlong Reading Recovery training changed her life. Andy is an active member of KSLA Lancaster Lebanon and works as their membership chair, but upon retirement in 2006, she also joined KSLA Capital Area. Her retirement activities include working with the Friends of the East Shore Library, helping at Hospice of Central PA, and chairing the exhibits at the KSLA Conference for the past 5 years.

Region V - Donna Salva

Donna retired from the Lackawanna Trail School District after 36 years of teaching. She taught 7th and 10th grade English for 3 years and spent the rest of her career as a Title I Reading Specialist. She received her BS degree from Mansfield University and her MS in Reading from the University of Scranton. She has been an adjunct professor at Marywood University since 2005 where she teaches in the Graduate Reading and Graduate Education programs. In addition, for the last 20 years, she has been a consultant for the Kid Writing Program and has conducted staff development sessions for educators throughout the country, traveling as far as San Antonio, Texas to share the joy of writing with emergent learners. Donna serves KSLA Northeast PA as President, Membership Chair, and Act 48 Chair and has done so for many years. She also chairs the Professional Development Seminar Series and is the creator of the Making Books Come to Life Series. In addition, she has served as a committee chairperson for five KSLA Annual Conferences, as well as being a member of the Membership Committee.

Region VI - Eleanor Gensemer

Eleanor is Head of Middle School at Benchmark School in Media, PA and an adjunct for the Literacy Department of West Chester University. She is a past president of Delaware Valley Reading Association and is currently Membership Chair for KSLA Delaware Valley. Eleanor is a past Membership Director for KSRA and has chaired the Young Adult Book Award Committee and the Scholarship Committee. She is currently Chair of the Bylaws Committee and a regional director.

Region VII - Connie Myers

Connie is a second grade teacher at Maple Ridge Elementary School in the Somerset Area School District. She has taught grades K-2 for 31 years in Somerset and still loves watching children learn to love reading! Connie has served as an officer in her local council, KSLA Somerset County for the past seven years. She co-chairs the Book Sales Committee for the annual KSLA Conference and served as the Meeting Registration Coordinator last year.