Meet the Board 

Ali Perkins LaTorre 

Founder, Head Facilitator, and President 

About: Ali was born and raised in Maine. She was diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade, so reading and writing were always a huge struggle for her. After graduating from Merriconeag Waldorf High School, Ali attended the University of Maine at Farmington and completed a degree in Elementary Education. She taught third and eighth grade English at Cornville Regional Charter School. In 2018, Ali moved to Hillsborough, North Carolina to open Ali Perkins Dressage LLC. For the past four years, Ali has been teaching dressage to students of all levels and ages. She has also competed in Grand Prix Dressage. In the winter of 2022, She became a certified Horse Powered Reading Instructor while taking graduate courses in Special Education in literacy. Rearing2Read was created in the summer of 2022. Ali has a MeD from Elon University. She is currently working on an EdD in Leadership in Learning from Vanderbilt University. 

Favorite Genre: Survival Fiction 

Email: President@rearing2read.us

Katie Kim

Vice President 

About: Katie graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She now works full-time as a content specialist and marketer in the healthcare IT industry. She also enjoys music and is in multiple bands, enjoys writing, and loves to paint and craft. Katie has ridden horses since she was around four years old and leases a horse named Reno. She lives in Cary, North Carolina, with her husband and two dogs, Luna and Jasmine. 

Favorite Genre: Dystopian/General Fiction

Tonya Bruno

Secretary 

About: My name is Tonya Bruno and I love to read! I grew up with my nose in a book and it’s my favorite downtime many years later. My husband, Ralph, and I live on our Farm in Hillsborough, NC with our Morgan horses and dogs. 

Favorite Genre: Southern fiction

Anne Klein

Treasurer 

About: Prior to retirement in 2017, Anne Klein managed Giraffe PR, a public relations firm that specialized in tourism and marketing consulting. Anne began her career as a food stylist for major food companies, holding a BA degree in foods and nutrition from the University of St. Catherine and a Culinary Diplome from LaVarenne in Paris, France. She received a MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Ms. Klein taught Intro to Marketing at California State University and has been a media spokesperson for food, fitness and equestrian products. Anne previously served on the boards of Educate Ethiopia, Osprey Packs, Hill Murray School, and the Colorado Tourism Office. Anne and her husband Richard split their time between Austin, Texas and Cedar Grove, NC. She has three adult children and enjoys dressage, travel, and baking.

Favorite Genre: Romance

Kristi Wright 

Member at Large 

About: Kristi grew up in Western Colorado where she had the great fortune to wash dishes, ride horses and work cattle on a distant relation’s ranch. There she also spent time riding shotgun in a pick-up truck– reading Louis Lamour paperbacks and old issues of Western Horseman until it was too dark to see. After earning a bachelor’s degree at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Kristi wrote features for nearly 10 years at the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska. Marriage brought her to Maine and a career change to free-lance grant writer and farm hand. She and her two children raised and milked dairy goats and toured the Northeast attending agriculture fairs and dairy goat shows. With the children off to college, Kristi now splits her time between Maine and the North Carolina Sandhills where she rides and drives her three horses. 

Favorite Genre: Audible is her favorite app and her list of books includes British historical mysteries and Western non-fiction.