Extraordinary Learning Foundation's seven-member board of directors comes from North Carolina and beyond. Each member either works with people with communication and literacy problems or has a family member with one of these conditions. The foundation also has four key personnel who report directly to the board: an executive director, educational director, operations director, and assistant director.

Our Board of Directors

Ann Charles, President of the Board, BFA, AS, RT, MR, is a unique healthcare professional and teacher with a broad academic and clinical background covering 20 years. Ann believes in providing a learning system based on naturally existing competencies, and believes that anyone can learn through his or her own natural inner abilities, no matter at what age. Ann and her husband, Bill, have two children in college, one with severe dyslexia and ADD/HD.

Deana Coble, CBNT, has an extensive professional background in broadcast, education, and telecommunications. She has worked in distance education in Iowa and fund raising for WUNC radio; currently, she is director of technology/operations for WFMY in Greensboro and serves on the board for the Triangle Reading Service in Raleigh (an outreach to blind and print-impaired listeners).

Lillie Delott has served as the Founding Chair of the Triangle Down Syndrome Network and as editor of the TDS News for parents. Lillie and her husband Greg have three children, one of whom is a child with Down syndrome.

Grace Hao, MD, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at North Carolina Central University. She has extensive training in genetics and genetic research, and teaches graduate courses in Language Disorders, Voice Disorders, Neuroanatomy, and Motor Speech Disorders. She is currently directing a research investigation with Dr. Layton, ELFoundation's executive director, on the voice quality differences among children with Down syndrome.

Wendy Jones, DVM, and her husband, Dana, both veterinarians, own their own full-service animal hospital, Durant Road Animal Hospital & Kennel, in Raleigh. Wendy is a mother of three children, one of whom has Down syndrome.

Andy Kraus is the owner and operator of Realty Executives One in Gaithersbug, Maryland. He and his wife, Chris, have one son, adopted from Eastern Russia, who has some literacy and learning problems.

Robert Mayo has a Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He is an Associate Professor in the division of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the School of Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Dental Ecology at the UNC School of Dentistry. He also serves as director of Speech-Language Pathology, UNC Craniofacial Center. Dr. Mayo is married to Carolyn Mayo, who also has a Ph.D. in speech-language pathology.

Staff

Executive Director
Thomas L. Layton, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ASHA Fellow, has more than 30 years as a professor, clinician, and teacher. He is responsible as chair and head of the foundation, acting as a primary knowledge and resource for research, publications, grant solicitation, training, workshops, and therapists. He is the author and editor of three textbooks, two tests, and more than 40 articles on children with communication disorders. He has also presented locally, nationally, and internationally on more than 150 different topics on communication and learning in low achieving children. Dr. Layton has been awarded the "Clinical Achievement Award" by the North Carolina Speech-Hearing-Language Association, a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and Special Recognition Honor of the Triangle Down syndrome Network. He has served on many boards and professional organizations, such as, President of the North Carolina Speech-Hearing-Language Association, School Board member of School in the Community Charter School, Co-chair Advisory Board for Parent Support Network of North Carolina, Advisory Board Member for Parent Network of Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties, Member of Durham Public Schools’ Steering Committee for Continuous Improvement Monitoring, consultant to the Ministry of Education in the Bahamas, consultant to Medical University of South Carolina and Project Potential at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is currently a member of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Study Team that is assessing eligibility of services for students with specific learning disabilities. He is also the co-owner of a private company that serves children with special needs.

Educational Director
Stephanie Shipper, B.A. in psychology, is a Certified Ericksonian Hypnotherapist, International Certified trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Certified Master Practitioner and Modeler NLP, a Drug and Alcohol Counselor and Educator. She is responsible for all training, educational certification of practitioners, research publications, and therapy. She has completed 200 clinic hours in Gestalt training at the Gestalt Institute of New Orleans, is the President of Expert Outcomes, and a speaker for TEC, an International Organization of CEOs. She previously served as an Employee Assistance Coordinator of Gray's Landing Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center. She has consulted and trained more than 8000 hours for corporate and government agencies such as the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, North Carolina Medical Society, North Carolina Physician's Health Program, Environmental Protection Agency, and Graedon Enterprises, "The People's Pharmacy." She is a presenter, trainer and also conducts private tutorials, brief interventions, and personal coaching sessions.

Operations Director Sharon Anderson, CPA, has a Master of Business Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of a tax and financial advice column that appears in a local monthly magazine. She has won a national award for innovative product marketing. She also created a business plan, negotiated with a Japanese firm, and owns rights to a unique wallcovering product. She has developed brochures, catalogs, and other promotional materials, including videos and television commercials.

Assistant Director Linda J. Layton, B. Ed. has been both a regular classroom teacher and a teacher of children with emotional and behavioral disabilities. She has been a small business owner, and has been in management for a market research firm in the Research Triangle Park, where she set up and directed focus groups for this firm. Mrs. Layton was on the board of the National PMS Society. She is the mother of three grown children. Linda Layton is responsible for interfacing the Foundation with families, and assisting the other Board members.