Our Board

Irene Long, Founder

Irene Long earned her Master’s Degree in Reading & Special Education at Dowling College in New York. She maintains her teaching certification in both New York and Florida. In addition, Irene is a certified Wilson Language Instructor. She is the sole proprietor of Irene Long & Associates Inc. for over ten years. Irene & Associates provides educational consulting, assessments, and multisensory language training to parents, children and/or teachers. Ms. Long has been working with special populations for over 30 years, and she has a broad spectrum of experience in working with learning disabled students and their parents. A learning disability affects the entire family psychologically, emotionally and financially. Irene Long is proud to be a part of a foundation that can provide support to these families, and increase public awareness of our country’s literacy needs.

Jeffrey Long, Co-Founder

Jeffrey Long holds a Master’s Degree in School Psychology and has been in the helping professions for over 30 years. He was a school teacher, a researcher, a school psychologist, college professor, and a psychologist for New York State. When I was a child, long before “Learning Disabilities” came into its own, children that had learning difficulties were considered lazy, unmotivated, etc. Those who couldn’t keep up with their peers academically were basically abandoned. The educational system had no understanding of attention deficits, visual or auditory processing problems, etc. like today. My problem was reading and distractibility. I was at a great disadvantage trying to participate in class work, studying, doing homework. The emotional result of not being able to keep up and fit in with my peers was, much more profound than my academic difficulties. I’ve learned to read and write, even talk in front of an audience, but continue to have concerns about how I fit in. I was identified as the slow kid in the class by the teachers and other students, consequently, my self-esteem fell to zero. I knew I was the dumb kid, and my primary motivation, while struggling to keep up, was to avoid and escape being humiliated in front of the class, either because I didn’t know the answer to a teachers question, withdrew and couldn’t participate in a class discussion, or didn’t have homework to hand in, etc. I am very sensitive to the many young children starting their school careers today who find themselves in the same situation I did.