Meet Our Board of Directors

Kimberley Spire-Oh, Co-President

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Michelle Davis, Co-President

Michelle’s passion is working with and protecting the civil rights of children with disabilities. She’s an expert in the field of special education. She has been a special educator in the school system, and now is in private practice. Her James Madison and Johns Hopkins University degrees are in the field of special education. Michelle assists parents of kids with special needs in navigating the complex school processes required to secure school services and placement. She’s an expert in dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, Autism, social emotional and behavioral needs of students, emotional disturbances, and other health impairments, including rare and complex medical conditions.

Kari Haley, Secretary

Dr. Keri Haley is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of West Florida. She is a parent, teacher, and a researcher of children with disabilities. Her experiences in raising her son with a Specific Learning Disability while also working as a special educator in the Tampa area serve as the backdrop for her research and entry into higher education. Her research interests include parent-school relationships in special education, pre-service teacher preparation in special education, university-school partnerships, and effective instructional practices.

Bridget Locke, Co-Treasurer

Bridget Locke has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Florida. Her career background is in mental health and school environments spanning 20 years. Bridget began her career at 45th Mental Health Center working with dual diagnosis patients then as a school based therapist. She worked with at-risk and ESE teen aged students at Gold Coast School of Choice in West Palm Beach. As a school based therapist, she provided academic support and long-term counseling for her students and their caregivers. 45th Street Mental Health Center and school based therapy gave her a unique bookend view of how we support mental health issues in our community. Bridget saw firsthand the need for early intervention and a community based approach to support her clients as children transitioning into adulthood.

Randy Locke, Co-Treasurer

Randy is a 20-year teacher and administrator with the Palm Beach County School District. He started his career teaching science and social studies to English language learners and ESE students. Throughout his career, Randy has taught middle, high and adult aged students. Currently, Randy is the ESOL and AVID Coordinator at Palm Beach Gardens High School. AVID is a college readiness system that focuses on historically underrepresented first generation college bound students.

Randy was diagnosed with dyslexia and struggled throughout high school, college, and all of his career. Not allowing this disability to define him, he focused on hiding it. That changed the day both of his daughters were diagnosed and struggled with their own learning disabilities. Since then, Randy has embraced it as an opportunity to support his, and all, children with disabilities. Randy has seen every side of learning disabilities in children: as a student himself, a teacher, an administrator, and a parent.

Displayed prominently in his office are his terrible high school transcripts for all the kids to see. These serve as a reminder that a person is not defined by his or her short comings nor the circumstances in life. We are stronger for every barrier we have overcome. These transcripts are also a reminder to staff members that students are more than grades and test scores. No one should ever give up on a dream and we, as mentors, should never give up helping others achieve theirs.

Christopher Urquhart, Social Media Coordinator

Christopher is an elementary school Special Education Teacher in Riverview, Florida. I am dedicated to research supported practices for students with high incidence disabilities. As part of my work, I am continually trying to develop and foster unique partnerships with individuals, schools, and universities in order to improve inclusive instructional practices for students in general education environments.

Dale King, Ed.M, Liaison

As President of Educational Solutions, LLC, Dale King provides diagnostic evaluations, academic remediation, advocacy, and support to individuals with learning challenges. She works with students ranging from Preschool through High School – and adults – in all areas involving academic and educational performance. She also provides consultation services to private and public schools.

Dale specializes in reading challenges (including dyslexia, reading recognition, fluency, and reading comprehension), math, language development, and writing skills. She is a former Bureau Chief with the New York State Education Department’s Office of Special Education Services with oversight for the education of 160,000 students with disabilities in 1,500 schools (Pre-K -12) in New York City. She served as the Principal of private schools for students with Learning and Behavior Disabilities, Special Education administrator for public schools, Director of a reading program for dyslexic students, Senior Learning Diagnostic Specialist for Long Island Jewish Hospital, and parent advocate.

Dale received her Master’s Degree in Learning and Behavior Disabilities from Queens College in New York and then earned an Ed.M. in Special Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition, she completed advanced studies in the Neuropsychology of Reading at Columbia University.

She is currently a Board member for the Florida Branches of the International Dyslexia Association and the Learning Disabilities Association. She has written many instructional-based articles with both professionals and parents in mind, and has presented numerous workshops on the diagnosis and remediation of dyslexia, other reading related issues, language development, and learning disabilities. Dale provides appropriate evidence-based interventions, that change the lives of students and their families in powerful ways. Her unique highly structured approaches to the remediation of dyslexia and other learning challenges continue to enable students to become successful and motivated learners. She is strongly committed to improving instruction for all students in individual, small group, classroom and school-wide settings.

Mark Halpert, Consultant

Mark Halpert serves on the LDA of Florida’s Board as the Past President. Mark has also been on the National LDA Board, been a parent advocate for the National Center for Learning Disabilities and founded the Florida Coalition on Learning Differences. In his professional life, Mark partners with his wife Mira, who developed the 3D Learner Program® – that focuses on helping the visual learner to be all they can be. Mark’s two areas of focus are Success by Third Grade and significantly increasing the proficiency rates for students with learning disabilities.