Nina Lorimor-Easley, M.S., M.Ed., has been named assistant director for education and outreach for the Iowa Reading Research Center.

In her new role, Lorimor-Easley will oversee all academic offerings and trainings, professional development, and assistive technology programs at the center. She will continue to coordinate the Dyslexia Specialist Endorsement program at the University of Iowa. Furthermore, Lorimor-Easley hopes to develop structured literacy-related programming and educational initiatives that can be implemented in school districts across Iowa.

Lorimor-Easley began collaborating with the IRRC in 2019 as a contributor on eLearning modules and writing blog posts. In 2021, she joined full time as the literacy coordinator and has taken on coordination and instructional duties for the Dyslexia Specialist Endorsement program at the University of Iowa College of Education.

“As we see an increase in higher education programs fully embracing structured literacy approaches across the country, there is much work to do to move it forward in Iowa,” says Lorimor-Easley. “I am looking forward to collaborating with educational and advocacy groups across the state and nationally.”

Outside of the IRRC, Lorimor-Easley is well-established in the literacy instructional field and the dyslexia advocacy community in Iowa. She is the chair of the Iowa Dyslexia Board and a founding member and current president of Decoding Dyslexia Iowa. Previously, she co-founded a dyslexia-focused educational center in West Des Moines and served as a member of the Iowa Dyslexia Task Force.

“Having a recognized expert like Nina lead this critical area for our center is an asset for Iowa educators, students, and families,” says IRRC Interim Director of Operations and Project management Ben Walizer.