Specialists

Dana Braunberger is a passionate educator, researcher, and university instructor, fiercely committed to building leadership that fosters future-focused learning cultures. Her passion is to support leaders grow healthy, thriving organizations that create learning success for all. Dana has been a teacher, principal, Chief Performance Officer, and currently leads Research and Innovation. With decades of experience in K-12 education, her passion is fuelled by the potential of all students and the inspiration of people who envision transformative opportunities and bring innovation to life.

BA with Honours, BEd with Distinction, MSc, EdD Candidate, Educational Research.

Dana Haynes is the founder of The Literacy Corner tutoring agency in British Columbia and graduated at the top of her class with a Linguistics degree and a TESL certificate from Simon Fraser University. Dana came across the Literacy Links program by witnessing her 10-year-old stepson gain functional literacy in just 20 hours of intensive phonics instruction with Kathy Rollheiser. As a Linguist and teacher, Dana was impressed with the design and efficacy of the program. She started using Literacy Links in her classroom with groups of up to 15 students at a time and found it to be extremely effective.

After going on maternity leave for the birth of her son, she started the Literacy Corner so she could teach from home and has since trained more than 30 tutors in how to use the Literacy Links program. Dana loves that the Literacy Links program provides excellent structure while still allowing for flexibility and individualized instruction; in her opinion, it is the best program on the market for reading intervention.

Irene Oakes, Asini Iskwew, is a member of the Nekaneet Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, and has been an educator in Canada and the US in different capacities. She has been a classroom teacher, a school principal, superintendent and has worked with students at the university level as an instructor and their field experience coordination. Irene recently worked with Headwater Learning Solutions with one of their partner First Nations communities. She is presently working as an independent education researcher and contractor and is excited to continue to support Headwater as they continue to support students to realize their full holistic potential.

Kathy has been a special education teacher for 35 years, specializing in language and reading disabilities. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master’s degree from the University of Victoria. She was one of the first teachers to train in Literacy Links when it was first developed in 1997 and has been using it steadily ever since. She has helped many children and adults develop both confidence and reading skills in one-on-one reading clinics in British Columbia. She has trained teachers, psychologists, tutors, speech pathologists, and parents in her Literacy Links workshops. 

In 2004, she was part of the EDC LEAP project in Nigeria and adapted Literacy Links for use in Nigerian schools. She then took it to Thailand to a children’s refuge and set up an English classroom with Literacy Links as the basis for instruction. More recently,  she introduced Literacy Links to first-year Education students at Thompson Rivers University.

As an educator, instructional designer, assessment specialist, and podcast host, Natalie has lived into her belief that learning is driven by our passions, aligned with our strengths, and at the heart of our humanity. Whether working with kids or adults, she strives to create an inclusive culture that embraces learning as the vehicle through which we find out who we are and how we might make a positive impact on the world. Natalie is passionate about connecting with others to build a critical mass of change-makers ready to reimagine education in the service of learning for all.

Delbert Wapass (Kihiw Ka-Pim-oo-teht) is from the Thunderchild Cree Nation within Treaty 6 Territory. His strong Cree cultural background, along with his fluency in the Cree language, and his strong visionary, strategic and leadership skills and work ethics provide him with the balance and understanding to work with Elders, his community, with leadership, with youth, as well as corporate partners, institutions, First Nations communities and different levels of government. He completed a Master’s in Education (2010) from the University of Saskatchewan. Delbert recently completed his third 4-year term as Chief of his community and now is working with Headwater Learning as an Indigenous Advisor. His passion continues to be in advancing education at the First Nations level so that First Nations communities and First Nations people can fully realize “Indian Control of Indian Education.” Delbert has extensive experience in the field of education, within the classroom as a classroom teacher, as a school administrator, in policy development and as an advocate at the regional and national levels.

While in leadership, he was successful in sustaining financial accountability and increased revenue for his community; he negotiated multi-year education and health processes and agreement; the creation of Thunderchild Family Services process; and promoted youth sports excellence; he negotiated revenue for a Community Wellness Centre/Field House and Ice arena; increased housing; they became a major investor in Decibel Cannibis Inc; and effective commercial industries, farming, oil and gas, and land development.