Dr. Chanley Dudley is currently head of the Development Committee and is President of DePaul's Board of Directors.
Dr. Dudley is a board-certified pediatrician practicing with The Carithers Pediatric Group. Her drive to help children with communication impairment stems from her own son’s journey with apraxia (a motor planning speech disorder) and dyslexia, Dr. Dudley is well versed in IEP advocacy as well as the speech, occupational, and/or physical therapy needs of children with developmental disabilities.
Dr. Dudley’s areas of special interest include speech and language disorders, and a variety of learning differences and developmental delays. Dr. Dudley attended The Bolles School followed by Harvard College, and received her medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine.
DePaul Alumni Craig Shoup became Executive Director of the Jacksonville Bar Association in 2019, and oversees the day to day operations of the approximately 2000 member organization.
Prior to being named Executive Director he was the Chief of Staff for the Jacksonville Bar Association. Before that, he served in the administration of the 4th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s office for 9 years and was a Special Assistant to the Clerk of the Court in Duval County for 2 years.
He has a Bachelor’s degree from Flagler College in St. Augustine. His community involvement also includes the Zoe Gaudet Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Community
Foundation of Jacksonville. Craig came to DePaul in the 1996/1997 as a student at the former campus in Arlington. Craig has been diagnosed with dyslexia since 1993 (both auditory and visually) but has worked hard to achieve his professional and personal goals.
Dan has served as Finance Chair and Treasurer for DePaul. He has more than nine years of accounting and auditing with Grant Thornton. He has worked on a number of engagements in both the public and private sectors.
Outside of his day-to-day audit role, Dan leads the local office "GT United" volunteer council, helping to encourage and coordinate employee engagement with community organizations through service and financial campaigns.
Dan has been involved in numerous civic and professional organizations, including serving as Chair of the Jacksonville chapter of FICPA, and is an active volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House.
Lori Gaglione is an attorney, a Jacksonville native, and a DePaul parent. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Florida and her law degree University of Florida Levin College of Law. As a young attorney, she began handling Social Security Disability claims in 1993, and decided it was her calling in life. She opened a solo practice in 1996 specializing in disability claims.
Lori is an active member of the Jacksonville Beach Bar Association, the Jacksonville Bar Association, the National Organization of Social Security Claimant’s representatives (NOSSCR), and National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (NOVA). She is admitted to practice in the Middle District Court of Florida, United States Supreme Court and U.S Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims.
Lori also currently chairs the Atlantic Beach Cultural Arts and Recreation Advisory Committee
Mr. Copeland is currently Global Head of Fraud Data Science for Barclays, and the parent of a DePaul student. Kevin also currently serves on the Board of the Children’s Home Society (CHS) of N. FL, which helps more than 10,000 local children through counseling, adoption services, foster care, early childhood development, and community partnership schools.
He volunteers in a Vice Chairman role with The Players Championship golf tournament. Also, Kevin owns several businesses in hopes of both helping his community and creating something that will last for his family. Coding Sharks is an engaging STEM based program for kids to get them excited about more technical fields, while using games and hands-on learning where children are learning new skills all while having fun. He is also a former Eagle Scout.
Christine Crowley was appointed to the Crowley Board of Directors in 2009.
Mrs. Crowley has industry experience having worked at Matson Intermodal early in her career managing supply chain utilizing truck, rail and vessel assets both owned
and contracted.
In her role on the board, she has visited many of the Crowley offices, attended numerous industry and customer events, and been a very active board member and resource.
Having served on the Crowley BOD for 13 years, Mrs. Crowley supported efforts to build the Commitment Class LNG ConRo’s and the Ocean Class tug and 455 class barge fleets. Crowley graduated in 1990 with a Bachelors degree from Western Washington University.
Trey is a nonprofit and education leader with more than 15 years of public policy, community engagement, program leadership, research and advocacy expertise.
As Chief Operating Officer at Impact Florida, he led a multi-year effort to launch education support and advocacy organization focused on growing great teaching practices across Florida schools. He also built changes into the organization’s infrastructure that supported it’s growth, helping raise >$10M from national foundations and state funders to establish organization and grow programming that included hosting an annual summit addressing topic such as instructional materials selection, professional learning and the academic response to COVID-19 pandemic.
Trey is also teaches a graduate-level class in K-12 Education and Public Policy at the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Florida.
Meg is an experienced advisor and litigator working in healthcare, labor and employment, and litigation practice areas. For more than a decade, she has supported clients in managing a broad range of complex legal issues in employment and healthcare matters.
Florida Super Lawyers named her a “Rising Star,” and in 2019, she was named a “40 Under 40” and a “Woman of Influence” by the Jacksonville Business Journal. Outside of the office, Meg is a DePaul parent who enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and three boys, whether hiking, biking or caring for their backyard
chickens.
Luke is a Managing Director in the Audit Practice of Grant Thornton’s Jacksonville office with over 17 years of accounting and auditing experience.
Luke’s experience includes supervising and coordinating services rendered to publicly and privately-held clients in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution and logistics and private equity.
Nicole Potter is a career nurse and project manager with Mayo Clinic, and the parent of a DePaul student. She worked as a bedside nurse in both a med/surg unit, transitioning to ICU in 2012. After earning her MSN with a specialization in nursing informatics in 2019, she began collaborating with others on ways to optimize our electronic health record (EHR) to better help nurses and clinicians care for patients.
She is the 2005-06 recipient of the Angel Award for Nursing Excellence, and has served on the Purposeful Round Committee, Alarm Fatigue Subcommittee, the SICU Unit Council, and as part of the LEAN Project.
Nicole has seen firsthand the benefits of DePaul. "My daughter was struggling for the first few years in school, so when we found DePaul it was life changing. She now loves going to school. Also, she loves to read!"
Blair Sisisky is the Social Services Manager for Care Coordination at Baptist Health in Jacksonville, and the parent of a DePaul student. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Tulane in 2005, she began working as an inpatient social worker at Baptist.
While working, Blair obtained a master’s in social work through Florida State University. She continued working in the inpatient hospital setting until 2018, when she transferred to Ambulatory Social Services.
Chris works in corporate finance, managing the forecasting, budgets, and profit and loss statements for The Home Depot. He built a 15,000sq ft. hardware store by managing the buildout from dirt to planograms.
He is also a DePaul parent.
“The DePaul school has a special place in my heart as it has given my son the confidence to excel in his education in such a short amount of time. Seeing him progress so quickly has inspired me to help with the school’s mission.”
Frank has served as the board's President and Vice President, Facilities Committee Chair and more over his 9-year tenure in leadership at DePaul. Frank's interest in DePaul arose from a friendship with prominent local dyslexia advocate Allen Skinner, and from his family's personal experience with unaddressed dyslexia.
As Operations President – Design & Consulting for the Haskell Company (Jacksonville, FL), Frank is a member of the Executive Leadership Team. With over 35 years in the industry, Frank is involved in all aspects of design and design management on larger projects, including those for Fortune 500 companies.
Frank has been involved in numerous civic and professional organizations, including serving on the University of North Florida’s Engineering Advisory Council.
Amber Oliveira, Ed.D. became DePaul’s Head of School in August 2016.
Oliveira joined DePaul after eight years working with Episcopal Children’s Services, having last served as the Assistant Director for Head Start in five northeast Florida counties. Prior to that, she was the ECS Director of Education and Vice President of Early Learning, overseeing a program with over 100 teachers serving more than 600 students.
She joined ECS when she became Lead Instructional Coach for the Jacksonville Early Learning Partnership. Her first experience in education was as an elementary school teacher in Duval County Public Schools.
After graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Oliveira returned to Jacksonville. There she earned a Masters of Elementary Education and a Doctorate of Educational Leadership from the University of North Florida.
Oliveira and her husband have two children, a boy and a girl.
Bachelor of Arts in Education, University of North Florida
Heather Callejas
University of North Florida 2008
Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education
Certified to teach Kindergarten through 6th grade
Endorsements for Exceptional Student Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages
Prior to joining DePaul, Heather taught at New Berlin Elementary for nearly eight years. She then spent a couple years helping struggling students who needed a little extra support outside of the classroom.
"Teaching has always given me such a sense of purpose because it's one area in life where you have the opportunity to truly make a difference. I absolutely love the look on a child's face when they grasp something for the first time. There is so much pride and satisfaction in that moment! I wish that was a feeling I could bottle up and sell to the world.
"One of my favorite things at DePaul is the way the kids embrace and encourage each other. They each know how important it is to celebrate strengths. They learn that it isn't what you can't do, it's simply what you haven't learned how to do yet. They come to school with eager minds and, even on their bad days, they love their school and that makes a huge difference for everyone.
"I do my best to foster a desire for reading because it's also one of my favorite things: getting lost in the characters and storyline of a new novel, winding my way through a twisting plot or a mysterious turn of events, discovering a new land as it's painted in words.
When she's not at DePaul, Heather can be found walking a whole pack of dogs, having a coffee, or hanging out at the beach.
Donna Pulito was sitting in a classroom at a local school as an observer, in the course of studying Anthropology of Education at UNF, when she noticed it.
Apathy.
“It was coming from the teachers,” she says, still embarrassed at the memory. “It made me feel like there were things I could change, and maybe do better.”
It wasn’t long until Ms. Pulito changed her minor to Education. “It changes things, viewing education through an anthropological lens. I love kids. Why not be the difference for them?”
Ms. Pulito grew up in Jensen Beach, Florida, a small town on the east coast just north of Palm Beach. She started out studying Journalism at Marymount Manhattan College in NYC before moving to Jacksonville, where she graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology.
For many years, Ms. Pulito has studied the intricate similarities and differences in how children from different cultures consume knowledge. Throughout college, she worked with children of different ages and learning differences in a variety of settings. Previously, she spent summers working as a Camp Counselor with the Martin County Parks and Recreation Department and as an After-School Program Leader at the J.A.S.E. Program. She interned at St. Clair Evans Elementary School and Twin Lakes Middle School, and after graduating was a Long-Term Substitute Teacher at the Waverly Academy.
A few years ago, Catapult Tutoring brought on Ms. Pulito to work with kids in Reading, Language, and Math at DePaul School of Northeast Florida, and that’s where she found her home.
“These kids want to learn so badly. They work so hard for those gains, just struggling to be everything they can. They pay attention in class, but it still takes time for them to get it. I want them all to be successful. They deserve that. At DePaul, we find those strengths and show them just how awesome their potential is.”
Each DePaul teacher brings a different strength to the classroom, and Ms. Pulito’s learning space is full of humor.
“I show the kids we can be silly and have fun in the course of learning a lesson. Our kids are used to school being boring and robotic, so when they see me laughing and dancing around the room, they know they can be themselves, make mistakes in trial and error, and let loose of their worries.
I teach the kids to love themselves and be proud of their accomplishments, even celebrating the little things. Seeing their faces light up, watching their confidence just build and build—there’s just nothing like it.”
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Florida Christian College
Becky Waldron graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education K-6 from Florida Christian College (later Johnson University Florida) in 2000/2001.
She is Orton Gillingham trained, and specializes in Reading, Exceptional Student Education, and English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Becky began teaching in Orange County, Florida out of her internship. She moved home to Jacksonville where she worked for Duval County Public Schools, teaching at Kings Trail Elementary and Hendricks Avenue Elementary.
After discovering her son had dyslexia and searching for the perfect school to fit his needs, she found DePaul. A year later, she discovered she was needed at DePaul as a teacher, and the rest is history.
Becky has a daughter and son with her husband and several furry (and scaly) friends. She loves to solve puzzles, play board games, search for shark’s teeth, and bake.
Becky believes that everyone learns best when they feel loved and comfortable. She wants each child to feel like they are “Mrs. Waldron’s favorite!”
Angelina Moss’s classroom is a place of wonder.
Day after day, she’s up on her feet delivering lessons with as much creativity as she can muster.
Making Venn diagrams out of hula hoops.
Singing songs about the days of the week.
Helping kids who fear reading find the perfect book.
“Last year, we were able to read Wait Till Helen Comes. One of my favorite tools is Reader’s Theatre. The kids get excited about the activity, and that makes them so excited to read the book.”
It’s an incredibly wholehearted way to live and work, though it wasn’t that way for Angelina at first.
“I always wanted to be involved with children. I enrolled in FSU to be a child psychologist, but that quickly changed to social science education. I know my heart, and I was afraid to get to attached to the kids. I changed to teaching because I figured I’d have so many loves that I wouldn’t get be so affected by this particular one, or that particular one,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
“That didn’t quite work out the way I planned.”
Angelina got her degree in May 2010, and was working at Catapult Academy by August.
It wasn’t long until she landed a job at a dropout intervention program, where those human connections happened almost instantly. She spent more than two years coaching students between the ages of 16-21, helping them earn a diploma or GED.
A school closure led her to DePaul, where she began teaching and earned her Masters Degree in Educational Instruction right after the birth of her first son in 2015.
“I love learning. I wanted to be a better teacher. Here, I wanted to bring definite structure to my curriculum, going beyond just standards to make sure it was effective for our students. I do the best I can to teach the students and keep them on track. Today, I can plan more to what the students need, and apply strategies to the way they learn, using methods that help them to get it.
The hardest part of my job is there aren’t enough hours in the day. I wish I had more time to reach every child’s need.
The easiest part? I love the kids. They are so easy to love.”
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, University of North Florida
Miranda has taught for 17 years at Duval County Public Schools in both elementary and middle grades, with a focus on Math.
She is excited for this new challenge of her educational career and to be a part of The DePaul School. For her, the best reward of being in a classroom is watching a student have an "aha moment," becoming self aware that they ARE capable of mathematical thinking and problem solving.
Away from work, Miranda is kept busy with supporting her daughter's musical and theatrical talents, reading a good novel, and cheering on her favorite college sports teams.
Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree in Exceptional Student Education
“By molding instruction for each student’s specific needs, I will be the facilitator in getting them one step closer to the door of opportunity--A warm, caring, and enthusiastic classroom changes mundane to marvelous and that is contagious!”
Dana developed a love for teaching from one of the greatest role models, her mother, while growing up in Miami. She attended Florida State University for her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Exceptional Student Education. She taught at Pinecrest Elementary School for 11 years, where she served on the leadership committee for introducing new strategies to differentiate instruction. “We need to build the bridge, meeting the needs of every child.”
When Dana’s husband proposed, they decided to move to Jacksonville to pursue his career and start their lives as newlyweds. She fell in love with the area, and soon after, they married in St. Augustine.
“It is important to love where you work, as much as loving what you do," says Dana. "Seeing all the teachers, students, and staff so happy at DePaul finally made me feel like Jacksonville was my home. The positivity here is truly magical." and a place I am honored to work for.”
Bachelor of Science in Sociology, Lee University, Master’s in Education & Teachers Leadership, Villanova University
Mr. Halperin earned a Bachelor's degree in sociology from Lee University and a Master's in education and teacher leadership from Villanova University. This is his
eighth-year teaching. All the while, he has spent his free time traveling, playing golf,
soccer, skateboarding and surfing.
Mr. Halperin's professional experiences include teaching English as a second/ foreign
language abroad and domestically, serving as an elementary exceptional student educator and a lead teacher in elementary school classrooms. Mr. Halperin plans to obtain a doctorate degree in the future. In the meantime, he knows he is extremely fortunate to be teaching and learning with the DePaul community.
Bachelor’s Degree in Child Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education
Kelly Wedel has been in the education field for over 30 years. She holds two bachelor’s degrees: one in child psychology and one in elementary education. She also has a master’s degree in the field of teaching and learning.
Ms. Wedel has been a first-grade teacher, a literacy coach, and a classroom assessor for three decades, and has joyously dedicated her life to teaching children. She is also a mom of two amazing children, who have given her a better understanding and appreciation for different learning styles, unique personalities, and the creative ideas and thoughts that inspire them to learn and grow.
Ms. Wedel says, “I look forward to working with your children and helping them learn to their fullest potential and feel pride as successful young learners. I am hrilled to be part of the DePaul family!
Master’s Degree in Elementary Education, Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist
Kelly Harrell is a Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist with over nine years of experience working with students with diverse learning needs. She began her teaching career in Aurora, CO where she spent four years as a 4th grade teacher. After completing her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education in 2017, Kelly moved back to her hometown of Jacksonville, FL and continued to teach 4th grade language arts.
She eventually transitioned out of the classroom and took on the role of Reading Interventionist at a public charter school in Duval County. As Reading Interventionist, Kelly worked with students, teachers, and families to identify learning gaps, planned targeted interventions, and provided intensive intervention to struggling readers in grades 3-5. Throughout this experience, Kelly had the privilege to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, parents, and school leaders, and served as a mentor to new teachers. She designed and led professional development workshops, sharing strategies for building foundational literacy skills and early interventions, as well as literacy assessment methods.
Her experience working with students with reading difficulties inspired her to seek additional learning opportunities focused on dyslexia. “As a classroom teacher and interventionist, I always had students that showed some of the characteristics associated with dyslexia, but I didn’t feel like I had the background knowledge or specific training to address their unique learning needs.” This led her to enroll in the Dyslexia Graduate Certification program at the University of Florida, which she completed in 2023.
Kelly is passionate about providing explicit systematic instruction that is grounded in research. She believes that every student is capable of learning how to read and she enjoys sharing her excitement and expertise with educators and parents who are curious about implementing structured literacy instruction. She is trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach, the UFLI Dyslexia Intensive Tutoring Method, and Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes.
Master of Education (Elementary), University of North Florida
Principal Reeyan McCullough is a talented educator who has used her signature combination of intuition, humor, exuberance, assertiveness, and nurturing spirit for more than a decade.
McCullough always knew she would be a teacher. Her parents instilled in her an enduring passion for learning from an early age. Her unique teaching persona was shaped by her mother, who is an educator for students with disabilities.
McCullough’s career began in 2009 as a 2nd grade elementary teacher in her beautiful native country of Belize. After completing her studies at UNF, she continued her teaching career at DePaul School of Northeast Florida.
She graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Florida (UNF) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education, and later obtained a master’s degree in Elementary Education.
During her undergraduate studies at UNF, Reeyan had the opportunity to work with students from many schools in Jacksonville, including Waterleaf Elementary, Woodland Acres, Lakeshore Middle, Joseph Stillwell Middle, Twin Lakes Middle Academy, and Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.
A versatile educator, McCullough has truly enjoyed teaching a neurodivergent group of students to include those with dyslexia, auditory and visual processing disorders, ADD and ADHD.
During her tenure at DePaul, she has effectively instructed students with specific learning disabilities in all subject areas. She also participates in professional learning opportunities aimed at expanding her knowledge and practice needed to meet the unique needs of her students. These include attending extensive Orton Gillingham training, as well as professional development workshops with Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resources System (FDLRS), Summit Professional Education, and Lindamood-Bell.
In 2023, Reeyan McCullough was named DePaul School of Northeast Florida’s first Principal. Her ultimate goal to nurture, love, and instill the love of learning in all of her students. She is committed to providing her students with a secure, caring and stimulating atmosphere in which they will thrive, growing socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, serving in her church choir and dance ministry, engaging in community outreach opportunities, and most importantly, spending time with her loved ones.
Charlotte is a devoted wife, mother, volunteer, and employee of DePaul School. She has been married to her husband for sixteen years and has a son who attends the school and is now in the seventh grade. They both came to DePaul in 2008.
Charlotte has consistently volunteered in a leadership capacity at the school. Last year, she was the President of the DePaul Parent Association. She has worked effortlessly to enrich the lives of our students through creative activities, events, and fundraisers to help make DePaul an exciting place to learn and grow.
Charlotte brings many years of experience to her new position as the Office Manager at DePaul School. Prior to DePaul, Charlotte was self-employed as a successful small business owner and real estate agent. She also worked as a licensed home child care provider, substitute teacher, and athletic coach at Providence School coaching volleyball, softball, and cheerleading.
Charlotte also attended Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida as an English Major with a minor in Speech. She received her education for pre-school and real estate licensure at FCCJ in Jacksonville, Florida. Currently, she still holds an active real estate license as a Certified Distressed Property Expert. Charlotte takes great pride in helping others and especially has a heart for working with children of all ages; inspiring them to be the very best they can be. This summer she was a host mother for two exchange students from Spain for the entire month of July.
Last but not least, Charlotte enjoys spending quality time with her family, going to church, singing, and volunteering for many types of organizations.
Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Communication, Evangel University
info@depaulschool.com
Teri has a story coming!
Emily Tisdale is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a Masters Degree in Special Education, emphasis in Autism/Applied Behavior Analysis. She attended The University of Kansas for an undergraduate degree in Applied Behavioral Science. Emily specializes in coaching students’ social skills, executive functioning, problem-solving, and communication within the realm of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis).
Our Office Assistant Wendie Crook volunteered for DePaul for several years before joining us permanently in 2017. Ms. Wendie helps make DePaul what it is! She works with enrollment, finances, operations, and assisting teachers. We couldn't do this without her!
Ms. Wendie has two sons, including Jacob, who is a graduate of DePaul School.
