Trainers

Terri Foster received her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University in Medford, MA. She has over 20 years of experience providing pediatric occupational therapy services in hospitals, schools, and private practice. She lives in Northborough, MA where she provides contracted occupational therapy services to local schools and private handwriting tutoring. Terri is Level 1 Certified and has used the LWT curriculum throughout her years as an OT in a variety of school and private settings. The incredible success she has seen her students achieve using LWT motivated her to become a Certified National Workshop Presenter with Learning Without Tears. She has been enjoying teaching others the LWT curriculum through presenting both school based and national workshops for Learning Without Tears since 2008.

Roxanne Thompson received her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in 1998. She has practiced OT in the public schools, early intervention, and currently a private pediatric out-patient clinic. She also provides handwriting tutoring services to children in pre-school through middle school. She completed her Level 1 certification in March 2007 and has been presenting for Learning Without Tears since 2009. Roxanne lives in Frisco with her husband and 2 children.

Cheryl Lundy Swift is a 1993 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she double majored in Sociology and Rhetoric & Communication Studies. She received a Master of Education in Administration & Supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University. Cheryl is currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Kean University in Union, NJ.

Cheryl has been a dedicated educator for over 20 years. Cheryl has worked in leadership and executive roles for various educational organizations including public schools, post-secondary institutions, and education companies including several leading tutoring and supplemental education service companies. Cheryl is the founder and CEO of EduPower, an education consulting firm that empowers school and business leaders, teachers, parents, and students to reach their fullest potential through professional development, coaching and curriculum. Cheryl is an award winning educational leader, curriculum developer, motivational speaker and trainer. She has developed and delivered leadership, team building, and a variety of instructional topics to help transform leadership teams and instructional practices to improve culture and climate, instructional effectiveness, parent involvement and student outcomes for thousands of school leaders and teachers across the country. She has designed, developed and delivered literacy and math curriculum to benefit thousands of students, teachers and parents across the country. She served as the Lead Curriculum Developer for Learning Without Tears’ Get Set for School’s Language and Literacy curriculum, which received an AEP Distinguished Achievement award. In 2017, Cheryl was awarded the Investor Bank’s Educator of the Year Award.

While Cheryl continues to support schools around the country, most recently, Cheryl took on a principalship of one of her clients, Summit Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, New York. She led turnaround efforts to improve the overall school culture, parental involvement and state assessment scores. Summit Academy Charter School has recently received national attention on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart awarded the school $25,000 and the biggest award ever given by the Ellen DeGeneres Show- 4 year scholarships for the entire senior Class of 2017. Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart have continued to pour into Summit Academy and its scholars by following six of Summit Academy’s scholars to college. Cheryl has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show five times.

Cheryl enjoys playing golf, singing, dancing, reading, traveling and spending quality time with her family and friends. Cheryl resides in New Jersey with her husband, Hassan. They are proud parents of their nephew, Sid and their calico cat, Dashboard.

Mark D. Putney is currently a K-4 Computer and Technology teacher in the Fredonia (New York) Central School District. Using the Keyboarding Without Tears program with his students. He learned about the Get Set For School and Handwriting Without Tears programs while teaching grades 1st through 5th during his first 20 years of teaching in the elementary classroom. He has both his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Elementary Education and Curriculum and Instruction from the State University of New York College at Fredonia. Mark was so inspired by what the Keyboarding Without Tears program was doing for his students that, after attending a workshop himself, he pursued an opportunity to teach all of the programs that Learning Without Tears has to offer. He has been a curriculum presenter for 10 years during his career, traveling throughout the United States, and ultimately has a passion to help teachers learn. Aside from his roles as teacher and presenter, Mark is also a husband and father. He and his wife, Melissa, have 4 children, Tyler, Emma, Ashton, and Graham.

Melissa McHugh is a Special Education teacher in Joshua, Texas. Melissa holds a BFA from Auburn University and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a certified teacher for both general and special education and has worked with kids of all abilities, both in small groups and in the large classroom setting. She was named Burleson Independent School District Support Staff Member of the Year in 2011 and was Teacher of the Year at her campus in 2011, 2014, and 2016. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2018 at Caddo Grove Elementary. In 1999, Melissa began using Handwriting Without Tears with her students with special needs and now works with General Education teachers to bring it into their classrooms as well. When not in the classroom, Melissa and her husband, Chris, can be found on the football and soccer fields, or at Rodeo Competitions cheering on their two boys, Wesley and Nick. When at home, Melissa enjoys HGTV, crafts, reading, and taking care of all the family pets (including: dogs, munchkin cats, fish, tortoises, a rat, and a horse!) Melissa loves the Handwriting Without Tears Program and how it changed how she teaches in the classroom, and looks forward to sharing it with you!

Erin Dolin is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist with over fifteen years of experience working in clinic and school-based practice settings. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise physiology at California State University, Fresno, earned her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA, and completed her Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a research emphasis focused on the link between handwriting instruction and student achievement. In addition to her school-based OT practice, Erin has served as an adjunct faculty member with the Department of Physical Therapy at CSU Fresno since 2005. She has taught several foundational courses including Medical terminology, Neuromotor Development Across the Lifespan, Rehabilitation Professions, and Patient Practitioner Interaction in addition to her advising role for students pursuing Pre-Occupational Therapy option coursework. Erin has completed professional development coursework and holds certifications in Therapeutic Listening, The Perceptual Enrichment Program (PEP), Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT - administration scoring and treatment), and HWT Level 1 Certification. Erin began her role with HWT as a National Workshop Presenter in 2008 and has been using HWT with children since she was a graduate student in 1998. She is passionate about her role as a school based OT and supporting student success. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, stand-up paddle boarding, triathlon competitions, attempting DIY home improvement projects and relaxing with her dogs.