Meet our Board

Chandel K. Pine is the President of Paul’s Mountain – Advocacy for Literacy. Chandel founded Paul’s Mountain Non-Profit Organization, a 501(c)3 in November 2023 to help the struggling students who are like Paul, that struggled with reading and are in need of evidence based structured literacy.  Since diving into the literacy world after witnessing her son learning how to read after so many years of struggling and knowing his death was preventable in many ways, she has met many amazing people, including Mary Candeo who established Foothills Dyslexia, another non-profit to assist struggling readers. 

Chandel truly believes that teaching children how to read will help prevent suicide in our youth. Additionally, giving the child a brighter future, as 70% of welfare recipients have low literacy levels, students who are not proficient in reading by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, 80% of prisoners are illiterate or functionally illiterate, students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, are three times more likely to attempt suicide. It is possible to teach a dyslexic child how to read, evidence has proved this, and once Paul’s Mountain is fully climbed every child will be taught how to read.

Ms. Deb comes from the Kansas City area, and was educated through grade 12 in private school.  She ultimately earned a BS Degree in Accounting from Kansas State University.  She moved to the Denver area 40 years ago, where she raised two wonderful children, while simultaneously building a career as a forensic accountant at the IRS.  After retiring in 2014 she moved to beautiful Evergreen with her spouse and three cats.  Ms. Deb grew up with an older brother having special needs. Unfortunately, special education was not available to him in the 1950’s and 60’s, and she watched him struggle all his life.  This has given Ms. Deb a sensitivity to individuals requiring special training, such as dyslexia.  She has volunteered for the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) since her retirement.  Ms. Deb enjoys being with kids, and has also volunteered for the Colorado Skating Club.   She has tutored many children over the years, and is very proud of their accomplishments.  Ms. Deb feels she has found a little bit of heaven being a part of the Paul's Mountain team!!  

Kate was born and raised in Wayzata, Minnesota. She moved to Colorado in 1976 and attended Loretto Heights college and graduated with a liberal arts degree. After meeting her husband on a mountaintop in the 80s they were married and moved to Evergreen and had a son.
While raising her son she became very involved in violence prevention and helped implement programs in the mountain schools.

After the passage of her husband in 2002 she became a CNA. This brought her to be an activities director for seniors and special-needs day programs, as well as working with private individuals in their homes.

From 2016 to 2019 she took care of her Alzheimer’s mother. The passage of her mother in 2019 was the catalyst of change to pursue working with dyslexic individuals.

Her mother had been a pioneer in the dyslexic field in the 60s and 70s. She was her biggest advocate and by first grade she had her diagnosed and tutored. The hardship of learning in the school system with a learning difference has brought Kate full circle as she pursues becoming a tutor herself. She hopes to instill a love of learning and confidence in dyslexic individuals.

A Colorado native, Ms. Anna has her BA in Early Childhood Education and is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Metropolitan State University with an endorsement in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. When Anna graduated, she knew the classroom wasn't a right fit. Anna has dyslexia and was tutored by Mary (another tutor)  in high-school so it only made sense that she began to tutor individuals with dyslexia. She lives in Littleton, Colorado with her husband, two children (1.5&3), three dogs, and six chickens.

Like many in Dyslexia World, Mary Candeo got her start when her own eight-year-old homeschooling son just wasn’t learning to read and was diagnosed with dyslexia. Specialized tutors were out of her budget, so she learned to teach reading to children with dyslexia and found a new career. Mary has degrees in special education and physical therapy, and has worked in dyslexia schools, dyslexia camp, international schools, residential treatment school, private practice, and is now fostering a nonprofit to support families who would like training to support their own dyslexic child. Twenty years later, her children with dyslexia are living happily ever after

Beverly Salas, Ph.D., is a lifelong advocate for individuals experiencing difficulties in

school; particularly in relation to literacy issues. She partners with families and schools to provide a seamless, coordinated team to address individual student needs. She received her doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin where she was a professor for graduate students interested in working with students with learning difficulties. She is an adept diagnostician conducting formal assessments in order to determine if any lack of progress in school may contribute to a learning disability and/or if there are any underlying problems that are associated with school performance.

She currently serves on the Board for Paul’s Mountain Advocacy for Literacy. She also tutors students in Colorado and Wyoming many of whom are identified with dyslexia as well as supporting students with other learning disabilities. In her off time, she is an avid home chef who enjoys cooking for family, friends, and even her students. She loves animals and is a graduate of Healing Touch For Animals serving as a practitioner to support animals in distress including horses, goats, wolves, and, of course, cats and dogs.