Our Team
Read-On Young Readers Founder.
Originally from Washington State, Kelly lives in Northern Virginia with her husband who retired from the Air Force in 2011. She spent 17 years working for the Federal Courts in finance and IT, implementing hardware infrastructure, policies, and maintenance. She left her professional career because of the difficulty maintaining a career as a military spouse, and began dedicating her time to volunteer opportunities. Kelly has been a community organizer for several years with the Democratic Party, bringing hundreds of volunteers together for a common purpose. She has an apron business that she squeezes in around her passion for gardening.
Kelly Price
Eleanor Lopes “Penny” Akahloun is a retired State Department Foreign Service officer with 43 years of U.S. government service. She held multiple overseas postings and traveled across the seven continents. After retirement, she published The Magic of Dreams: An American Diplomat’s Journey, a memoir that chronicles her journey from humble beginnings in a Cape Verdean community in Massachusetts to a career as a U.S. State Department diplomat. Her book was written to inspire every woman, man, and child to pursue their goals and aspirations and highlights the interconnectedness of humanity. She is a graduate of Chamberlayne Jr. College and has two children.
Penny Akahloun
Margery works in human resources at the U.S. Department of State. She has a degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Social Work, specializing in working with children and adolescents. She loves reading, playing sports, practicing yoga, and her dog. She is very much looking forward to working as ROYR liaison to Mason Crest Elementary School!
Margery Gehan
Steve worked as an educator in the DC Metro area for almost 50 years. He taught students in all the elementary school grade levels and served as an elementary school principal in Fairfax County Public Schools for 36 years. For the last 14 years, he served as Senior Administrator at a Jewish Day School, as a synagogue’s Religious School Director and as JCRC’s Education Outreach Director for the last 8 years. He married Randi, a high school English Teacher, 37 years ago, and they have two beautiful daughters. He loves sports, especially baseball!
Steve Adleberg
Jill spent 15 years as an Occupational Therapist with Fairfax County Schools and now provides consulting and advocacy services for students with special needs. She loves baseball and is always up to go to a game. Making and selling beaded jewelry is her creative outlet, but her most favorite activity is playing with her young grandson.
Jill Berman
Larry Kugler has worked nationally, and internationally in South Africa, with teachers, schools, local, state, and federal officials to improve the quality of education for all students. He uses his administrative experience as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Title I, and Reading Recover Coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools, one of the largest and most diverse school systems in the country, plus his years as an elementary classroom teacher, and as a Reading and Title I Specialist to help coordinate school wide initiatives, improve teaching, and maximize student learning. He is excited to participate in the Read-on Young Readers initiative.
