Naveen Kanithi ​

Director of Operations
Naveen is passionate about education, youth development and community service work.  In the past 20+ years, Naveen has worked with nonprofits and government entities across three continents towards creating and cultivating schools and education systems that address individual, community and workforce needs.  ​
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For the better part of the last decade, he helped to develop and expand an osteopathic medical school network focused on community-based training in rural underserved areas in the Pacific Northwest.  Alongside, he worked to help develop primary care medical residency programs based in community health settings across the USA, as well as community-based allied health professional training programs in fields including medical assisting, nursing, physician assisting, clinical psychology, community health worker, naturopathy and others within a team-based care model of comprehensive health care delivery. Previously, Naveen was a founding member of Kingsbridge International High School, a NYC public school formed in conjunction with the Gates Foundation, focused on serving a student body with limited to no English language skills.   Prior to this, he worked for The World Bank in India and UNICEF in New York.  He received his Masters of Social Sciences in Social Planning and Administration from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and his B.A. in Economics and Social Work from New York University.  He believes strongly in the infinite potential of the spirit of a child, and his role simply as a facilitator to help shape the environments conducive to sustainable growth and freedom of expression for this and future generations. ​

Rayna Dineen

Executive Director
Rayna has worked in education for 40 years. She received two master’s degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University, in addition to doctoral work at Colorado State University. Rayna has taught students from preschool to grade 12 and is passionate about literacy and the science of reading, joyful project based learning, inclusive practices, positive classroom management and service learning.
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She co-directed the Cariño Community Children’s program for Santa Fe Public Schools and taught children with special needs at New Vistas. In 2000, she founded an EL Education prek-8 school in Santa Fe, NM (Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences) where she served as teacher and principal for 13 years.
​Rayna has also worked as an EL Education School Consultant serving Santa Fe Public Schools and schools in Australia, India, New Mexico, Arizona, West Virginia, Utah, Idaho and Colorado. She facilitates national education institutes and works with experiential education organizations both here and overseas. She also consulted for Discover Learning, a Gates Foundation collaboration between Save the Children and UC Berkeley which supports a project based learning program for children ages 10-11 in Tanzania. She has consulted for Harlem Village Academies and two schools in India, Polymath School and Heritage Xperiential Learning School.  She founded Hooked on Books and Reading is Magic in 2012 and began Reading Quest in 2015.  She believes in the power of young people to change our world and loves supporting children as they discover the joy of reading.​

Avery Armstrong

Reading Quest Coordinator
Avery Armstrong has been an RQ Reading Specialist since 2018 and is the Reading Quest Coordinator for Nina Otero Community School. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Film Studies from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. She has a long-held passion for education and literature. 
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Her passion began with her work with the Tarrant County Foster Care Association and has continued with her ongoing pursuit of literary publication. Avery loves working with students of all ages, including teaching creative writing and drama to Middle School students at Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences. Avery’s core value is the belief in equity for marginalized students.
"Working with Reading Quest means working with an organization that leads with its heart. In a world of increasing cynicism and division, we fight to create a positive educational environment, not only for our students but for ourselves. We are forever learning and improving, just like we ask of our students because education is a lifelong endeavor."

Hugo Casteneda Serrano

​Reading Quest Coordinator
Hugo Casteneda Serrano is a Reading Specialist and bilingual coordinator for Sweeney Elementary School. Hugo was born in Mexico and was brought to the United States by his family at the age of four. He was raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he graduated high school, and soon after found his way to New Mexico. 
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It was here that Hugo explored various interests and jobs, and finally discovered his love for educating young minds. He enrolled in the Santa Fe Community College as a Dreamer and earned his Associate's Degree in Teacher Education while working in the Santa Fe Public Schools as a paraprofessional for four years. Hugo officially joined the Reading Quest team in 2020 and is now a bilingual staff coordinator at Sweeney Elementary. He seeks to further contribute to the Reading Quest mission through his knowledge, unique experiences, and interests. Hugo is a skilled artist who loves to share his passion for art with his students to inspire and expand their awareness of their potential and possibilities.
“Reading Quest is a place where I can be myself and do what I love, which is help children. What’s unique compared to other places, is that Reading Quest does this in such a personalized and effective way. Its impact goes beyond reading. It’s amazing the amount of students I’ve seen grow academically as well as in their personal lives. They will carry the confidence they build with them forever. All of which is possible because they are being provided with time and instruction, but also the space to shine and be themselves.” 

Joanne Lewis

Reading Quest Coordinator
​Joanne Lewis is the Reading Quest bilingual coordinator for Amy Biehl Community School and Native American Student Services. She is a member of the United Confederation of Taino People from the island of Boriken (Puerto Rico). Joanne earned her undergraduate degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts and her Master’s in Cultural Sustainability from Goucher College. 
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Her studies focused on Indigenous Education and Storytelling. Joanne is the Creative Producer for Fox Clan Productions, a documentary and marketing company she co-owns with her husband, Mark Lewis. She has produced several films, including the award-winning documentary, Legacy, and a short film about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Voices Unheard. As a facilitator, she has over a decade of experience empowering Native Students through education, outreach programs and leadership training. Joanne enjoys creating and writing in her spare time, and she is a proud Taino mother to her little one, Adalyn.
“Reading is an essential skill for student success. As an Indigenous and Hispanic woman, I struggled to learn how to read. Once I learned how, it changed my life. It gives me great pride to be able to tutor students who would otherwise continue to struggle in reading. I am also passionate about using reading as a way to expand a student's perspective of the world around them.” 

Elizabeth Kahn Ratzlaff

Reading Quest Coordinator
Elizabeth Kahn Ratzlaff is a Reading Specialist and Reading Quest Coordinator for the West Las Vegas School District.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Master of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition. She moved to Las Vegas in 1999 with her husband and three sons.
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She coordinated the San Miguel County Maternal and Child Health Council and was involved in her childrens’ schools as a parent volunteer.  She later worked for New Mexico Highlands University, first as the Dual Credit Coordinator and then helped establish the Achieving in Research, Mathematics and Science (ARMAS) Center where she continued working for nine years, leaving as the Director. Elizabeth is a member of the Literacy Council of Northeastern New Mexico, the coordinator of the Imagination Library of San Miguel County and the treasurer for the Las Vegas New Mexico Community Foundation. She was introduced to Reading Quest through working with an afterschool partnership between the West Las Vegas School District and the United World College.  She is committed to the belief that to improve health outcomes for families, you start by improving access to high-quality education and enriching educational experiences for all and is thrilled to be part of bringing RQ to Las Vegas.
"I love working with Reading Quest because we are able to focus on the strengths and potential of each individual student and are completely committed to the idea that all children can be successful in school if they have access to high-quality support. "

Curtis Mueller

Reading Quest Coordinator
Curtis Mueller grew up in the American south, raised by two loving parents: one talker and one ornithologist. Thus, as a child he was subjected to many birds and many conversations against his will. He has since come around to both. In 2013, Curtis obtained a BA in Creative Writing and Literature. 
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He now lives with his dog, Hippo, and enjoys writing stories and cultivating strangeness. He has worked with Reading Quest for two years and is now the Reading Quest Coordinator at El Camino Real Academy.

Gabe Otter

Reading Quest Coordinator
Gabe began working as a Reading Specialist at RQ in 2020. He left for a year to work as an Environmental Educator in Thailand before returning in 2023 as a Reading Quest Reading Specialist and Coordinator at Turquoise Trail Charter School and our Reading Quest center. 
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Gabe has been teaching both in and outside of formal classrooms over the past decade. He has worked for international schools in Thailand, an online ESL company out of China and for a variety of summer camps and environmental education organizations. He earned a BA in Global Studies from LIU Global, an experiential degree program where he studied sustainable development in over 15 countries. Gabe is passionate about empowering all young people to reach their full potential and believes that increasing access to quality literacy education and environmental education are critical for the success of the next generation. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the beautiful mountains, rivers and canyons of Northern New Mexico.

Our Tutoring Team
Our dedicated tutoring team includes 22 Literacy Specialists, 8 Teen Tutors, and our Executive Director, Rayna Dineen. 
Our Reading Specialist team includes;
Top row from the left: Sharon Eklund, Libby Lenzer, Jill Miyagawa, Kathie Shultz, Katherine Rowe, Rebecca Bailey, Avery Armstrong and Elizabeth Ratzlaff
2nd row from the left: Gabe Otter, Hugo Serrano Casteñeda, Pablo Garcia, Curtis Mueller, Bear Meyers, Eli Feliciano
Bottom Row from the left: Rayna Dineen, Iza Bruen-Morningstar, Lyndsey Slavik, Cindy Boles, Joanne Lewis, Tiana Paras, Heidi Duncan
2023 Summer Camp Teachers, Teen Staff & Interns:
Top Row from left: Julian Lopez, Abby Frey, Arielle Nathan, Avery Armstrong, Eli Feliciano, Curtis Mueller, Pablo Garcia, Cindy Boles, Morgan Taylor
Bottom Row from left: Bella Silva, Sonya Mendez, Lyndsey Slavik, Ella Rappaport, Lilia Holladay, Isa Clark, little Sol and Lauren Rodda
Our Volunteers 
Reading Quest also includes teen and adult volunteers who help support Reading Quest in a variety of ways.  We are lucky to partner with middle school students at Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences and other community volunteers who assist with book sorting, photography, giveaway events and book deliveries for our students.   We are also grateful for the United World College students and  wonderful local middle and high school volunteers who assist with our Afghan and Refugee Children's Program.  We appreciate our dedicated volunteers who bring their highly trained therapy dogs to our tutoring and summer camp sessions. We are also grateful for the volunteers from the Santa Fe Raptor Center who donate their time to provide special programs for our summer camp students.