Meet Rachel Arnold | President | IDA-RMB

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Arnold and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
The International Dyslexia Association – Rocky Mountain Branch (IDA-RMB) serves Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah by advancing the understanding of dyslexia and championing Structured Literacy instruction. Approximately one in five is impacted by dyslexia — and when they receive the appropriate instruction, they thrive. Our team empowers educators, professionals, parents, and community members by connecting them to evidence-based training, host two annual conferences — Reading in the Rockies and Reading in the City — and offer Experience Dyslexia simulations that create powerful “aha moments” about how dyslexic learners experience the world. We reach over a 1000 educators annually through our conferences, trainings, and simulations. In 2025, our community celebrated landmark legislation in Colorado with SB-200, improving early identification for students with dyslexia or dyslexia characteristics. Advocates are also working hard on important upcoming legislation in Wyoming! Our vision is a future where every child receives the instruction they need to become a confident reader — because literacy opens every door.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets us apart is that we’re a 100% volunteer-run board and laser-focused on one thing: ensuring that the science of how children learn to read reaches every classroom. Our flagship conferences — Reading in the Rockies and Reading in the City — have become premier literacy events in our region, drawing educators from across many states eager for training that transforms their practice. We’re also proud of our Experience Dyslexia simulations, which spark understanding and empathy in teachers and parents alike. This year we worked towards landmark literacy legislation in Colorado and Wyoming — a testament to the growing movement for evidence-based reading instruction. Our greatest opportunity is expanding our reach — connecting with even more of the thousands of teachers across three states ready to learn about Structured Literacy, and the families discovering that with the right support, their bright children can soar. We reached over 1,000 educators in 2025, and we’re growing that network one school, one district, one community at a time. The lesson we’ve learned is that transformation happens through relationships, not just information. When a teacher watches a student decode their first word using the right approach, a lifelong advocate is born.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We want to recognize the passionate educators across Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah who are transforming literacy instruction — the teachers eager to learn new approaches, the reading specialists championing better curriculum, our partners organizations for their tireless work, and the parents advocating for their children’s success. We’re deeply grateful to the International Dyslexia Association for providing the research foundation that grounds our work and to our entirely volunteer board, who pour their hearts and countless hours into this mission. Every simulation we run, every conference we host, and every family we support is possible because people choose to give their time and expertise to help children reach their highest potential.

Website: http://www.idarmb.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/IDA_RMB

Image Credits
IDA-RMB Board Members and Conference Attendees