You Need to Go WILDD!
Our Mission: WILDD is devoted to assisting individuals with learning disabilities and dyslexia to improve their reading and spelling skills.
Our History: WILDD was founded in 2005, by Erv Carpenter and Kim Carpenter, and Sara Pace-Ketterer. All three educators saw the pressing need for a learning center that would provide language instruction to individuals from all walks of life unable to reach their full potential due to their low literacy skills. For Erv and Kim, the mission is personal. Three of their four children and three grandchildren struggle with dyslexia. Additionally, Erv fought his own battle with dyslexia for many years; he spent many frustrating days feeling as though he was unable to learn or to be taught like everyone else. After being formally diagnosed with dyslexia and getting instructional assistance through the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Erv completed his college education. Erv then followed his passion to educate the world about learning disabilities and dyslexia—he wanted to help others who felt the same as he had.
WILDD was first established in Madison, Wisconsin with Erv as the sole instructor for all of the clients. WILDD has expanded and now has locations in Oshkosh and Milwaukee. WILDD's goals is to open satellite locations in all major metropolitan areas of Wisconsin. We pride ourselves in our personalized approach to meeting the needs of each and every one of our client’s needs. When you begin your program at WILDD, you will be given an assessment to see what your specific learning needs are. Based on the results of that assessment, we tailor-make a program especially for you, with instruction in areas that are most needed, matching instructors’ skills with client needs.
Our Board of Directors: WILDD’s Board of Directors consists of community members and professionals dedicated to WILDD’s mission.
Ervin Carpenter, Co-Founder & Executive Director
Erv was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 32 after entering the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1982. He was then referred to a program for dyslexic college students, and was remediated through an instructional strategy based on the Orton-Gillingham methodology. Within two years, Erv progressed from low spelling and reading levels to college levels.
Erv has as B.S. in Special Education, 30 years of teaching experience in Special Education and is a 2009 recipient of the Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Erv was a Special Education teacher with K-12 certifications in Learning, Emotional Behavioral Disorders, and Cognitive Disabilities for sixteen years at Dodgeville High School until he retired from public school teaching in 2004. Moreover, Erv was previously Co-Founder and Director of the Academic Achievement Center, Inc. for 5 years and served as the Director of the 320 Madison Masonic Learning Center for Children for 10 years. Erv has presented at three national and four state Orton Dyslexia Conferences, in addition to numerous Wisconsin Special Education conferences on learning disabilities and the social and emotional aspects of the disabilities. He has also conducted workshops and in-services for language deficient students, their teachers, and parents at public school districts throughout Wisconsin. He is certified by the International Multisensory Structured Language Educational Council (IMSLEC).
Kim Carpenter, Co-founder & Executive Director of Diagnostics and Research and General Operations
Kim Carpenter, Director of Diagnostics and Research, has a B.S. in Special Education with K-12 certifications in Learning Disabilities and Emotional Behavioral Disorders. She graduated Magna Cum laude from UW-Oshkosh and completed post graduate work in remedial reading, Autism and Sensory Integration Therapy. She is currently working on her M.S. in Adult Education with an emphasis on the adults with learning disabilities/dyslexia. Kim has 30 years of experience teaching students with learning disabilities, dyslexia, autism and emotional behavioral disabilities. She is trained and proficient in numerous remedial reading strategies including the Orton-Gillingham methodology. Moreover, Kim was previously Co-Founder of and Diagnostician for the Academic Achievement Center, Inc.; Testing Clinician for the 320 Madison Masonic Learning Center for Children; and tutor for program specifically designed to help college students with dyslexia overcome their disability, enabling them to earn their college degrees. Kim has presented at several national and state Orton Dyslexia Conferences, in addition to numerous Wisconsin Special Education conferences on learning disabilities and the social and emotional aspects of the disabilities. She has also conducted workshops for language deficient students, their teachers, and parents on the social and emotional aspects of learning disabilities.
Mr. Tim Mueller, Chair
Mr. Steve Porter, Vice Chair
Mr. Joe Saffino, Secretary
Mr. Luke Kingree, Treasurer
Mr. Pete Cymbalak, Member
Ms. Valerie Campbell, Member
Mr. Luke Kingree, Member
Dr. William Kitz, Member
Dr. Kitz serves as the Director Emeritus of Project Success, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and has been associated with the program for 30 years. His education includes a BS in Elementary Education and a MS in Counselor Education from UW Oshkosh and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Mr. Jed Hopkins, Educational Consultant
Mr. Ron Jansen, Correctional Institute Program Consultant
Mr. Boris Frank, Management Consultant