Unleashed Innovation, Inc

Sounder & Friends

Heather A. Kenny, Ph.D., President of Unleashed Innovation, Inc. and co-creator of Sounder & Friends™, has been a literacy educator for more than 25 years. In addition to being an experienced classroom teacher and an Associate Professor in a Graduate Reading Program, she is certified in dyslexia intervention and is a published author of several books and articles. Throughout her career, it has been Heather’s goal to improve literacy outcomes for all learners and she has worked for decades alongside co-teacher/co-author/co-creator, Laura Robbins, to make this happen in a variety of innovative ways – including the creation of Sounder & Friends™. When she’s not busy discovering and disseminating information related to the science of reading, you can find Heather enjoying time with her family – including her faithful pup, Zoey – in sunny Florida.

Laura Robbins, M.Ed (literacy) began her journey as an educator as a 1st grade teacher. After many years teaching in the classroom arena, she found that approximately 30-35% of her students were struggling with learning to read, which prompted her to dig deeper into the science of reading. As early as 1996, and through extensive research, Laura discovered the significance of phonemic awareness as a potent predictor of success in learning to read. As a result of uncovering this missing link, a crucial skill that allows kids to access phonics as an effective decoding strategy; a beautiful partnership and lifelong mission was established with co-teacher, co-author, and co-show creator, Dr. Heather Kenny. In addition to being an educator, author and now show creator, Laura is also an avid reader and tennis player. She lives with her family in Ontario, Canada.