Our Teachers
At The Literacy Room, all of our teachers are trained in Structured Literacy and Lindamood-Bell Programs. This ensures that every student receives consistent lesson structure and support in the areas they need it.
About Jena Collins
Jena Collins, M.Ed., founder of The Literacy Room in Ojai, California, is an educational therapist and dyslexia specialist. Her passion to promote literacy and help dyslexic students spans more than 35 years of teaching students in both public and private settings, as well as presenting literacy workshops and trainings for school districts, educators, and parents. She worked for Ojai Unified School District for 17 years as a classroom teacher and dual immersion bilingual specialist and continues to hold a California multiple-subject teaching credential.
Formerly the Center Manager for the Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes® in Thousand Oaks, California, Jena commands great skill in the diagnosis of reading delays and instructional intervention at the one-on-one level. Jena has assessed and helped hundreds of struggling students with learning disabilities, dyslexia, attention issues, and “working memory” deficits, to become readers who experience the confidence and pleasure of reading for a lifetime.
When Jena’s own daughter struggled with reading in elementary school, they tried the Lindamood-Bell™ method and learned she was dyslexic. Soon her daughter's literacy went up three grade levels. Impressed with her daughter’s improvements and increased self-esteem, Jena trained in the Lindamood-Bell™ method.
Today, Jena focuses on the structured literacy approach by combining her Lindamood-Bell experience with trainings in Slingerland, Orton-Gillingham, and Structured Word Inquiry to address dyslexia. These trainings are aligned with the current research of the science of reading. In 2023, she received her Dyslexia Advocate Certificate from the Dyslexia Training Institute. In 2022, Jena completed her Orton-Gillingham Associate Level Training.
Jena and her team work with students one-to-one to provide intensive, customized instruction in Structured Literacy. Structured Literacy (SL) teaches phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax and semantics in a systematic, logical order of our language. The International Dyslexia Association cites SL as the most effective approach for students who experience difficulty learning to read and spell.
Jena received her undergraduate degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and lived in Madrid, Spain while completing her degree. She received her master’s degree in educational administration from California State University, Northridge.
About Mazzy Neufeld
Mazzy Neufeld began her journey at The Literacy Room in 2012 as a student. Struggling with dyslexia, Mazzy attended tutoring sessions with Jena for years to strengthen her literacy skills. An Ojai local, Mazzy grew up attending a variety of schools in the valley that have allowed for her to have vast experience and knowledge surrounding school settings and classroom challenges.
A University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) graduate, Mazzy holds a bachelor of arts degree in Communication with a minor in Educational Studies. The decision to join The Literacy Room came easily, leading Mazzy to receive training in Lindamood Bell™ and Structured Inquiry. She has trained first hand with Jena Collins and connects with students by sharing her own learning challenges and the ability to overcome them.
Outside of the office, you can find Mazzy enjoying the beauty that surrounds the Ojai Valley. Mazzy is passionate about spending time in nature, having spent many years homeschooling in the backyard of this town. She has spent professional hours at Ellwood Elementary School (Goleta, CA) in their 1st grade classroom. Mazzy has personal experience and views as a learner with dyslexia, ADHD, and being on the Autism Spectrum, along with this, she has supported other individuals with learning challenges.