A lifelong book-lover, Dr. Karen Holinga’s interest in helping children learn to read began during her six years as a classroom teacher, where she saw how much some children struggled to master the skill. Her desire to solve the puzzle only increased during the twelve years she homeschooled her own children.

Eager to better understand the reading process, Dr. Karen pursued a doctorate in Developmental Reading, Curriculum, and Professional Development from The Ohio State University.

With Happy Cheetah Reading, she has taken all her expertise—years of classroom experience, years homeschooling, her doctoral research, and her extensive clinical practice—and crafted a simple plan. As The Reading Doctor, she has successfully helped over 25,000 children learn to read— many of whose parents had lost hope. She knows how some students struggle, and she knows how to help. 

Because of Dr. Karen’s life-long focused attention on reading instruction, and her uniquely high level of single-minded dedication, she has developed not only a reading program, but an entirely unique method: the Right Focus™ Method.

Besides Happy Cheetah Reading, Dr. Karen is also the author of the award-winning Spelling You See™ program published by Demme Learning.