Meet Our Founder

Betty J. Mohlenbrock, M.Ed. is an educator, reading specialist, Founder and CEO (Retired) of United Through Reading, and Founder and President of Reading Legacies (her current endeavor).  

Betty has extensive experience in the areas of management, fundraising, and program strategies based on her experience with international programs as well as her integrity and wise stewardship of millions of dollars contributed by community members. 

Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts, as well as a Master’s Degree in Education with a specialty in teaching Reading.  Both degrees are from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Reading Legacies provides four programs: 

  1. Book Bridges
  2. Youth Readers
  3. First Teachers
  4. Storybook Inspirations
 

These four programs are for children and youth throughout San Diego County and beyond. 

Their mission is to facilitate supportive relationships for children through family and friends reading aloud with them. 

Website: www.readinglegacies.org 

Betty’s awards include:

  • San Diego Regional East County Chamber of Commerce 20th Annual Women in Leadership Award
  • Success Above Self Award (from the Rotary Club of Coronado)
  • San Diego Business Journal’s Business Women of the Year Finalist
  • L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth National Honoree
  • Congressional Medal of Honor Society Community Service Hero Award (for her leadership at United Through Reading)
  • LEAD San Diego Visionary Award
  • Traditional Home publication’s “The Classic Woman Award”
  • University of Illinois Alumni Humanitarian Award
  • Coronado Soroptimist International Legend Award
  • Peter Drucker Award for Non-Profit Innovation
  • Daughters of the American Revolution Medal of Honor (a national award given to a person who has made unusual and lasting contributions to our American heritage)
  • George Washington Honor Medal (from Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, an organization that promotes the education of youth about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship)

L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth 2018 Highlight: Betty Mohlenbrock

Julianne Moore Introducing Betty Mohlenbrock at 2018 Women of Worth Event

Our Core Values

1. We value intergenerational social interaction as an opportunity to share cultural heritage and values.

2. We value children and youth as powerful, important resources for the future of any community.

3. We value reading aloud as an effective medium to build relationships and develop an interest in reading.

4. We value service to others as a powerful method for personal growth and an increase in self-worth.

5. We value our relationship with our community and our country as a public trust by providing services with the highest integrity and sound business practices.

We are honored

To carry on the legacy of Stephen R. Lewis, M.D.

A beloved and respected physician, and family friend. His life was an exemplary model of dedication to family and community, and a strong belief in providing a foundation for children and youth to be successful in life. To that end, our Board of Trustees has established the Stephen R. Lewis, M.D. Legacy Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation with the purpose of funding the leadership position of Reading Legacies, the Stephen R. Lewis, M.D. Presidential Chair.

Reading Legacies is working closely with his family to deliver programs with highest integrity that will fulfill his vision for children and youth. The Board is both grateful for and humbled by the generosity of so many of Steve’s family and friends. Together, we are paying a high tribute to this wonderful man’s life. In order to participate in this Legacy Fund, simply make note of this on your contribution. If you desire further information, please contact us.

We Believe Children Deserve

To Be read To On a Daily Basis

Connection

We've seen time and again how children develop a love for reading when loved ones take the time to sit down and share a story with them. Those special moments have the power to impact children for the rest of their lives.

Success

Reading to a child for just 5 minutes a day can dramatically increase their educational and emotional success as they grow. Bonding through reading not only helps children to feel supported and loved, but can can also increase rates of early childhood literacy.

Education

We offer several opportunities for families learn new tools and techniques to instill the habit of reading aloud with children. You can get involved by volunteering with Reading Legacies to help us achieve this important goal.

Testimonials

Board of Trustees and Officers

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Betty J. Mohlenbrock, M.Ed.

President & Chair

Educator, Reading Specialist
board-richard

Richard Radosh, Esq.

Vice Chair

Community Volunteer

board-michael

Michael Malone

Treasurer

Chair, Vistage International
board-julie

Julie B. Beaty

Secretary

Community Volunteer
board-liz

Liz Valenzuela Banker

Trustee

CEO/President/Veteran
Shore Solutions, Inc.

board-eric

Eric Manese

Trustee

Rancho Santa Fe Insurance
michael-haynes

Michael J. Haynes

Trustee

Pro Football Hall of Fame &
All NFL 100 Year Anniversary Team

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Derek Cox, MBA

Trustee

Contract Advisor  

school board head shot

Elana Levens-Craig

Trustee

Board of Education, Santee School District Community Volunteer
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Vivian Lin

Trustee

Executive Vice President-Revenue Frontwave Arena
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Shaun R. Wiley

Trustee

ZUZA Print | Market | Mail

Reading Legacies Staff

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Kate Danielle Rapiñan

Office Manager & Program Assistant

Tessa Grotz Headshot

Tessa Grotz

Book Bridges Program Manager

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Molly Biehl Corbin

Grant
Writer

Camila Velasquez

Camila Velazquez

First Teachers Program Manager

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Maribel De La Rosa-Villa

Family Outreach Coordinator

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Nicole vargas

Storybook Readers Program manager

Ronald Diaz

Ronald Diaz

Grant Writer

Advisory Board

David Bejarano

Chief of Police (Retired)

San Diego and Chula Vista Police Departments 

Reo Carr

Founder/CEO, Research Group of Companies, LLC

Ken Culver

Commander (Retired) 

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department 

Edward DeRoche, Ph.D.

University of San Diego

Director, Character Development Center

Rhonda Su'esu'e-Hernandez, RCFE (Trustee)

Activities Director of Greater San Diego (ADGSD)

 

Valerie G. Hong, Esq. (Trustee)

Garcia Hong Law APC

Jessica Hughes, M.Ed.

School Counseling

Cheryl Carter King

Member of Founding Board, Retired

Stephen R. Lewis, M.D. Legacy Fund Representative 

Rachael Horn Langford

Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Point Loma Nazarene University

Ashley Rae Rawlins

RAWLINS LAW, APC

Renee K. Resko

Vice President of Development, Helen Woodward Animal Center

Carolos Ramirez Reyes

Third Grade Teacher, San Diego Unified School District

Stephanie Scott

Quality Review Analyst
American Specialty Health

MacKenzie Singer

Marketing Coordinator, VIstage International 

Cecil Steppe

Director, Dept. of Social Services/San Diego County Chief Probation Officer/CEO San Diego Urban League (Ret) 

Col. Marianne S. Waldrop, USMC (Ret.), Ph.D.

University of North Carolina NROTC Alumni Association, Pres. 

Greg Williams

Campus Supervisor, 
Liberty Charter High School

Lee E. Winslett

Wells Fargo, SVP & Division Mgr. New Markets
Lending/Investment

Kate Danielle Rapiñan

My name is Kate Danielle Rapiñan, and I have had the pleasure of working with the Reading Legacies team since May 2020 after graduating from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor’s in Real Estate and a minor in Business Administration. As the Office Manager and Program Assistant, I coordinate the internal processes of our constituent database and fundraising campaigns. Through my prior volunteer experiences, I understand just how much of an impact reading to and caring for children can have on their future growth. Reading Legacies has given me the privilege to share their vision. One of my favorite children’s books is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.

Tessa Grotz

My name is Tessa Grotz and I joined the Reading Legacies family in 2022 after graduating from SDSU with a BSFA in Public Administration and a minor in Women’s Studies. My role as Book Bridges Program Manager is to oversee the implementation and programming of our workshops in correctional facilities that record and connect incarcerated individuals to the special children in their lives by reading them a story. Looking back on my youth I can appreciate all the precious time teachers and family members invested by reading to me and am honored to work for an organization centered on the importance of this connection. One of my favorite books growing up was the “Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein because the principle of giving back is a guiding force in my life :)

Molly Biehl Corbin

My name is Molly Corbin and I have a BA in political science from UCSB, an MA in sociology from the University of New Orleans, and am an ICF certified diversity and inclusion coach. I first worked with Founder, Betty Mohlenbrock, in the mid-1990s at her early non-profit, Family Literacy Foundation. I work with the Reading Legacies team on grant and content writing. My favorite children’s book series is Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner.

Camila Velazquez

My name is Camila Velazquez, and I joined the Reading Legacies team in 2022. I have a BS in Child and Family Development from San Diego State University. As the First Teachers Program Manager, I oversee the parent workshops and the monthly Family Story Hours. I am a firm believer in Reading Legacies’ core values and the importance of reading to our children. As a mother of two boys, I feel most connected to them through shared activities, and reading is one of them. The children’s book that I enjoy reading the most with my sons is Love you Forever by Robert Munsch.

Maribel De La Rosa-Villa

My name is Maribel De La Rosa-Villa. I am a mother of three courageous daughters and a determined son. As a former inmate saved by the grace of God, I know firsthand the importance of family connections from afar. I had the honor of joining Reading Legacies recently, and get to be part of an amazing team that facilitates supportive family relationships through reading aloud. As Family Outreach Coordinator, I motivate and encourage families to stay connected as much as possible, and what better way than through reading? I understand firsthand the hurt we cause our children with our choices and selfishness. Reading Legacies helped my family and I amend that pain and hurt. It is my turn to pay it forward. I look forward to seeing families reunited and healed.

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Proverbs 22:6

Nicole Vargas

My name is Nicole Vargas. I joined the Reading Legacies team in January 2023. I have a BA in Child Development from Point Loma Nazarene University and 6 years’ experience working with children from ages infancy to adolescence. My role as the Storybook Readers Program Manager is to oversee the programing and implementation of our Youth Readers and Storybook Inspirations programs. As a child development professional, I have firsthand experience seeing the immense impact that reading aloud to children has on their early literacy skills and relationship building within the family and community. One of my favorite children’s books is If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff.