Meet the Deal Center Team

PRESIDENT - Pullen Education Strategies
SENIOR ADVISOR - Deal Center

Paige's academic background includes a Ph.D. in Special Education with a specialization in Early Childhood Special Education and Learning Disabilities from the University of Florida. She is a nationally and internationally recognized education leader with deep expertise in literacy research, andragogy development, learning disabilities, dyslexia, and systems-wide transformations.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Amanda Rutter, Ed.D., has over 14 years of experience as a professor and early childhood educator. Dr. Rutter previously served as Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator at the University of Texas Permian Basin and the University of Northern Colorado. Her research focuses on supporting men in early childhood education, bridging early education with theatre for the very young, and promoting student success. She is passionate about preparing young children to become confident, successful readers through strong early learning foundations.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT II

Katrina has more than 14 years of administrative support experience in the private and nonprofit sector. She’s lived in Jones County for over 30 years with her husband, and they have two daughters.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE MANAGER

Kimberly has 20 years of experience in administrative services with the last 15 years in the hospitality sector. She earned her bachelor’s in business administration from Georgia College & State University in 2008. She lives in Putnam County with her family.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Julie has over 25 years of experience in public and private education. She’s served as a teacher, consultant, specialist and assistant principal in the education field. She holds a bachelor’s in music education, a master’s in early childhood education and an education specialist’s degree in educational leadership.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Caroline has nearly a decade of experience in elementary education. She’s obtained a bachelor’s and master’s in early childhood education from the University of Georgia. She also holds gifted, ESOL and dyslexia endorsements.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Previously, Amy served as a Language and Literacy Mentor for the Department of Education. In this position, she worked closely with the Deal Center to provide mentoring opportunities to district and school- based literacy coaches

In addition, she holds an endorsement in reading instruction and a Dyslexia Endorsement from the University of Georgia.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

As an education expert for the past 28 years, along with being the mother of a child with dyslexia, Kelly is passionate about empowering parents, teachers, and administrators to help improve educational outcomes for all students. 

Kelly obtained her Specialist Degree in Middle Grades Education with a focus on English and Social Sciences from Georgia College and State University.  She holds certifications as a PreK-12 reading specialist, instructional coach, media specialist, and Structured Literacy Classroom Teacher through the Center for Effective Reading Instruction; P-12 special education teacher, PreK-5 elementary teacher, and 4-8 middle grades teacher; and LETRS and AIM facilitator.  She has completed the Associate Level Orton Gillingham training along with Sonday System LPL, 1 and 2. She is currently in training with 95 Percent Group.

PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Amanda has a bachelor’s in biology from Georgia College & State University and has spent the last 13 years working in the nonprofit sector. She serves on the Georgia Children’s Book Awards committee and lives in Putnam county with her family.

GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR

Ryan has a bachelor’s in finance and a master’s degree in nonprofit management and leadership from the University of Georgia. He has over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and lives in Putnam County with his family.

DATA ANALYST I

Joseph has a bachelor’s in psychology from Georgia College & State University. He’s responsible for data collection, data management, data analysis, strategic planning, program evaluation and reporting.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Kristen has five years of experience in journalism and public relations. She holds a bachelor’s in communication from Georgia College & State University.