About Us

Mary Jean Strong

Mary Jean Strong is a Literacy Coach at the elementary level. She graduated from Drew University with a B.A. in Psychology and an elementary teaching certificate and went on to earn a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. For her dissertation, Mary Jean created a preschool parent workshop about the importance of talking to little ones while reading. She is a lifelong learner who is passionate about reading, learning, and the brain-science behind them both. 

While growing up Mary Jean  stayed up way past her bedtime reading books of all genres – whatever she could buy, borrow, or find. A fun afternoon was hiding in her room and reading or riding her bike to the town library to find new books to read. Mary Jean has always kept a large collection of books around her which exploded when she became a teacher and then a mom to Jake and Luke. Picture books invaded every place in the Strong household – family room, play room, bedrooms, basement, car, and even bathrooms. Sharing the joy of reading with her children and students is her life’s work.

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Jenna Riculfy

Jenna Riculfy is a certified Special Education teacher and Reading Specialist with her Masters in Reading Education. She loves doing triathlons and being with her large extended family. Her immediate family includes her husband Kevin and daughter, Capri Francesca . From Capri’s birth Jenna and her husband Kevin (who is also a teacher) have instilled a love of books and reading in their daughter. While Jenna enjoys WW2 stories and realistic fiction and Kevin likes biographies, Capri is currently keeping the princess books in heavy rotation. Jenna’s passion for education began when she took a Special Education class at Cabrini University. From there she began teaching in the Lindenwold School District and is about to begin her 13th year. She graduated from The College of New Jersey with her Masters in 2012. Jenna has always found inspiration working with students with diverse needs and this inspiration quickly funneled into reading education. As a mother and teacher, her hope for TMSP is to educate caregivers about the value of print, language and time spent together.