Diane (Kappenman) Dragan

Diane (Kappenman) Dragan was born and raised in Columbus, Nebraska with her 5 siblings. She graduated valedictorian from Columbus High School and attended the University of Nebraska: Lincoln where she double majored in Political Science and Psychology. After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts, she went on to attend Pepperdine Law School in beautiful Malibu, California. Upon graduating Magna Cum Laude she began her career as a criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada. She married Nick Dragan and they started their family. In 2006, she took the opportunity to work as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in St. Louis, Missouri. She is now the Senior Litigator in the office. Diane is a passionate advocate for the underdog. She has served on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI) in St. Louis and is currently on the board of Decoding Dyslexia Missouri. She is the Regional Representative for St. Louis, Missouri. She has 5 wonderful kids including 3 with dyslexia. She is a fierce advocate for struggling readers including both children and adults. She volunteers her time locally to help other parents advocate for their children in IEP meetings and in their schools. She is an avid reader and is a huge proponent of reading science. She also runs a Facebook page, Lindbergh: Leaders in Literacy which offers articles, information and advocacy related to reading science.