On this episode of Talk of The Bay, host George Cadman is joined by Tony Nuñez, Marketing & Communications Director at Community Bridges, where he leads strategic messaging to highlight the impact of the nonprofit’s 10 programs serving more than 20,000 children, families, and seniors each year across Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. These programs deliver hot meals to homebound seniors, provide accessible transportation to medical appointments, connect families to food and housing resources, nurture children through early education, and offer critical recovery support during disasters. Tony and George will discuss the important work of Community Bridges in our tri-County area and the upcoming Pie for The People event on Oct. 26th which will benefit this critical community resource. In the second half of the program, George Cadman is joined by local educator and life-long learner Megan Grenier who over the last 28 years has worked in a variety of educational settings – as an elementary classroom teacher, an Education specialist for a charter school, a mentor teacher, a private tutor, and as a director of a learning lab to help struggling readers using the Orton Gillingham approach. Her passion is to help students learn to read proficiently. Megan and George will discuss the importance of literacy to individuals and society, two recent CA Senate bills passed in 2024 requiring schools in CA to screen all K-2 students for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, this school year, as well as two upcoming Dyslexia Simulations she and other educators are hosting to raise awareness about the frustrations and struggles that individuals with dyslexia experience on a daily basis in the classroom. They encourage parents, teachers and life-long learners to register for the simulations which will be held at the Scotts Valley public library and the Simpkins Swim Center/Live Oak Annex in October, which is Dyslexia Awareness Month.
