Necessity is the mother of invention.
Clever Noodle was created when our founder's son, Madden, was struggling with reading during the COVID-19 pandemic. After months of creative problem-solving, Jacquelyn found that games provided the perfect combination of fun, physical movement and practice to help Madden master high-frequency and sight words.
Madden's teacher saw the power of the game with her other students too, and encouraged Jacquelyn to fill the need. Now, Clever Noodle is bringing learn-to-read games to kids all across the country.
Cutting-edge games.
Old-school fun.
Clever Noodle designs games that support young students at each stage of their learn-to-read journey. We ignite every child’s potential by crafting fun, offline experiences based on cutting-edge reading science.
In an increasingly online world, we believe in the power of tabletop games to build new skills while bringing families and children together.
We envision a world in which every child learns to read. We're building that future one game at a time.
Our Values
Impact over profit
Child-centered design
Informed by science
Right to read
Protect the planet
Kindness wins
Made with love
The Clever Noodle team includes parents, educators, reading experts, and business leaders who are committed to improving literacy for all children.
We share a passion for family game nights, laughter, and old-school fun. We’re also committed to testing our ideas and integrating the latest research to ensure that every game we create can ignite the imagination and help kids learn to read!
Madden, Helena and Alex
These three board game visionaries are instrumental to Clever Noodle’s work. Their feedback influences every aspect of game development, including gameplay design, box sizes, and final color selection.
Alex, Madden and Helena have been at the table since the very beginning, testing games and giving feedback for two years. Madden is Jacquelyn's son and his learn-to-read journey as a dyslexic student was the original inspiration for Clever Noodle and all of its games.
Beyond the Clever Noodle games they all help design, Alex’s favorite game is Scrabble, Helena’s is Spy Alley and Madden’s is Dragonwood.
Jacquelyn Davis
Jacquelyn Davis’ work and interests are best explained by her personal North Star: making a meaningful difference for children and families.
She has been living this value for decades as a teacher, school leader, trainer of principals, and advisor to the nation's leading education nonprofits and foundations. From launching an innovative charter school to co-founding a $65M social impact venture fund, she has seen first-hand what works and what doesn’t.
She has served on the boards of many nonprofit organizations, authored seminal education reports, and been a national presenter and speaker. Jacquelyn holds a BA from Brown University and JD from Georgetown Law Center. She was a Fellow and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Bellwether Education Partners to launch Clever Noodle.
Jacquelyn’s ideal game night involves gathering the neighborhood children and her family with pizza to play one of the many card or board games on their dedicated bookshelf!
Jacquelyn loves hiking the woods, moving into downward dog, and reading non-fiction, mainly about changing the world. She and her son, Madden, love the books “Beautiful Oops!“ and “The Dot“ that teach children a growth mindset: mistakes are part of learning and help us grow and improve.
Ali Fuller
Since 2020, Ali has worked as an independent consultant providing strategic support to organizations across the country. Prior to working independently, Ali was a Senior Associate Partner at Bellwether, an organization providing strategic advising services to education organizations (including school districts, charter schools, small and multi-region non-profits, for-profits, and foundations).
For 6.5 years at Bellwether, Ali worked on a range of strategy, business planning, and organizational effectiveness projects with clients such as the Charter School Growth Fund, National Center for Teacher Residencies, Green Dot Charter Schools, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and many others. Prior to joining Bellwether, Ali was a Case Team Leader at Bain & Company, where she worked with clients across a broad range of industries. Her client engagements included growth strategy, due diligence, performance improvement, portfolio evaluation, and capability development.
Ali began her career as a high school teacher and coach in Connecticut. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Booth School of Business and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Yale University. Ali currently serves as the President of the Board of Hillcrest Family Services and a founding Board member of the Mississippi Driftless Regional Foundation, both in Dubuque, IA where she lives with her husband and 3 children.
Keri Schoenbrun
Keri is a sales and marketing leader with a focus on corporate and personal communication. With over 20 years of experience, Keri worked for organizations such as American Express, Accenture, and Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner) and consulted for organizations in the technology, finance, telecommunications, healthcare, media and nonprofit industries.
She received her MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, a Master of Public Policy from the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Ashlie Scott
Ashlie has almost 20 years of administrative experience, primarily in education. Prior to her work in administration, she taught science to elementary school children in an after-school program in Los Angeles. She also served in the Texas education system at Texas Education Agency as well as Texas Region 13 Education Service Center within the state accountability, state assessment, principal certification, and superintendent certification programs.
Ashlie holds a bachelor’s degree in media production from American InterContinental University. In her free time, she enjoys researching topics that interest her, spending time with family, reading, and traveling.
An ideal game night would include a round of Catch Phrase with family and friends.
Victoria Camelio
As the first employee of Clever Noodle, Victoria was instrumental in defining our vision and telling our story. Victoria and our founder, Jacquelyn, have been friends since their college days at Brown University, where Victoria earned a BA in Political Science and Public Policy.
We are forever grateful to her for believing in us from the very start. As the parent of a neurodivergent child, the Clever Noodle mission is near and dear to her heart and she will forever be a part of our company and our mission to live in a world where every child learns to read!
Vic and her kid’s favorite children’s book is centered on inclusion, “Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson.
We’re lucky to work with the nation's best advisors, partners, and literacy experts.
These professionals are the secret ingredient in all our “surprisingly educational” games! Our advisors are national experts in the Science of Reading and meet throughout the year to review and provide feedback on our games, as well as discuss ways we can work together to improve literacy for our nation.
Our Charitable Partners
We are committed to equity and access. Our partners help ensure that our games reach historically underserved children and schools.
New Leaders is redefining how schools are led. They build the capacity of equity-minded school leaders who are committed to the success of every child.
Expert Literacy Panel
Nikki Bridges
Founder and CEO of Lit; Former Superintendent of Education, Uncommon Schools
Tom Dillon
Co-Founder, The Literacy Lab
Kate Franz
Former Director of Literacy, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School; National Literacy Consultant; PhD student in Literacy Education, Syracuse University
Laurie Moloney
Co-Founder, Decoding Dyslexia DC; Academic Language Therapist; Former President, International Dyslexia Association
Molly Ness, PhD
Vice President of Academic Content at Learning Ally
Katharine Noonan
Vice President, The Reading League Washington, DC; National LETRS Professional Learning Facilitator; K-5 ELA Coach at Garrison Elementary School, D.C. Public Schools
Carolyn Strom, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Literacy, NYU
