ATI - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Principal
• Senior Software Engineer
• Software Engineer

Brian Benson is a primary architect and developer of Galileo K-12 and Pre-K Online. He has worked for ATI since 1996, first as a consultant then in 1999 as a full-time employee. Brian started his career in 1992 as a software engineer for Artisoft, Incorporated and then moved on to hold senior level development positions for IKON and CEO Software, Incorporated. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1992 with a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.S. in Computer Science. Brian also completed his M.S. in Management Information Systems in 1999 from the University of Arizona. Brian is dedicated to providing the best solutions with the highest performance to meet all ATI clients' needs. Performance of Galileo technology including ease-of-use is always in the forefront of any of his development efforts.

Job Titles:

• Senior Research Scientist

Christine Burnham received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Arizona, where her research focused on the cognitive processes that support reading ability and word recognition. She has presented her research at several national conferences and workshops devoted to cognitive processing. Her B.A. in Psychology and Education was earned at William Smith College, where she also acquired teaching certification in both K-6 and special education. Christine joined ATI in 2005. She is a member of the American Educational Research Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education and collaborates in ongoing research and data analysis projects with agencies such as the Arizona Department of Education, Arizona State University, and the Maricopa County Educational Services Agency. As senior research scientist at ATI, she oversees all aspects of psychometric analyses of Galileo assessments, including the application of Item Response Theory, test equating procedures, and inferential statistics in order to evaluate student ability, monitor student growth, identify students at risk, and evaluate educator effectiveness. Christine participates in the ATI/client district initial and continuing implementation processes.

Job Titles:

• Field Services Director

Craig Mayhew received a B.S. in Regional Development in 1996 from the University of Arizona. A member of the ATI team since 2000, Craig is Director of the Field Services Department. In this capacity, he oversees services to current and prospective clients. He manages the Field Services component of the instructional improvement/ instructional effectiveness system to ensure timely and responsive service to client needs. For over a decade, Craig has provided focused seminars on Galileo technology and the ways in which it makes life easier for users to hundreds of attendees in multiple locations across the country. Craig has also played an important role in assisting large client groups with child outcome research initiatives.

Job Titles:

• Professional Development Director

Kerridan Kawecki has more than 20 years' experience in professional development, instructional design, and program implementation and blends knowledge gained from teaching in public schools, with the knowledge gained from creating and implementing learning programs in a corporate setting. Kerridan graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in Secondary Education and has become a trusted advisor in assisting clients with implementing educational software across school districts and Head Start Agencies. Kerridan is sensitive to the importance of using assessment data to inform instruction and provides extensive information for clients on using the information provided in ATI reports to enhance student achievement. She has designed online distance learning courses on Galileo technology and directs the delivery of on-site and online professional development for both administrators and teachers. Kerridan has personally delivered hundreds of professional development sessions for ATI clients. Recently, she designed, delivered, and implemented professional development for ATI's Community Assessment and Item Banking initiative which assists collaborating school districts in the creation of valid and reliable assessment items for non-state-tested subject.

Job Titles:

• Information Technology Director
• Technology Director

Luke Ferris joined Assessment Technology in 2001. He makes significant contributions to the design and development of Galileo K-12 and Galileo Pre-K. In 2017, he led a project to migrate all Galileo applications and data to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Cloud architecture continues to be one of Luke's primary duties. He earned a M.S. in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona, along with a B.S. in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University. Luke is passionate about developing software that promotes learning and helps students fully reach their academic potential.

Job Titles:

• Project Manager
• Senior Research Scientist

Sarah Estrada received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at the University of California, San Diego where her research focused on language comprehension in English and Spanish. During her graduate studies, Sarah was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship as well as two National Institutes of Health pre-doctoral fellowships. She earned her B.A. in Psychology at Cornell University and M.A. in Experimental Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. She joined the ATI Research and Development department in 2010. In her current role at ATI, Sarah manages projects related to the ongoing development of the Galileo application including the development of innovative technology and the design of easy-to-use, engaging user interfaces reflecting new approaches to assessment and instructional intervention. Sarah also conducts research including analysis of assessment data using Item Response Theory and other statistical techniques. As part of her work, she has authored a number of research and white papers related to assessment, reliability, validity, forecasting accuracy, growth analysis, and standards mastery in both early childhood and K-12 educational settings.

Job Titles:

• Assessment and Instructional Design Director

Scott Cunningham received his B.S. in Education from the University of Nebraska and has held teaching certifications in Nebraska, Minnesota, and Arizona. He joined ATI in 2002 and draws on his years of experience in the classroom in guiding the development of interactive, academically challenging lessons and assessments designed to promote learning in standards-based education. Scott trains and supervises a team of content specialists in the creation of items reflecting a broad range of item types for the online and offline measurement of standards mastery. Additionally, he is leading the team that is developing ATI's innovative Instructional Dialogs providing interactive, technology-based instruction, which involves educators in developing and sharing lessons designed to increase student achievement.