BEING A WRITER - Key Persons
Andreia Simon, MEd, joined Collaborative Classroom in 2021 as Colorado Manager of Educational Partnerships. Andreia began her career teaching first grade in the Austin, Texas area and quickly developed a passion for the intersection of social-emotional learning and literacy development. Over her 18 years in education, she has been fortunate to serve in multiple districts as a classroom teacher, district reading specialist, literacy leader, and instructional coach.
Before joining Collaborative Classroom, she served as Senior Literacy Consultant and READ Act Field Support Manager in the Preschool through Third Grade (P-3) Office at the Colorado Department of Education. In this role, she trained educators in the Science of Reading and supported school and district leadership in implementation of the Colorado READ Act, seminal legislation designed to ensure that all students in Colorado receive equitable access to scientifically and evidence-based reading instruction.
Job Titles:
- Director of Government Relations for the Office of Policy and Communications at WestEd
Augustus Mays joined the Board of Trustees in November 2021. As the Director of Government Relations for the Office of Policy and Communications at WestEd, Augustus Mays has primary responsibility for cultivating WestEd's relationship with the legislative and administrative branches of the federal government.
Mays provides information about WestEd, advocates for the agency's interests, and offers counsel on issues in which WestEd's staff and programs have expertise.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Senior Vice President
Brent Welling has over 20 years of management experience in the technology and financial services industries. Prior to joining Center for the Collaborative Classroom, Mr. Welling was the CFO at FirstREX, a private equity firm in San Francisco. Prior to joining FirstREX, he was vice president of finance and planning for QRS, Inc., where he led all finance, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to QRS, Mr. Welling was employed at the Pacific Telesis Group. He started his career in management consulting at McKinsey & Company and later at Marakon Associates. He has also been involved in the nonprofit sector, having provided consulting services to nonprofit organizations in education. Mr. Welling currently serves on the board of directors for the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society. He holds an MBA and a BS in engineering from Cornell University.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel, Hirschfeld Kraemer
Christine Helwick has had a long career in higher education, serving as general counsel for the California State University system for 16 years and before that for the University of California system. She now works part-time for higher education clients at Hirschfeld Kraemer in San Francisco. Christine believes in the importance of education, particularly early education, as a means to lift communities up.
Job Titles:
- Director of Implementation
- Director of Professional Learning
Christine Venturis, the Director of Professional Learning at Center for the Collaborative Classroom. Christine began her career as a classroom teacher in Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada. She has taught educational courses at several universities. As director of professional learning, Christine works collaboratively with districts, coaches, and teachers across the country to develop both district-wide and site-based professional learning and implementation plans. Christine holds a BS in Education from West Chester University and an MEd. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on literacy from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships With Collaborative Classroom
Dawn Castilleja is a Manager of Educational Partnerships with Collaborative Classroom. She has 24 years of diverse teaching, coaching, and speaking experience in areas of literacy, classroom management, differentiation, instructional strategy, and social-emotional learning. Dawn has a BA in Elementary Education from Purdue University and a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Educational Leadership, from the University of North Texas.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice President of Implementation for the Center for the Collaborative Classroom
Dr. Gina Fugnitto is the Vice President of Implementation for the Center for the Collaborative Classroom. She received her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Central Florida with an emphasis on analysis of literacy coach trends. She has worked as a classroom teacher, interventionist, and instructional coach. She has extensive experience coaching and providing professional learning at the state and national levels. As Associate Director of Literacy for Response to Intervention Teaching Learning Connection (RtI TLC), she supported the scale-up efforts of RtI within literacy. Gina is passionate about coaching and working alongside educators to deepen professional practices that inspire student learning.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director With Collaborative Classroom
Dr. Katy Cortelyou is a Regional Director with Collaborative Classroom. She worked for 20 years in Florida schools as a classroom teacher, literacy coach, reading interventionist and professional developer.
Katy earned her EdD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Central Florida. Her research efforts focused on the role of teacher knowledge and the teaching of primary level at-risk readers. She also holds National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist. Katy is passionate about working alongside educators to deepen professional practices that inspire student learning.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Senior Director
- Senior Director of Research
- Senior Director Research & Engagement
Dr. Marisa Ramirez Stukey is the Senior Director of Research and Engagement with Collaborative Classroom. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in teacher education and professional learning and a Master's Degree in Reading Education, both from the University of Florida.
Marisa is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher with over fifteen years experience teaching in both elementary and higher education contexts, instructional coaching, and professional learning systems development. Her research interests focus on reading comprehension instruction and designing literacy professional learning. She has consulted with numerous school districts in developing change models and collaborative professional learning structures, particularly to shift literacy instruction. She lives in Gainesville, Florida with her husband and young daughter.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships at Collaborative Classroom
Elizabeth W. English, PhD, is a Manager of Educational Partnerships at Collaborative Classroom. She has experience as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and Reading Recovery teacher. In addition, she has held both building-level and central-office leadership positions as a Title I director, early literacy specialist, intervention specialist, and elementary school principal.
Elizabeth has presented at numerous professional conferences and taught graduate courses in literacy for four universities in Virginia. She holds a BS in Elementary Education, an MEd in Reading, and a PhD in Psycholinguistics.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
- Executive Director of the National Writing Project
- Executive Director of the National Writing Project ( NWP )
Collaborative Classroom board member Elyse Eidman-Aadahl is the executive director of the National Writing Project (NWP), where she draws upon 25 years of experience designing and leading national programs, partnerships, and action-learning efforts for the NWP and other educational organizations.
A recipient of the Hollis Caswell Award for Curriculum Studies, Eidman-Aadahl holds a PhD in curriculum theory from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her scholarship includes studies of literacy and learning in the context of our new digital, networked ecology. A main focus of Eidman-Aadahl's research is how educators from diverse backgrounds research and reason together about this social transformation-as well as literacy, equity, and agency-for themselves and their youth. She is a broadly published author and presenter, well-known for co-authoring Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age: Participatory Politics and the Pursuit of Democratic Engagement (2016), Because Digital Writing Matters (Jossey-Bass, 2010) and Writing for a Change: Boosting Literacy and Learning Through Social Action (Jossey-Bass, 2006).
Prior to becoming the executive director, Eidman-Aadahl directed National Programs and Site Development for the NWP, where she developed many of NWP's signature programs and partnerships. Her recent work engages educators in schools, libraries, and museums as they rethink their teaching and learning environments with a view toward digital composition and production, connected learning, equity, and civic engagement. In that regard, Eidman-Aadahl is the founder of NWP's Educator Innovator project and community, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning Initiative (DML), and is a member of the DML's Youth and Participatory Politics research network. She is a founding member of the Connected Learning Alliance, and co-established the YOUmedia Learning Labs network, the Make to Learn Initiative, and Educating for Democracy in a Digital Age.
Formerly a high school English and journalism teacher, university professor, and evaluation consultant, Eidman-Aadahl has conducted action research and evaluation programs for organizations as diverse as the YWCA, the Mongolian Open Society Institute, National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, NIOST, Understanding Science, and numerous organizations focused on youth development and civic learning as they work to create and assess powerful learning contexts for young people and the adults who work with them. Current partnerships include leading projects that engage partners in science and maker/tinkering communities to theorize the relationship of literacy to efforts in STEM/STEAM education.
For more, read the interview "A Conversation about Writing Instruction with Elyse Eidman-Aadahl of the National Writing Project."
Job Titles:
- Collaborative Classroom 's Manager of Educational Partnerships
- Manager of Educational Partnerships
Emily Cremidis is Collaborative Classroom's Manager of Educational Partnerships in the San Francisco Bay Area. A proud third-generation educator, she has taught in a variety of classroom environments and served for seven years as an elementary school principal. She also supports pre-service teachers as an adjunct faculty member at USF. Emily holds a BS in Elementary Education from Bucknell University and an EdM in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Follow Emily on Twitter at @EmilyCremidis and on Facebook at @collabclass/Emily for the latest from Collaborative Classroom.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships With the Southeast Regional Team
Dr. Henderson serves as a Manager of Educational Partnerships with the Southeast Regional Team. As a Memphis native and former educator of over 23 years, she has experience working as a master teacher, district literacy improvement coach, a school principal, and an Ed Reports reviewer.
Dr. Henderson received her education from LeMoyne-Owen College and Union University. Her love of literacy is contagious and so is her passion for social justice. She currently belongs to a number of organizations including the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Senior Vice President of Dissemination at Collaborative Classroom
Isabel Sawyer, PhD, is Senior Vice President of Dissemination at Collaborative Classroom. She leads the Collaborative Classroom field team in the national dissemination efforts. In addition, Isabel presents keynotes, workshops, presentations, and professional development for teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators across the country.
Previously, she worked as a lead instructional coach for Albemarle County Public Schools and as an instructional coordinator for an inner-city school in Charlottesville, Virginia. Isabel's role in both school environments was to coordinate curriculum and to provide focused, high-quality professional development for teachers. Isabel has also served as an instructor at the University of Virginia, James Madison University, and Longwood College.
Isabel holds her PhD from the University of Virginia. Her doctorate examined gender and literacy acquisition in emergent readers and writers. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences and worked with schools across the country as an independent consultant. Isabel serves on the board of Learning Forward Virginia.
A Corwin author, Isabel recently published a new book, Professional Learning Redefined, with co-author Marisa Ramirez Stukey. She has also authored several articles and has been published in the National Reading Conference Yearbook.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships
Jennifer Ackermann joined the Collaborative Classroom team in 2022 as a Manager of Educational Partnerships. She began her career as an elementary school teacher and taught grades K, 2, and 4. For the last 20 years, Jennifer has been supporting districts in her home state of Texas to align curriculum, implementation, assessments, training, and coaching for core and intervention curricula.
Jennifer's work has ranged from supporting teachers through training and co-teaching as they navigate comprehensive new programs, to delivering workshops in literacy at state conferences, to working with the Texas Department of Education and authorship teams to best align offerings with the state framework and standards.
She received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of Texas at Austin and her M.ED. in Administration from Lamar University. She lives in Austin and loves to take lake breaks in the Austin area.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships
Before joining Collaborative Classroom in 2021 as a Manager of Educational Partnerships, Jeremy Hyler was a teacher for almost 22 years. During his career as an educator, Jeremy taught mostly middle school (6-8) and was a department head and part of school- and district-wide improvement teams for several years.
Besides being a classroom teacher, Jeremy has spent the last eleven years as a teacher consultant for the Chippewa River Writing Project at Central Michigan University. In addition, he is a Media Literacy Innovator for KQED. He has presented at many state and national conferences as well as internationally.
Jeremy holds a master's degree in Middle Level Education from Walden University and a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Alma College.
A Routledge author, Jeremy has co-authored three books: Create, Compose, Connect!: Reading, Writing, and Learning with Digital Tools; From Texting to Teaching: Grammar Instruction in a Digital Age; and Ask, Explore, Write!: An Inquiry-Driven Approach to Science and Literacy Learning. Jeremy has contributed to other professional books and articles as well.
In his free time, he enjoys reading, fishing, hunting, hiking, and hanging out with his three children. You can follow Jeremy on Twitter: @jeremyballer.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
- President and CEO of the Dewey Electronics Corporation
John H.D. Dewey is president and CEO of the Dewey Electronics Corporation. Mr. Dewey has spent most of his career as a consultant specializing in the strategic analysis of business procedures and the design and development of new methodologies. Mr. Dewey's expertise in information theory and business practices has helped solve problems for organizations including Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs, and AT&T Network Systems. Mr. Dewey received an AB in computer science and fine arts, cum laude from Duke University. He also holds a postgraduate diploma in painting and digital arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, and attended Oxford University. He was founding chair of Cornerstone Literacy, Inc. when it was spun off from the New York Institute for Special Education, and came to CCC as part of the 2015 merger of the two organizations.
John also serves on the School Leadership Team of his son's middle school in New York City, MS165, Mott Hall 2.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director at Collaborative Classroom
Jolynn Bernard is a Regional Director at Collaborative Classroom. She received her Masters in Reading from the University of Central Florida and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.
Jolynn is ESOL-certified with more than fifteen years of experience teaching in elementary schools as a classroom teacher, interventionist, instructional literacy coach, and professional-learning provider. She has also presented at various state and national conferences.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships With Collaborative Classroom
Katharine Bonasera is a Manager of Educational Partnerships with Collaborative Classroom. She has over 14 years of teaching and leadership experience in urban school environments, serving as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal. In addition to her school-based experience, she has coached early career Teach For America teachers and serves as an advisor with Relay Graduate School of Education's National Principals Academy Fellowship. She is passionate about cultivating school environments that foster connection, equitable practices, and the opportunity for all community members to thrive.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
- President
Kelly Stuart serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at Collaborative Classroom. In earlier roles at Collaborative Classroom, Dr. Stuart worked as Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Dissemination and Implementation, and Assistant Director of Dissemination.
Previously, she served as the senior research associate at WestEd, where she led dissemination for the Doing What Works (DWW) website, which developed practical tools and videos to support educators in their understanding and use of proven research-based practices. Also while at WestEd, Dr. Stuart launched the U.S. Department of Education's School Turnaround Learning Community (STLC), an online community for states, districts, and schools involved in turnaround efforts. Prior to WestEd, she was the director of special programs at the Success for All Foundation.
Since beginning her career as an elementary school teacher, Dr. Stuart has worked with educators in schools and after-school sites in every state. She has a BS in liberal arts, a teaching credential, an MA in education administration, and an EdD in education leadership.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships With Collaborative Classroom
Keri Bartholomew is a Manager of Educational Partnerships with Collaborative Classroom. She holds an M.A.T. in Early Childhood Education with a focus on Language and Literacy from National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois.
With over 20 years of experience in public education, Keri has facilitated Professional Learning with preservice and inservice educators in the areas of reading and writing development, intervention, and social-emotional learning. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences and worked with schools across the country as an independent literacy consultant. She has also served as an adjunct instructor teaching literacy courses at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois.
Keri currently lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and two children.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Educational Partnerships at Collaborative Classroom
Kristy Rauch is a Manager of Educational Partnerships at Collaborative Classroom. She has worked for twenty years in the field of education, as a high school teacher, curriculum developer, facilitator of professional learning, and Social and Emotional Learning consultant to schools and districts. Kristy received her BA in English from Northwestern, and an MA in Educational Policy and Evaluation from Stanford.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Education and Information Studies at UCLA
- Social Scientist
Louis Gomez is a social scientist dedicated to educational improvement. His research and design efforts are aimed at helping to support community formation in schools, and other organizations, so that they can collaboratively create new approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. With colleagues, he has worked to bring Networked-based Improvement Science to the field of Education. This work is aimed at helping the field take a new perspective on design, educational engineering, and development efforts that catalyze long-term, cooperative initiatives. These initiatives move through repeated cycles of problem diagnosis, design, assessment, and redesign, all organized around problems associated with the day-to-day work of teaching and learning in educational institutions. The work gains much of its power because it is carried out in highly focused collaboratives that Gomez and colleagues call Networked Improvement Communities. He received the bachelor's degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974 and a doctorate in cognitive psychology, in 1979, from UC Berkeley. Louis Gomez currently serves as Professor of Education and Information Studies at UCLA and as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
- Member of the Collaborative Classroom Board of Trustees
- Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Education and Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University
Marco A. Bravo, Ph.D., is a member of the Collaborative Classroom Board of Trustees. He serves as Associate Dean of the School of Education and Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University. He holds the Paul L. Locatelli, S. J. Endowed Chairship in the Education Department where he participates in the language and literacy training of the next generation of elementary grade teachers.
Dr. Bravo received his bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University (1994) and received a Masters degree in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University (1995) where he conducted research in the areas of bilingualism and early childhood reading development. In 2003 Dr. Bravo completed his doctoral studies at the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Education in Language, Literacy and Culture. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow (2003) at the Lawrence Hall of Science where he authored several children's science trade books as part of a research and curriculum development project aimed at testing the possibilities and limits of science and literacy integration. He is a former Spanish/English bilingual first grade teacher and Adult ESL instructor.
His current research is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This quasi-experimental design study probes pre-service teacher dispositions toward teaching science to diverse learners, particularly English Learners.
Dr. Bravo has presented his research at local, national and international conferences, including the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), American Educational Research Association (AERA), International Reading Association (IRA), and the World Congress on Reading.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice President of Human Resources
Maria Ross, Vice President of Human Resources, has over 25 years of experience as a proven leader in developing and managing HR and Administrative Operations. Maria is experienced in developing strategic programs (including an IPO as well as mergers and acquisitions) at start-up to mid-sized companies, driving initiatives to support business goals, and shaping corporate culture while implementing HR best practices in compliance with state and federal regulations. She has worked in a variety of industries, including software and hardware development, transportation engineering, ecommerce, nutraceutical, manufacturing, desalination, insurance, healthcare, and linear motion technology, to name a few.
Previously, Maria was with Ezaki Glico (a Japanese leader in the confection industry) managing three subsidiaries as CHRO/Sr. HR Manager. She provided leadership and strategic direction in developing their North America HR and Administrative infrastructure and implementing programs to achieve business objectives and sustainable growth. Maria has a BA in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, a secondary teaching credential from USF, and a JD from Hastings College of the Law.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement
Patrick Riccards is the chief executive officer of the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement, a national effort transforming the teaching and learning of American history and civics through provocative, relevant video content for students and related professional development for teachers. DFI is committed to inspiring today's learners need to "think like historians."
Building off his work as chief of staff to the National Reading Panel, executive director of the Pennsylvania STEM Initiative, and as an advisor to a wide range of education organizations including the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, International Society for Technology in Education, Learning First Alliance, Learning Forward, National Governors Association, and the U.S. Department of Education, he also currently serves as the executive director of Best in the World Teachers, leading a collection of research panels and pilot efforts to improve undergraduate teacher education.
Previously, Patrick served as the chief communications and strategy officer at the WW Foundation, helping build many of its signature initiatives, including the WW Graduate School of Teaching and Learning. He previously served as CEO of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, executive director for communications and public affairs at the American Institutes for Research, and vice president of Higher Ed Holdings LLC. Patrick began his career working on Capitol Hill and on political campaigns.
Currently on the Board of Directors for Project Tomorrow and the advisory board for the Education Writers Association, Patrick was the former chairman of the school board in Falls Church City, Virginia..
An award-winning author, he writes and tweets under the handle Eduflack. He is the author of the nationally recognized book, Dadprovement, that chronicles his experiences building a family through adoption. He is also the editor and contributing author of Why Kids Can't Read: Continuing to Challenge the Status Quo in Education. Patrick regularly speaks on the intersections of education policy, research, and engagement and is the author or ghost author of work that has appeared in hundreds of publications, including USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times, and Education Week.
PR News named Patrick its Not-for-Profit Public Relations Professional of the Year and its Public Affairs Professional of the Year. He recently received a SPOKIE award from DS Simon as the top voice in Non-Profit Education and has been regularly recognized by Education Next as one of the leading names in education social media. Patrick is also the proud recipient of the Dr. Dorothy Height Education Award from the Stamford (CT) NAACP for his advocacy for education equity.
Patrick lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife, Jennifer, and children, Michael and Anna. For the past three years, he has volunteered his time as a coach for his daughter's competitive cheer team, helping lead a squad of 19 tween girls to Nationals (and a top 10 finish) in December 2019.
Job Titles:
- Superintendent of Evanston / Skokie School District 65
Since March 2014, Paul Goren has served as superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65. Prior to joining District 65, Goren served as the senior vice president for program at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) in Chicago. Previously he served as the interim chief for strategy & accountability for Chicago Public Schools while working as executive director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research. A former middle school social studies and math teacher and basketball coach, Goren worked on the senior administrative teams of the Minneapolis Public Schools and the San Diego Unified School District. He served for over a decade as senior vice president of the Spencer Foundation and as a program director for Child and Youth Development at the MacArthur Foundation. He also worked in the education policy studies group at the National Governors' Association as senior policy analyst, as deputy director, and then as director. Goren graduated with a BA from Williams College, a Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas-Austin, and a PhD from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice President of Organizational Learning
Peter Brunn is the vice president of organizational learning at Center for the Collaborative Classroom. Previously at Collaborative Classroom, he was the director of professional development, director of staff development, the assistant director of the Reading Project, and a staff developer. Before coming to Collaborative Classroom, Peter was a staff developer for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and worked in New York City public schools helping teachers implement reading and writing workshops in their classrooms. Peter received his master's degree in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University, and his undergraduate degree in history from Marquette University. Peter is also the author of The Lesson Planning Handbook: Essential Strategies That Inspire Student Thinking and Learning, published by Scholastic. Follow Peter on Twitter at @pdbrunn.
Job Titles:
- Board Member and Former CEO, Collaborative Classroom
- Member of the Collaborative Classroom Board of Trustees
Roger King is a member of the Collaborative Classroom board of trustees and served as the CEO of the organization from 2015 to 2021. Prior to that, he was a consultant to nonprofit organizations and philanthropic foundations for more than 20 years. His work focused on developing strategies for scaling-up nonprofit impact. He began his career as a consultant with Bain & Company. He holds a BA and an MBA from Harvard University. Before being named CEO in 2015, he served on Collaborative Classroom's Board of Trustees since 2002.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO of PREP - KC
- President and CEO of PREP - KC ( Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation )
Susan Wally is president and CEO of PREP-KC (Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation), an organization that supports the improvement of public education in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She was formerly a high school teacher and principal, and served for 10 years as vice president for education at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she led a grant portfolio focused on the development and achievement of school-aged children. Ms. Wally holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University and an education specialist credential in administration and policy from the University of Missouri.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
Tim Millen joined Center for the Collaborative Classroom with over 25 years of systems development and management experience in the software and retail industries. He launched his consulting business working with companies such as Nike, Adidas, and Hanna Andersson. Mr. Millen then joined a client as vice president of information technology at Francine Browner, which was purchased by BCBG a year later. Recruited by Bebe Stores, he guided technology growth for a worldwide chain. Tim left to launch a new local retail concept called Elephant Pharm. Five years later he restarted his consulting business, focusing on local Bay Area retailers. Prior to joining the Collaborative Classroom, Mr. Millen was the vice president of solutions consulting for Symphony EYC, a large enterprise software company focused on cloud retailing. Tim lives in Walnut Creek with his family and enjoys gourmet cooking.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Senior Vice President, Program Development and Publishing Services
Valerie has twenty years of experience at Collaborative Classroom, holding management positions in both the program development and publishing areas of the organization. She was the lead editor on the original Making Meaning project, worked with John Shefelbine and Kit Newman in the development of all three editions of SIPPS (Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words), and most recently led the conceptualization and development of Collaborative Classroom's Being a Reader program. Prior to joining the team at Collaborative Classroom, Valerie was a developmental editor in elementary educational publishing at Prentice-Hall and in graduate-level textbooks at Allyn and Bacon (Pearson). She has also volunteered as a reading coach in public schools. Valerie has a BA in modern languages and literatures from the University of Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the New York Institute for Special Education
Mr. Musser is treasurer of the New York Institute for Special Education and a member of the board of managers. In addition, he has served as a director of Swiss Re America Corporation and Transnational Reinsurance Company, a trustee and chairman of the Investment Committee of Choate Rosemary Hall School, and a trustee of the Mystic Seaport Museum. Mr. Musser was formerly employed by Eberstadt & Co. and by Musser, Inc. In 1995, he founded New Frontier Capital, LP, a limited partnership specializing in technology investments. Mr. Musser graduated from Princeton University with an AB, cum laude. He received a Fulbright Scholarship, and later studied at Harvard Business School, graduating with an MBA.
Job Titles:
- National Education Consultant
Ms. Hammond is a former high school and community college expository writing instructor. She has also served as adjunct instructor at St. Mary's College School of Education in Moraga, California, where she taught The Foundations of Adolescent Literacy. As a consultant, she has advised and provided professional development to school districts and non-profit organizations across the country around issues of equity, literacy, and culturally responsive teaching for the past 25 years.