Marcia Booth
Director of Training. Marcia’s experience spans over 20 years in education. She has worked with students and educators from elementary school through the university level as a teacher, curriculum developer, supervisor, and staff developer. Her initial consulting work was in the area of cooperative learning. In recent years, she has been working with teachers and administrators on improving instruction.

Kenneth Chapman
Ken spent over 18 years as school principal and assistant principal after beginning his career as a teacher at both the elementary and middle school levels. He has been a featured speaker and workshop leader as well as college lecturer. He specializes in teacher and leadership improvement and school development.

Linda Fobes
Linda has taught in an urban school system for 25 years and has been an instructor for Research for Better Teaching since 1993. She is also a curriculum consultant and has conducted workshops on peer observation, integrated/thematic curriculum and designing an individualized reading program.  Linda has appeared in a number of videos and publications focusing on effective teaching strategies.

Mary Ann Haley-Speca
Mary Ann’s 30 years as an educator include serving as a K–12 teacher, program director, staff developer, consultant, curriculum coordinator, and coach/supervisor to teachers. Areas of particular interest are designing classroom and school environments and promoting practices conducive to cognitive growth and high achievement in adults and children. She is co-author of RBT publications Activators and Summarizers.

Elizabeth Imende
Elizabeth has taught high school English, International Baccalaureate English and World Literature at the college level. She is a 4-time recipient of the Excellency in Teaching Award, Lexington High School, MA. She is the author of a 3-volume language-acquisition series for English Language Learners. She has presented professional development workshops and provided consulting services in Korea, El Salvador, Africa, and the United States.

Nancy Love

Director of Program Development. An educator for over 30 years and the former director of the Using Data Project at TERC, Nancy has conducted and supervised training throughout the U.S. in using school data to improve student achievement, designing professional development, cooperative learning, and many other topics. In 2006, she was awarded the Susan Loucks-Horsley Award from NSDC in recognition of her significant contribution to the field of staff development and to the efficacy of others. The author and co-author of several books and articles, Nancy's newest book is A Data Coach’s Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry.

Maxine Minkoff
During her 35-year career as an educator, Maxine has been a high school and middle school mathematics teacher, a deputy superintendent, and a superintendent. She has also done research on educational policy at the state level. Her consulting work includes topics such as curriculum frameworks, curriculum development, effective assessment practices, school leadership, differentiated instruction and organization development.

Ned Paulsen
Ned has been dedicated to education for more than thirty years as teacher, principal, district office administrator responsible for curriculum and instruction and special education, adjunct professor in educational administration, and consultant. His recent work has focused on analyzing assessments and student work for instructional implications and leadership training.

Alexander Platt
Andy’s background spans over 29 years in education including teaching grades 4–11 in public, private, and international schools. He has served as assistant superintendent for curriculum, as consultant to NESDEC, and has served as adjunct professor in the School of Education at Boston University. His particular interest is in working with administrators. He is lead author of The Skillful Leader: Confronting Mediocre Teaching.

Laura Porter
Laura has broad experience as a classroom teacher (K-8), staff developer, curriculum designer, mentor, peer coach, and facilitator of inclusion practices of students with special needs. She has led professional development focused on balanced literacy and differentiating instruction. A particular professional interest is in building classroom teacher leadership and promoting effectiveness within professional communities.

Fran Prolman Zimmerman
Fran brings 22 years of experience as both an elementary and secondary teacher, staff developer, administrator, university lecturer, and published author. Based in Virginia, she is a researcher and presenter specializing in the areas of critical thinking, creativity, mentorship and teacher induction, organizational development, communication skills, and supervision and evaluation.

Deb Reed
Deb has over 25 years of experience as a teacher and curriculum and staff developer. She works with educators on professional development, curriculum and instruction, and school culture. She is involved in several long-term staff development projects in both urban and suburban school systems. Much of her recent consulting work has focused on effective strategies for extended instructional periods.

Ruth Sernak
Ruth brings 35 years of experience as a teacher, staff developer, administrator, curriculum developer, and graduate-level instructor. She specializes in school improvement, instructional strategies, team building, and school leadership. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences.

Kathleen Spencer
Kathy has enjoyed thirty-five years of commitment to education as a teacher, curriculum developer, assistant principal and principal. Kathy also has served as a Commissioner for the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Her particular areas of expertise include curriculum mapping, mentoring, meeting standards for accreditation, and developing professional learning communities.

Sandra Spooner
Executive Director and Director of Client Services. Sandra’s professional background includes over 20 years of specialized teaching and administration in culturally diverse educational settings in the U.S. and Europe. Her particular expertise lies in the areas of urban and multicultural issues in education, and in professional and organizational development. Formerly, she was Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in the public schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ann Stern
Ann has worked in both urban and suburban school systems as a middle and high school teacher, curriculum specialist and staff developer for K–8 teachers, and as an undergraduate and graduate lecturer. She has conducted a variety of workshops including: process writing and reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities, multicultural children’s literature, effective reading strategies, and cooperative learning.

Caroline Tripp
Caroline draws on over 30 years of experience at all levels of public schooling in presenting and consulting on supervision and evaluation, supporting and sustaining teacher quality, developing school leaders, and teaching in standards-based classrooms.  She is a co-author of The Skillful Leader: Confronting Mediocre Teaching.

James Warnock
Jim has served in public education for 23 years as a teacher, staff developer, principal, and assistant superintendent. He has presented both nationally and abroad and has assisted school districts in strategic planning, improvement of instruction, and the development of teacher evaluation programs. His particular areas of interest and expertise include teacher induction, supervision, and evaluation.