Dor is assistant professor of cognition and development at the University of California–Berkeley.

Michelle Albaugh is a doctoral candidate in the Human Development & Social Policy program in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She received a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from DePaul University in music in 1994. Her research thus far has centered on the intersection of personal faith and political ideology. She has collaborated with Professor Dan McAdams, using his narrative theory of personality and associated methodologies to study how committed Christians, politically liberal and conservative, differ from each other. Her interests include religious identity, religious trends in American society and culture, charismatic/transformational leadership, leadership in religious organizations, qualitative and narrative methods, and a variety of quantitative methods.

I am an MA student in Learning Sciences. I am interested in learning more about the cognitive processes of reading. I spent the last year as an Americorps*VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) with Minneapolis Public Schools. During this time, I worked to recruit, place and support community volunteers in the effort to strengthen community relationships and maximize support for students. As a VISTA, I also supported student learning and helped design curriculum as a co-instructor for the college preparation program Upward Bound during their summer enrichment classes at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

I am originally from the Twin Cities metro area. I especially enjoy Minnesota winters because they provide for a variety of outdoor activities. In my spare time I like listening to music (of all kinds), going for hikes, and watching the MN Twins win.

Eric spent three years as a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley prior to joining Inquirium. He has designed and studied the use of varying visualization and modeling technologies to support learning science in middle and high school settings. His research interests focus on design and the related processes of designing innovative, techology-rich curricula and adapting innovative materials to meet local needs and constraints

Lisa is currently at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she has a cross appointment in the College of Education and University of Illinois Extension. Her research focuses on the opportunities and challenges related to youth-adult and school-community partnerships within learning environments. She is particularly interested in issues of culture, equity and voice within programs that target underserved and minority youth. Through her work in extension, she serves as the campus specialist for youth programs in science, engineering and technology across the state. Under the umbrella of 4-H, these initiatives are engaging youth as leaders in their communities, using technology such as video, podcasting, and GIS/GPS to address real world issues in their communities. Lisa also serves on an advisory board for Native American student recruitment and retention at the University of Illinois. 

Matt is director of Inquirium, LLC, a software design firm in Chicago.

Currently working as a Senior Training Specialist for Abbott Laboratories.  I have spent 6 years in training development roles that have ranged from technical training for a computer software system to the creation of facilitator guides for a wide variety of functional roles.  I live in Chicago, but am orginally from the great state of Montana.  I love the city and spend most of my time with my friends enjoying all it has to offer!

Amy Claessens is a third-year student in the Human Development and Social Policy program. She graduated with a BS in Social Policy from Northwestern University in 1998. After graduating she spent time doing research, direct service with homeless families, and finally policy advocacy work. Most recently, she worked as a policy associate at Action for Children (formerly Day Care Action Council of Illinois) doing state and federal policy analysis and advocacy for early childhood education and care programs. Her own work and research interests are in the area of early childhood education and care, as well as families in poverty. Currently, she works with Professor Greg Duncan on two main projects, the New Hope eight-year follow-up and research on school readiness using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten (ECLSK). She is excited to be a part of the innovative, multidisciplinary program in education and hopes to advance the field of early childhood education policy through her affiliation with the MPES program.

Danny came to Northwestern from London, U.K., where he worked as a youth educator and program designer.  Before moving to Chicago, as part of his work at Tower Hamlets Summer University (THSU), Danny designed and facilitated Unboxed, a human rights youth exchange program for British and South African teenagers.  Participants were trained and supported to design and implement their own local interventions to tackle different types of discrimination and oppression, including xenophobia, homophobia, and domestic violence.  In 2005, Unboxed received the British Wavemakers Award.

At THSU, Danny worked as a consultant and program designer for Creative Partnerships (CP), a government agency working to promote creativity and arts programs in British schools.  Danny worked with CP on their youth council project, producing and facilitating a series of programs that sought to involve young people as partners in the strengthening of inner-city schools.  Danny also developed and coordinated the THSU Peer Motivator youth leadership program, providing participants - mainly of Bangladeshi origin - with practical community-work training and awarding them with London Open College Network (LOCN) accreditation.

Danny's roots are in the Jewish community, where he worked as Director of Education and Development for the Association of Jewish Sixthformers (AJ6), a youth-led national organization based in London.  Danny oversaw the national peer-leadership curriculum and trained youth workers to lead AJ6's year-round programs, including educational tours to Israel, Eastern-Europe, Southern-Europe, and the American East Coast.  Before working for AJ6, Danny also spent a year as Community Youth Worker for the South Manchester Jewish Youth Trust (SMJYT).

PhD Candidate, Learning Sciences


Broadly speaking, I'm concerned with how the Holocaust changes our thinking about learning and education.

I've come to realize that I wear three hats...

DESIGN.  My training in the British Jewish community led me to focus on Holocaust education and youth program design.  My experiences as a youth worker in inner-city London strengthened my interests in creating human rights education and youth leadership programs.

ACTIVISM.  My work includes training educators to effectively teach about the Holocaust with the explicit goal of applying lessons from history to contemporary cases of oppression and genocide, particularly of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people.

RESEARCH.  I study how educators learn and how their learning impacts their pedagogical decisions.  I'm concerned with how collective memories impact the way we educate about the Holocaust and human rights.  And I'm interested in the silencing - and unsilencing - of marginalized histories.

Genna Cohen is a senior at Northwestern University (NU) majoring in health care social policy in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP). She graduated magna cum laude from the Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia where she was a nationally ranked policy debater and founding member of her high school’s chapter of Amnesty International. At NU, Genna has worked as a Research Assistant with the Dr. Chase-Lansdale research team at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) and at Cells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health. She has also sat on the SESP Undergraduate Committee and volunteered with the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization Illinois Affiliate.

Genna’s thesis project was generously supported by the Health Literacy and Learning Program (HeLP). Her study of health mindedness and health behavior among emerging adults was developed and executed with the help of Dr. Michael S. Wolf, Dr. P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, and the Chase-Lansdale research team at IPR. Her favorite distractions from work are snowboarding, cooking, aerobic kickboxing, and Joey’s Brickhouse.

I am currently a senior undergraduate student in Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy. I will be recieving a Bachelor of Science in Education and Social Policy, with a degree concentration of Human Development and Psychological Services. I was born, raised, and currently make my permanent residence in Chicago, Illinois.

With three years of elementary teaching experience, Maureen Connell is well-suited to her position as program coordinator for Leapfrog, which serves students completing PreK through grade 3. She oversees Leapfrog admissions, instructor recruitment, course planning and logistical coordination, ensuring that the program runs smoothly and that participant expectations are met or exceeded. Maureen is inspired by the curious, authentic and engaged people – children and adults alike – whom she meets in her role. Given Leapfrog’s growth, she has also enjoyed being able to help an increasing number of people each of the four years she has been with the Center for Talent Development. Maureen double-majored in English and human development at Boston College, earning a bachelor’s degree there and a master’s degree in elementary education from Northwestern University. When not working at CTD, Maureen can be found running along Chicago’s streets or lakefront. Her greatest athletic achievement? Completing the Boston Marathon in less than four hours!

Laura is a research associate at Simon Fraser University.

Lisa Dorner received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University in 2006.  Her research interests include the implementation of educational policy, immigrant childhoods, and bilingual education policy and practice.  As part of the DLS team, she has analyzed the work environments of urban Catholic, charter, and public schools.  She has also worked on the evaluation of a professional development program for principals, using mixed methods to question the greater social factors that influence whether and how a principal may gain from in-services and develop expertise over time.

Barry is an Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

After graduation from Northewestern in 1991, Dr. Gaetjens created a MA in Gerontology Program at Northeastern Illinois State University. Her reseach interests are in cognitive and psycho-social development in the second half of life. In addition to teaching, Dr. Gaetjens maintains a private counseling practice as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Ravit is an assistant professor of science education in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University.

Doug works at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.

R. Michelle Green's research program for the better part of a decade examines why adults embrace or reject Information Technology (IT), focusing most frequently on psycho-social precursors. She is particularly concerned with the ramifications of technological inequity faced by those who are poor, older, or disadvantaged. Her mixed method dissertation examined personality and life span predictors of digital fluency (i.e., the ability to use IT tools critically and effectively), demonstrating that many hindrances to IT use are invisible not only to the IT novice but also to others. In July of 2006, she joined Hampshire College in Massachusetts as Dean of Student Services, where she is responsible for all non-academic aspects of Hampshire collegiate life. She is also Visiting Faculty in Hampshire’s School of Cognitive Science. She is also a championship bridge player, ranked as Life Master in two national leagues.

Rich Halverson is a PhD alumnus of the Learning Sciences and an Assistant Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rich's work develops ideas and methods to access, document and communicate the practical wisdom of K-12 school leaders. A co-author of the Distributed Leadership framework paper, his research explores the situational distribution of leadership, that is, how school leaders develop and deploy artifacts to influence instructional practice. He recently received an National Science Foundation Early Career grant to study how school leaders create local systems of practice that help teachers use data to shape classroom teaching.

After completing my bachelor of fine arts at Western Michigan University, I moved to Chicago to pursue the performance field. While holding various administrative positions, I also sang in three bands, was a singing waitress on the Spirit of Chicago and worked in the commercial music industry for four years before deciding to go back to school and pursue teaching.

In June 2004 I began the GATE / NU-Teach program in elementary education. I have taught both third grade and kindergarten so far, and will be teaching second grade this fall within the Chicago Public Schools. I enter the master's program with excitement and cannot wait to add more tricks to my teaching bag.

Diana is the lead research professional at the Center for School Improvement at the University of Chicago.

My research interests focus on teacher learning, professional development design, and social media. 

Moshe Krakowski has a BA in philosophy from the University of Chicago and is currently in his third year as PhD candidate in the department of Learning Sciences. He has a strong interest in ultra-Orthodox Jewish education and is in the process of developing a research program that investigates the nature of elementary schooling in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. He is examining how secular knowledge is presented in a curriculum that devotes the overwhelming majority of the day to religious knowledge. He is also looking at how successful schools are at teaching secular knowledge in such an environment. He hopes that this course of research will be more generally interesting in the way that it sheds light on how subcultures that have radically different epistemologies than the dominant culture interact with that dominant culture.

Moshe's other graduate work involves Bruce Sherin’s conceptual dynamics project. This work is an effort to understand what it is that kids learn when they are engaged in science classes. In particular, it is looking at the ways in which the learning is different in traditional and project-based science curricula.

Result-oriented and quality-driven change agent providing coaching, training, and consulting in the areas of individual and organizational development.

Motivated, personable and highly-organized business professional with a concentrated education in the areas of organizational behavior and change, learning theory, knowledge management, training and development, psychology, and coaching with particular focus on effectiveness, motivation, organization and communication skills.

Successful, 15-year track record working directly with CEOs and senior management in a variety of industries, and 9 years entrepreneurial experience as coach and trainer. Natural leader and facilitator, adept at fostering collaborative relationships in a team environment. Strong client/customer service focus, characterized by integrity and trust.

Solid project management, problem solving, research, writing, and communication skills. Talent for quickly mastering technology (proficient in full Microsoft Office Suite). Flexible and versatile, and able to maintain a sense of humor under pressure.

Specialties

Coaching (life, business, career), training and development, organizational behavior/change/development, learning theory, knowledge management, psychology, project management, meeting planning, communication, leadership, effectiveness, motivation, and organization skills

Laura is currently a postdoctoral fellow at a state psychiatric hospital in Maryland, with a focus on substance abuse, trauma, and dual-diagnosis populations.  She is working in pursuit of licensure as a psychologist.

Samuel Kwon is a research assistant professor at the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.

Eleni is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Information Society in the Department of  Communication and Internet Studies at the Cyprus University of Technology.

When asked in high school to be a teaching assistant for one of Spectrum's Chemistry Honors classes, Deborah Lee had no idea what an impact the experience would make on her career. She has never ventured far from the Summer Program since, teaching in public schools in the Chicagoland area and then serving as Equinox program coordinator. In her current role as coordinator of the Summer Program, Deborah works with Summer Program teachers and staff to develop high-quality programming for gifted students completing PreK through grade 12. She enjoys seeing students excel and appreciates the opportunity to further the education of tomorrow’s leaders. Deborah holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and an advanced teaching credential, all from Northwestern University. Ever an educator, she spends free time teaching drawing and painting at a local community center.

Victor is an assistant professor of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University.

My name is Tondra L. Loder and I am a graduate student in Human Development and Social Policy. My working relationship with my advisor, James Spillane, has provided me with a unique opportunity to integrate human development and education policy. My research examines school leadership from an adult development perspective. From the life course perspective, I am examining how women school leaders' life trajectories and the subjective meanings of their work are shaped by family, work, community, and their gender and race identities. My project contrasts the lives of African American and Caucasian women principals who came of age either before or after two social movements of the 20th century which created new horizons of opportunity: the Civil Rights and the women's movements. This dissertation will contribute to our knowledge of generational differences between older and younger women school leaders' careers and life patterns, thereby helping us to better understand how they are impacted by changing, multiple contexts.

Research Assistant Professor.  Dr. Logan received an A.B. from the University of Michigan, a Master's from the University of Wisconsin and a second Master's and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She has taught at Mundelein College (now Loyola University) in Chicago where she also served as Director of Career Development. She was Director of Faculty Development and Assistant Dean for Educational Services at NU's School of Continuing Studies. Currently, she teaches in the School of Education and Social Policy.  Dr. Logan's research and interest areas include gender and generativity, spirituality and wisdom in adulthood, and career development. Dr. Logan is the director of the Foley Longitudinal Study of Adulthood. In addition, Dr. Logan has extensive experience in teaching and learning in adulthood.

Ben is working with Inquirium, LLC, a software design firm in Chicago.

Joyce is working at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California.

Exhibit developer and informal learning specialist.  Professional focus: creating engaging, user-centered learning environments; interpretive content development and management, usability design, information architecture. Specialized in strategic planning and holistic development solutions for exhibit and educational products—keeping the user at the center of the design process; identifying creative ways to leverage community connections; and continuing the learning process beyond the physical exhibit space.

Gabrielle is a postdoctoral fellow at Arizona State University.

Jeff Merrell has more than 20 years of business experience as both a consultant and corporate leader in learning and development, recruiting and marketing. He is founder of Purple Line Associates, a consultancy and research practice established in 2001 to help organizations define learning and knowledge management strategies and implement new technologies and practices. His consulting work includes projects for global leaders in the pharmaceutical and retail industries as well as not-for-profit and federal government organizations.

Molly received her bachelor's degree in Women’s Studies from Carleton College.  After graduating, she spent several years working in social services in Chicago.  Molly also spent two years as a research assistant on a randomized, Head Start-based intervention conducted by Cybele Raver at the University of Chicago.  Her advisor at Northwestern is Dan Lewis and she has also worked with David Figlio and Greg Duncan. 

Aki is an assistant professor in the School of Education at Stanford University.

Kathleen O'Connor is an independent consultant specializing in the identification and development of leadership talent.  Kathleen advises client organizations on optimal strategies for developing global leaders given the organization's future direction and talent demands. Kathleen also coaches individual leaders and encourages them to focus on strengths while continuously adjusting self-awareness. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Kathleen spent five years at Hewitt Associates as an internal consultant responsible for leadership development and succession planning. Before joining Hewitt, Kathleen was a manager of education and development at Motorola.

Kevin is an assistant professor of education and technology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Jeanne Marie Olson is an independent consultant with 15+ years of experience in the fields of participatory design, organizational learning, and knowledge management.

Prior to building her own consulting practice, she led the Chicago User Research Lab for Scient Corp. She helped to establish the knowledge management practice at Hewitt and was a charter member of Hewitt’s Center of Expertise for the Learning and Development Practice.

She was an inaugural member of the Doubletake Summer Documentary Institute for applied documentary studies in education, social activism and human development led by Dr. Robert Coles.

She has also served as a Design Coach for the Design for America Summer Fellows Program at NU's Segal Design Institute, collaborating with faculty from other schools at NU, professionals from across many industries, and coaching multidisciplinary student teams in user research and human-centered design projects that produce social impact.

Natalia A. Palacios is a sixth year Ph.D. student in Human Development and Social Policy in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She is a fellow in the Multidisciplinary Program for Education Sciences, funded by the Institute for Education Sciences and was awarded the American Psychological Association Minority Predoctoral Fellowship. She is a Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Policy Research. Natalia works with her advisor, Dr. P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, on the Welfare, Children and Families: A Three-City Study.

With a long-standing commitment to developmental, early education, and policy research, her overarching goal as a scholar is to advance the understanding of effective programs that improve children’s chances for academic success. With strong multidisciplinary training, her research focuses on issues specific to minority and immigrant children, the complex factors affecting the transition to school, teacher quality, and children’s cognitive development. Natalia lines's of research inform each other to attain a more nuanced understanding of achievement in understudied but fast growing groups. By focusing on these research questions and using multiple rigorous methodologies, she aims to contribute to the fund of knowledge necessary to address the significant challenges to educational policy and practice in the United States. 

Succecssfully defended dissertation in Human Development and Social Policy, with a concentration in Child Development and Social Policy. Will earn degree in December 2007.

Nichole is a senior researcher and research faculty member at the University of Chicago Center for Urban School Improvement.

Joe is an assistant professor and associate director at E. Desmond Lee Technology & Learning Center.

I am joining the Masters program in Learning Sciences with the intention of focusing on education in general. In particular, I am interested in learning about the development of learning/educational systems and the use of technology in education. I am moving to Northwestern university after a year in the PhD program in Marketing at the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. Before that, I worked for a couple of years with an e-learning company, HeyMath!, in Chennai, India. Here I was majorly involved in curriculum planning and design and developing interactive e-lessons in Mathematics for use as a teaching and learning resource. I have a masters in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

I come from India, a land of cultural and demographic diversity. I've grown up in a very close-knit family with an older sister. I have a passion for carnatic classical music and have been learning for the past 20 years. I love Chicago and I enjoy living here!

Deborah Puntenney, Ph.D. is currently the Associate Director of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, a member of the research faculty at Northwestern, and a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Chicago. She is also operates her own research and consulting firm specializing in the areas of asset-based community development, community based participatory research, program evaluation, and social justice strategies for philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. All of her work emphasizes strengthening neighborhood, nonprofit, philanthropic, and other organizations through the design and implementation of asset-oriented strategies.

Deborah teaches university courses in several topic areas, including the family in a changing society, US social welfare policy, asset-based community development, and gender and the life course. Her research and writing emphasize themes related to community, gender, social justice, and social policy.

Deborah has been working with John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann at the Asset-Based Community Development Institute for almost 20 years, first as a graduate research fellow, then Director of Research and Publications, and now Associate Director. In addition to authoring many of the institute’s publications, Dr. Puntenney has extensive experience working directly with community groups designing community-based participatory research projects, and partnering with them on the implementation of those efforts. Deborah's work with ABCD has taken her in a variety of directions, including exploring the application of asset-based community development principles to nonprofit settings. Her work with the Chicago Foundation for Women was published in the ABCD workbook series in a volume titled Building Sustainable Organizations from the Inside Out. Recently, she and Jody Kretzmann co-authored a chapter in an edited volume by Gary Paul Green, titled Mobilizing Communities: Asset Building as a Community Development Strategy (forthcoming 2009).

Deborah Puntenney, Ph.D. is the president of a consulting firm specializing in community and social change research, and evaluation.  Her work emphasizes strengthening nonprofit, philanthropic, and neighborhood organizations through the design and implementation of asset-oriented strategies.  Her research and writing emphasize themes related to community, gender, and social policy.

Josh is a program associate in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Established in 2003 by filmmaker Jennie Reinish, Tidepool Pictures is committed to producing high-quality documentaries to tell some of the incredible and unique stories occurring every day, all around the world. Jennie Reinish has also co-produced independent feature films as well, but these days focuses her attentions on documentaries and for-hire productions. Based in Santa Barbara, California, Tidepool Pictures offers video production services both locally and nationwide.

Ken is a Research Associate in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.

Erica is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Education at the University of  Wisconsin–Madison.

Bill is an associate professor in the School of Education & Information Studies at the University of California–Los Angeles.

Jennifer is the Manager of the Center for Teaching and Learning, at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. at Vanderbilt University

I completed my PhD (2009) in Learning Sciences with Prof. Uri Wilensky at the CCL.

Greg Shrader's research has focused on the design of on-line environments to support teacher learning. Current project include the National Science Foundation sponsored Living Curriculum Project as well as the DOE funded Illinois Professional Learners' Partnership (IPLP). The Living Curriculum is designed to support teachers' learning to implement project-based science by indexing video based examples of teaching and learning to project-based science curricula. Dr. Shrader's IPLP research focuses on the use of similar video cases to support learning for pre-service teachers.