Our Fellows

Emily Ayscue Hassel is co-director of Public Impact, where she co-leads Public Impact’s team and operations. She provides thought leadership and oversight to Public Impact’s work on teacher and leader policy, organizational change, parental choice of schools, and emerging opportunities for dramatic improvement in U.S. education. Her work has appeared in Education Week, Education Next and other publications. She was previously a consultant and manager for the Hay Group, a leading human resources consulting firm. Ms. Hassel received her law and master in business administration degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served on the North Carolina Law Review.

Ms. Hassel is leading Public Impact’s effort to develop and refine school and staffing models for giving more students access to excellent teaching and more teachers paid career advancement opportunities. She co-authored a range of publications on the topic, including school models and many practical tools for teachers, principals and districts; An Opportunity Culture for All; 3X for All: Extending the Reach of Education’s Best; Opportunity at the Top; Seizing Opportunity at the Top; A Better Blend; Teachers in the Age of Digital Instruction; Teacher Tenure Reform; Measuring Teacher and Leader Performance; and Improving Teaching Through Pay for Contribution for the National Governor’s Association; and many others. Other work includes Picky Parent Guide: Choose Your Child’s School with Confidence; Choosing the Right Preschool; and Professional Development: Learning from the Best, a toolkit, based on award-winning schools, on designing and implementing effective professional development.

In 2001, Carrie Bakken helped to open the Avalon School, a democratic, teacher- led, project-based charter school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Avalon School serves students in grades sixth through twelve. Students at Avalon School engage in self-directed projects and a student congress that shapes school rules. At Avalon, Carrie serves as both program coordinator and teacher. As program coordinator, she hosts visitors and researchers nationally and internationally who come to investigate Avalon School’s unique and successful model.

Carrie is also committed to spreading awareness about alternative education models. In partnership with education organizations such as Teacher Powered and Education Evolving, Carrie regularly presents at education conferences regarding democratic schools, project-based learning, and teacher-led schools. She is also a recipient of the WEM Excellent Educators Award in Ethics Education. Carrie has a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from the University of St. Thomas and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline University. Carrie also earned a Bachelor of Arts from Beloit College with a major in women’s studies and a minor in Latin American studies.

Jean Clements attended the University of Oregon, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Education and Special Education, and worked as a research assistant for the University of Oregon’s Direct Instruction Model Follow-Through Project. Jean returned to Florida as a high school teacher of children with learning disabilities in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, currently the eighth largest district in the country. After teaching and working in various positions, including district-wide resource teacher for the learning disabilities program, high school exceptional education specialist and department chair, and a district-wide specialist assisting secondary schools with all exceptional education programs, she was elected president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association. She has served as full-time union president since 2002.

Jean has served many years on the governance board for the Florida Education Association, on state and national association task forces and committees, and numerous district committees and task forces in Hillsborough. A member of the national American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Program and Policy Council, she has served on AFT committees studying and recommending policy on various topics, including high school reform, teacher evaluation, and Common Core state standards.

Celine Coggins is the founder and CEO of Teach Plus. Coggins is a former teacher and current Mind Trust Education Entrepreneur Fellow. She has a background that includes research, policy and K-12 teaching. She originally launched Teach Plus in 2007 as a subsidiary of the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy in Cambridge, MA and incorporated it as an independent 501c3 in 2009. She has been a labor-management consultant in Providence, RI as well as Worcester and Springfield, MA and was formerly special assistant to the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education on teacher quality. She is the author of more than two dozen reports and journal articles and the editor of two books. She earned her Ph. D. in Education Policy Analysis from Stanford University.

Kerrie Dallman is a high school American Government teacher and president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA). In this role, Kerrie leads on teaching and learning with a focus on supporting early career teachers and education support professionals.

She is a strong and vocal advocate for both teachers and public schools. Her leadership was critical in securing a 1. 5 million federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant, which was awarded to Jefferson County Public Schools in October of 2010. The grant funded a five-year study to assess the impact of Jeffco’s proposed Strategic Compensation plan (a targeted performance-based compensation system) on student achievement and on attracting, retaining, and rewarding high performing educators. Kerrie was one of only four teachers appointed by Governor Bill Ritter in 2010 to serve on the Council on Educator Effectiveness, which is charged with making recommendations on implementation of SB 191, Colorado’s groundbreaking evaluation law, to the State Board of Education.

For over a decade, Chris Eide has been a bold and creative leader of organizations, award-winning teacher and lecturer, political strategist and author. He is currently leading work around the country to organize and mobilize teachers for systemic change through his role at Teach Plus.

Chris is on faculty at the University of Washington, serves on several boards locally and nationally, and is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow and member of the British American Project. He holds a B.S. and a B.A. from the University of Washington and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.

Entering the teaching profession after a TV/film acting career, James Encinas has served for the past fifteen years as an educator and role model for the heavily Latino population at Westminster Avenue Elementary School. James helped found the Westminster Avenue Elementary School Endowment, a not-for-profit focused on strengthening ties with parents and the community at large. Faced with continuing declining enrollment in the school and the possibility of eventual closure, he and his colleagues focused on building ties with a diverse group of parents and community members. As a result, Westminster’s enrollment has stabilized and standardized test scores continue to soar.

James has also been very active in addressing teacher quality issues. As a UTLA Chapter Chair, James participates in a highly collaborative relationship with the Westminister Avenue principal, successfully focused on upgrading the caliber of faculty at the school. Most recently James has brought his passion for teacher quality and community-building experience to the formation of NewTLA, the political reform caucus within UTLA. As a founding member, he has recruited other reform-oriented teachers and become the group’s most forceful advocate for inclusion of a rigorous teacher evaluation system in the new UTLA/LAUSD collective bargaining agreement.

Nina Esposito-Visgitis has been an active member of the Pittsburgh community for over 30 years. Her long record of community leadership led the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers to appoint her as their new president in September 2011. Nina has been instrumental in reshaping the Pittsburgh public school system, and was a central figure in the creation of RISE, the teacher evaluation system that has gained national recognition for its innovation and utility. Nina also led the effort to involve teachers more directly in the Empowering Effective Teachers initiative. Her other involvement with the Pittsburgh community includes: serving as a Building Representative, Executive Council Board Member, PFT Staff Vice President for Middle Schools and as co-chair of the Special Education Communication Council; connecting speech and language specialists with the PFT through her work with the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association.

Heather Kirkpatrick is the Vice President of Education at Aspire Public Schools, a not-for-profit organization that develops and manages charter schools. She oversees Teacher Development (Aspire’s Teacher Residency and Induction programs, Instructional Coaching, and Talent Development); Principal Development (trainings and retreats); and Student Support Services (Counseling and Intervention programs).

Heather earned her Ph. D. in Education Administration and Policy Analysis at the Stanford University School of Education, her Masters in Education Administration and Policy Analysis from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her B. A. from Barnard College.

Tony Klemmer is the founder and president of the NAATE Program and The Center for Better Schools which is the nation’s most advanced program of learning for experienced, high performing K-12 classroom teachers. Today, NAATE serves over 300 top tier educators and over 220,000 students from across the nation in more than 35 charter, district and faith-based school organizations. Tony has participated in the start-up and board-level activities of a number of social enterprises. He has a long history in entrepreneurial settings, having helped found several high tech companies in the medical device, advanced materials and industrial automation industries, as well as international experience. Tony also managed a successful marketing, strategic planning and investment consultancy and led the healthcare and life science practice at a Boston-based boutique investment bank. 

Tony received his Ph.D. in Humanities from Salve Regina University. His doctoral work focused on “Moral Coherence in the Modern World.” He graduated from the Harvard Business School and has a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Tony taught in the MBA program at Babson College, and he is a cum laude graduate of Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, RI. In 2010, Tony and The Center for Better Schools were named one of 47 Finalists, from a field of over 500 applicants, as a Kauffman Foundation Education Venture Fellow. He is a Fellow of the first class of the Aspen Teacher Leaders Fellowship and is a member of and moderator for the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

As Vice President for High Schools & School Reform of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, David Low has negotiated three teacher contracts, and has played an integral role in New Haven’s extensive School Reform initiative since its inception, including crafting the current teachers’ contract, coordinating the creation and implementation of the new teacher evaluation process, sitting on the city-wide Reform Committee and serving as chair of the teachers’ Working Group on School Reform. He has been an invited guest speaker at ASCD’s Summer Institutes, CT Community Foundation’s Forum on School Change, Southern CT State University’s Achievement Gap Symposium and numerous Boards of Education.

A classroom teacher with 19 years’ experience in the areas of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics, Mr. Low still carries a full teaching load, in part to maintain his connection to the students and the work. He is a graduate of Pomona College (BA – Mathematics) and Southern CT State University’s post-secondary program (MS – Mathematics/ Secondary Teaching Certification).

Christopher Poulos, Connecticut’s 2007 Teacher of the Year, currently teaches at Joel Barlow High School in Redding, CT. He is National Board Certified and teaches all levels of Spanish. Chris previously served for two years in a hybrid role, splitting his time between teaching in his district and serving as a Teacher Leader-in-Residence at the Connecticut State Department of Education. Chris currently serves as Board Chair of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year and Immediate Past President of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council. In 2014, he was a Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow and previously was a member of the inaugural Teacher-Leader Fellowship hosted by the Aspen Institute.

Lewis Robinson is Executive Director of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association (PGCEA), the professional employee organization whose purpose is to improve the teaching and learning conditions in the Prince George’s County public schools and the professional well-being of its members, which is affiliated with the National Education Association. In July 1991, Mr. Robinson was hired as the director of PGCEA and he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the 9,000-plus member organization. As executive director, Mr. Robinson serves as chief negotiator in contract negotiations, heads up the association’s advocacy program, instructional initiatives, and legislative agenda and is responsible for programmatic and financial operations.

For the past 15 years, Mr. Robinson has served as the Chair of the Prince George’s County Labor Coalition, an organization that represents 25,000 public and private employees in Prince George’s County. Other current and former memberships include the Industrial Relations Research Association, Executive Board member of the National Staff Organization, Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, National “W” Club of West Virginia State University, NAACP, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, AAU, American Management Association, Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce and Progressive Maryland and the College Savings Plans of Maryland. Mr. Robinson is a graduate of West Virginia State University and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. He has specialized training on subject matters such as labor law, budget development, compensation packages, benefit plans and various other human resources and labor relations functions.

Cynthia Robinson-Rivers is the head of school at Van Ness Elementary School. Before her return to school leadership, Cynthia worked in the District of Columbia Public School’s (DCPS) central office as the director of teacher retention and recognition. In that role, she developed projects to improve retention of highly effective teachers, including LIFT: Leadership Initiative for Teachers, a career ladder system for teachers, and Teaching In Action, a program that connects teachers with high performing colleagues for classroom observations. Prior to her work on teacher retention, Cynthia directed the DCPS master educator program during the inaugural year of IMPACT, the district’s teacher evaluation system. Cynthia has taught in public schools in Oakland, East Palo Alto, and Washington, DC. She holds a BA in communication and art from Stanford University and a MA in education from George Washington University.

Mark Sass has been a history teacher in the Adams 12 Five Star School District since 1995. In 2000, he was part of the leadership team that helped open Legacy High School, where he currently teaches American History and U.S. Government. At Legacy, he serves as a Teacher Leader, the RtL Coordinator, the AP Coordinator and the Intervention Coordinator. He has been instrumental in bringing Professional Learning Communities to Legacy and the district.

Mark is also a blogger for EdNews Colorado, an education news website, and has been involved in educational reform throughout Colorado. He is a member of the Denver New Millennium Initiative, a working group of teachers advocating for the advancement of the teaching profession. He was also named one of the 2010 “best of” education reformers in Colorado by Education Reform Now. Mark was a 2014 Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow. Her is currently a 2015 U.S. Department of Eduction Classroom Teacher Ambassador Fellow.

Audrey Soglin is the Executive Director of the Illinois Education Association (IEA). Audrey received her Bachelor’s in Education from Northern Illinois University and did graduate work at Loyola University in Chicago. She taught in Evanston, Illinois, for 25 years. Ms. Soglin started her career teaching self-contained special education students and after eight years, moved to regular education where she taught kindergarten, first, second, fourth and fifth grades. During her career, Audrey was the president of the association and has served on local bargaining teams.

Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Illinois Education Association, Audrey was the Director of the Center for Education Innovation for IEA and the Executive Director of the Consortium for Educational Change. Audrey has done a great deal of staff development work during her career and has been featured in staff development videotapes by Everyday Math and Teachscape. She has developed a particular expertise in the areas of mentoring, teacher evaluation, formative assessment, and observation. She works closely with Charlotte Danielson and is a member of the Danielson Group. Audrey has worked with many joint committees to develop comprehensive standards based evaluation systems and trained principals and teachers to successfully use such systems. Audrey has also facilitated training and workshops in the areas of school and union leadership, data analysis, formative assessment, and school improvement. She has worked closely with large urban districts, suburban districts, small rural districts, regional offices of education, and association leaders.

Mike Stryer is California senior executive director of Teach Plus- focused on elevating teacher leadership in policy and instructional practice. Prior to Teach Plus, he taught Social Studies at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles for eight years, serving as the school’s Lead Teacher and the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) chapter chair. He co-founded NewTLA, a political reform caucus within UTLA’s governing body.

Before teaching, Mike worked in international business, heading international divisions of several U. S. consumer products companies, including Applause and Variflex. He has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Political Science and master’s degrees from Yale University and Pepperdine University.

Paul F. Toner, is the executive director of Teach Plus Massachusetts and president of Cambridge Strategic Partnerships, LLC providing education consulting services in Massachusetts. He is an experienced senior executive in education policy, association governance, labor, law and government relations.

Paul most recently served as the president of the VIVA Project, a nonprofit that engagd educators, parents and community members in solutions driven discussions about educational policy. He is also the former president of the 113,000-member Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), a position he held from 2010 to 2014. Paul, a middle school social studies teacher, lawyer and former president of the Cambridge Education Association, was elected MTA president after serving for four years as the MTA’s vice president. During his tenure, he made the MTA the voice of the profession and established the teachers union as a partner in developing and implementing state and federal policy such as teacher-evaluation frameworks, new curriculum standards, district and school accountability measures, while strengthening labor-management collaboration focused on improving student achievement.

Paul graduated from Boston University’s College of Liberal Arts with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations. He also holds a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Massachusetts in Boston and a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School. He lives in Cambridge with his wife, Susan, and their two children, Grace and Jack.

Andrew Vanden Heuvel found a passion for astronomy in the 8th grade. His enthusiasm for the universe propelled him through South Christian High School and to Calvin College, where he earned dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics and discovered a previously unseen asteroid. In graduate school at the University of Florida, Andrew earned his master’s degree in astrophysics and continued making celestial discoveries, including the new extrasolar planet, HD 102195b.

In 2006, Andrew found a new passion: providing authentic opportunities for students to engage in science and mathematics in school. After earning his high school teaching certificate and teaching physics, math, and astronomy for several years, Andrew founded AGL Initiatives, a consulting firm focused on creating engaging and authentic projects and curriculum for schools, companies, and government agencies. Working extensively with Michigan Virtual School as an online teacher and course developer, Andrew has embraced the vision that online learning is an essential element of quality education.

Andrew has received special recognition as a Hubble Top Star Educator, 2011 Michigan Online Teacher of the Year, and a finalist for the National Online Teacher of the Year award. In addition to Michigan Virtual, Andrew also works with clients such as USA TODAY Education, NASA, and New York City Public Schools. Andrew enjoys photography, PBS, and anything that flies. He is the youngest of five boys and continues to pursue his boyhood dream of becoming an astronaut.

Robert Williams currently teaches Geometry, Algebra 1, and AP Calculus at Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska. Bob is the Alaska 2009 Teacher of the Year and also received the 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching. He was one of five national finalists for the 2010 NEA Foundation Teaching Excellence award. He began his teaching career as a Peace Corps teacher in Gambia, Africa. His highest award was a student’s 2008 graduation stole with the following note: Mr. Williams, I have a confession to make. Before this year, I didn’t like math. It was a struggle and made very little sense. Calculus was another story entirely. You made it fun, exciting, and easy to learn. I went from despising math to babbling incessantly about integrals and derivatives in the span of 9 months. I sport my calculus tee- shirt proudly and will bring my cross-sections project wherever life manages to take me. I haven’t told my parents for fear that they will disown me, but I have every intention of minoring in math.

Bob has a B. S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, an M. A. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University, and an M. Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration.