Personnel Shortages and the Recruitment of Special Education, Mathematics, and Science Teachers in At-Risk Schools: Presenter Bios

National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality National Issue Forum

Presenter Bios

Terry Dozier, Ed.D.
Dr. Dozier is the director of the Center for Teacher Leadership (CTL) at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Education where she also serves as national teacher in residence and associate professor in the School of Education. CTL works with accomplished teachers throughout Virginia and the nation to do the following:

Promote the concept of teachers as leaders of change.
Develop more effective teacher leaders through access to information and high-quality training.
Share the knowledge, experience, and insight of teachers with policymakers and others.

Dr. Dozier also chairs the Metropolitan Educational Training Alliance (META), a partnership among Chesterfield County Public Schools, Hanover County Public Schools, Henrico County Public Schools, Richmond City Public Schools, and VCU as well as the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. She serves as principal investigator for the META Teacher Development and Retention Project, a $5.9 million federally funded effort to improve the preparation and retention of teachers in the metropolitan Richmond area.

Prior to joining VCU, Dr. Dozier served as senior advisor on teaching to former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. In this capacity, she served as the administration's top policy advisor on all teaching issues. Dr. Dozier also led the U.S. Department of Education's teaching initiative with primary responsibility for the development and implementation of a strategic plan to improve teacher recruitment, preparation, and ongoing professional development, including overall leadership in research, evaluation, and data collection on teacher quality.

While teaching world history at Irmo High School in Columbia, South Carolina, Dr. Dozier was named the 1985 National Teacher of the Year. She has 19 years of classroom teaching experience in settings as diverse as inner-city Miami, suburban South Carolina, and the Singapore American School.

Dr. Dozier earned an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina as well as a master's of education and a bachelor's degree in social studies education from the University of Florida.

Phoebe Gillespie, Ph.D.
Dr. Gillespie is the director of the Office of Special Education–funded National Center for Special Education Personnel and Related Service Providers at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. She has more than 30 years of experience in the field of special education serving children, ages birth to 21, in a variety of settings. Dr. Gillespie has worked as a paraprofessional, infant home and classroom teacher, mental health facility education director, diagnostician, building-level administrator, and recruitment and retention outreach manager for the Council for Exceptional Children's Professions Clearinghouse. She holds a Ph.D. in educational policy, planning, and leadership from the College of William and Mary. She enjoys facilitating the design of effective plans for workforce development at the state and local levels.

Eric Hirsch
Eric Hirsch is executive director of the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ, formerly the Southeast Center for Teaching Quality), a national organization that improves student learning by developing teacher leadership, conducting practical research, and engaging various communities. His work at CTQ has focused largely on better understanding and improving teacher working conditions. Prior to working at CTQ, Hirsch served as the executive director of the Colorado-focused Alliance for Quality Teaching and as education program manager at the National Conference of State Legislatures. He has worked with and testified to legislatures and policymakers across the country and presented at numerous conference about issues of teaching quality, school choice, and leadership. He has authored more than 30 articles, reports, book chapters, and policy briefs published by groups such as the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the U.S. Department of Education. His work has appeared in Congressional Quarterly, the Journal of Special Education, and in the publications of the University of Pittsburgh Press. Hirsch received his teacher certification in Massachusetts and his master's degree from the University of Colorado.

Richard Ingersoll, Ph.D.
After teaching in both public and private schools for a number of years, Dr. Ingersoll earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. From 1995 to 2000, he was a faculty member in the sociology department at the University of Georgia and he currently is a professor of education and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Ingersoll's research is concerned with the character of elementary and secondary schools as workplaces, teachers as employees, and teaching as a job. He has published numerous articles, reports, and pieces on the management and organization of schools; the problem of underqualified teachers; the debate about school accountability; the problems of teacher turnover and teacher shortages; the status of teaching as a profession; and the degree to which schools are centralized or decentralized and its impact on school performance.

His research is recognized nationally; was cited by President Clinton in a number of speeches announcing his teacher recruitment and training initiatives; influenced the No Child Left Behind Act; and has been featured in numerous major education reports, including those published by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, The Education Trust, the Alliance for Excellence in Education, the National Governors Association, and the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Dr. Ingersoll has received a number of awards, including the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Teaching from the University of Georgia; the Harry Braverman Award, from the Society for the Study of Social Problems, for his work on organizational control and accountability in schools; an American Educational Research Association fellowship, for which he served in residence at the National Center for Education Statistics; the 2004 National Award of Distinction from the Penn Education Alumni Association; and the 2004 Outstanding Writing Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education for his book, Who Controls Teachers' Work? Power and Accountability in America's Schools, published by Harvard University Press (www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/INGWHO.html).

Dr. Ingersoll has conducted numerous briefings of local, state, and federal policymakers and has been invited to present his research before many groups, including the Congressional Hearings on Teacher Preparation Initiatives held by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce in 1998; the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, chaired by Senator John Glenn; the Science and the Congress Briefing in 2000; the 2001 Congressional Research Service's seminar for new members of Congress, sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives; the Council of the City of New York; and state education reform commissions in many states.

Amy Jackson
Amy Jackson is deputy director of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. She has a wide array of educational experiences and expertise in teacher quality program development and implementation as well as examination design.

Prior to her employment at Learning Point Associates, Jackson worked with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for eight years. As administrator of examinations, teacher development, and research, she directed teacher examination programs focused on basic skills (California Basic Educational Skills Test), subject-matter content (California Subject Examinations for Teachers), English language development (California Teacher of English Learners), reading instruction (Reading Instruction Competence Assessment), and performance assessment, including the California Teaching Performance Assessment and the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers. In addition, she was responsible for the administration of several large-scale teacher development initiatives, including the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program as well as the paraprofessional, preintern, and intern programs. Jackson also participated as a member of the senior management team for the CCTC executive director, providing guidance to policy development for teacher certification and license issues.

Before working at CCTC, Jackson was affiliated with WestEd in San Francisco. She provided regional technical assistance to state and local education agencies in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington and developed classroom-based assessments for both students and teachers through the California Teaching Portfolio. She also worked on the development of a career and vocational performance assessment system for the California Department of Education.

Earlier in her career, Jackson worked at the Connecticut Department of Education's Division of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment where she developed student criterion-referenced exams and performance assessments such as the Connecticut Mastery Test and Common Core of Learning assessments. She also worked for the Virginia Department of Education, developing Standards of Learning for art and music. She began her career in education as a certified K–12 art teacher in Richmond, Virginia.

Jackson has completed the coursework for a doctorate in quantitative methodology from the University of California–Berkeley. She holds a master's degree in educational psychology and measurement from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor's of fine arts degree in visual and performing arts with a K–12 teaching credential from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Paul L. Kimmelman, Ed.D.
Dr. Kimmelman is a senior advisor in the office of the CEO at Learning Point Associates. He also has served as a consultant to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in England and senior consultant to Project 2061 Professional Development programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He worked in K–12 education for more than 30 years as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, middle school principal, high school assistant principal, and teacher and has been an adjunct professor at several colleges and universities. He also is working currently at Argosy University as an adjunct professor.

As superintendent in Lima, Ohio, Dr. Kimmelman worked to help the district successfully comply with a federal desegregation order. He served as president of the First in the World Consortium when he was a superintendent in Illinois. The consortium was a collaborative group of school districts that was the first noncountry group to participate in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The group was recognized by President Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley when they visited Illinois to announce their world-class successful work.

Dr. Kimmelman has authored numerous articles and publications on education and has presented at national and state education meetings. He is coauthor of the book, Achieving World-Class Schools: Mastering School Improvement Using a Genetic Model, released by Christopher-Gordon Publishing in 2002. His newest book, Implementing NCLB: Creating a Knowledge Framework to Support School Improvement, was released by Corwin Press in April 2006.

Dr. Kimmelman was appointed by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley to the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching, which was chaired by former astronaut Senator John Glenn, and served on the TIMSS technical review panel. He also was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige to serve on the Teacher Assistance Corps and is participating in the Teacher-to-Teacher project, offering sessions on building teacher leaders. He also serves as an advisory board member for the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Sabrina W. M. Laine, Ph.D.
Dr. Laine is a chief officer at Learning Point Associates and director of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality . Dr. Laine has a diverse background in educational policy research and teacher quality and has spearheaded efforts to contribute to policy research and resource development related to issues of teacher quality and quantity. Her work includes several published studies on teacher supply and demand, teacher professional development, alternative certification, teacher recruitment and retention, and teacher turnover. As former chief officer for research and development at Learning Point Associates and acting director of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL)—the regional educational laboratory (REL) serving the Midwest—Dr. Laine was responsible for a full-time staff of 45 and a $9 million annual budget. Her responsibilities also included managing state and federal contracts to conduct research and development on such topics as school reform, technology evaluation, data-driven decision making, and closing the achievement gaps. She is skilled in working closely and effectively with local, state, regional, and federal education agencies; sensitive to the challenges faced by educators in urban, rural, and low-performing schools; agile in establishing and sustaining collaborative relationships with other organizations; and efficient in managing both financial and human resources. Dr. Laine also is experienced in managing volunteer advisory boards and serving on advisory boards of national organizations, including the Education Commission of the States and the National Governors Association. Dr. Laine has worked for the last several years to ensure that policies and programs are in place that enable all children to have access to highly qualified teachers. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana University and holds a master's degree in European law and economics from the University of Amsterdam.

Kawanda McLendon
McLendon, a recruitment specialist for the California Troops to Teachers Program and Teacher Recruitment and Support Center in San Diego, is a dedicated professional with experience in teacher recruitment, human resources management, and career counseling. Currently, she manages recruitment efforts and implements supportive services to help military service members transition into a second career in teaching, particularly in the areas of mathematics, science, special education, and bilingual education. She formed the San Diego Project, a partnership between the California Troops to Teachers Program and San Diego City Schools District, which recruits military personnel into an alternative certification program to fill teacher vacancies in high-need areas.

In addition to working with midcareer changers and military service members, she coordinates the Paraprofessional Training and Assessment Program, which is designed to assist paraprofessionals in becoming No Child Left Behind compliant and offer professional development to enhance their content knowledge and pedagogical skills. McLendon also facilitates trainings and conducts ongoing presentations at U.S. military bases, school districts, universities and colleges, teacher training institutions, and conferences to address teacher shortages in high-need subject areas.

Prior to joining the California Troops to Teachers program, she worked as a human resources representative at private sector organizations, such as Southwestern Bell Communications Corp. and Kraft Foods. In these assignments, she was responsible for professional recruitment of candidates and performed generalist duties, such as diversity training, employee relations, and new hire orientations.

She then worked for several years as the assistant director of career services at St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM). She provided career counseling and other career-related services to students, alumni, and community members. She also coordinated student teaching assignments for the students at SMCM.

Janice Hutchinson Poda, Ph.D.
Dr. Poda is the deputy superintendent of the Division of Educator Quality and Leadership at the South Carolina Department of Education. The division provides guidance and technical assistance to educators in the areas of preparation, certification, evaluation, and recognition as well as the implementation of Part II, A, of the No Child Left Behind Act. Prior to this position, Dr. Poda served for 10 years as the director of the South Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment, now known as the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement.

Janice also has served as the assistant superintendent for personnel in Greenwood, South Carolina. She has been a middle school social studies teacher and a high school special education teacher. She earned her bachelor's degree in social studies at the University of South Carolina; a master's degree in special education at the University of Georgia; and a Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Poda has received the Winthrop University Richard W. Riley College of Education's Award of Excellence for Educational Leadership as well as the "Distinguished Alumni" Award from the University of South Carolina College of Education.

Chris Reising
Reising currently is the director of the Southern California Teacher Recruitment and Support Center (SCTRSC) located in San Diego County.

Reising, who holds a K–8 elementary teaching credential and an administrative services credential, spent the first 10 years of his career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher at a highly diverse, inner-city magnet school in the San Diego Unified School District. He then worked for several years coordinating San Diego City Schools' Mentor Teacher Program and New Teacher Support Programs.

For the last nine years, Reising has worked as the cluster region director for California's statewide Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) induction program. In this regional role, he offers technical assistance to 86 Southern California school districts in the design, implementation, and maintenance of program evaluation and improvement activities. He has served on numerous state committees and task forces for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education. Reising spearheaded California's effort to tailor the state's induction program to meet the unique needs of special educators. Currently he is leading statewide efforts to blend alternative certification (California's intern program) and BTSA induction support in California's two-tiered credential structure.

For the last three years, Reising has served as director of SCTRSC, which serves 86 Southern California school districts and offers services to teacher candidates, new teachers, experienced teachers, school districts, alternative certification programs, and university-based teacher preparation programs. The center's activities cover the entire teacher development spectrum, from recruitment, preparation, and certification to hiring, professional development, and retention. One of the center's current efforts is developing a K–12/Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) collaborative in the Southern California region. This effort is bringing together school district human resource directors, induction program directors, and IHE deans and faculty to address the challenges facing teachers, universities, and school districts today.

In addition, Reising currently serves as the lead consultant to San Diego County school districts and universities on the implementation of No Child Left Behind's highly qualified teacher requirements.

George Ann Rice, Ph.D.
Dr. Rice is associate superintendent of the Human Resources Division at the Clark County School District in Las Vegas. In this position, which she has held since 1991, Dr. Rice has districtwide responsibility for the recruitment, selection, placement, induction, and retention of more than 16,600 licensed teachers; 1,000 administrators; and 9,000 support staff employees. Dr. Rice is responsible for contract compliance, employee-management relations, and securing changes in Nevada law and Nevada administrative code related to employment and licensure issues. She is a former attorney as well as high school assistant principal, teacher, and department chair. In the last few years, Dr. Rice has served as one of three appointees of the governor on the Interim Legislative Committee on Higher Education; chaired the Nevada Task Force of the National Governors Association, Center for Best Practices, Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers; served as lead negotiator for Clark County School District negotiations with three unions, through which she was able to have three four-year labor contracts ratified before school began in 2003 using interest-based negotiating; participated in the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future Summit on the First Three Years of Teaching at the Johnson Foundation's Wingspread in September 2003; served as member of the Teachers' Council for Western Governors University; served as member of National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educators Board of Examiners, representing the National Association of Secondary School Principals; and served as a representative of K–12 education on National Association of Systems Head University Chancellors Work Group.

Patricia O'Connell Ross
Ross is the team leader for the Mathematics and Science Partnerships program at the U.S. Department of Education. In 15 years of federal service, she also managed the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program, the national Eisenhower mathematics and science programs, and the Fund for the Improvement of Education. Prior to joining the Department of Education, she served as associate director of Project 2061, a part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; director of academic programs with the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University, a program serving more than 5,000 students in programs around the world; and as an education specialist with the Maine Department of Education. She received her undergraduate degree in anthropology from Beloit College, a master's of arts in teaching in museum education from George Washington University, and a master's in education in education policy from Harvard University.

Cortney Rowland
Cortney Rowland is a program associate at Learning Point Associates. She is part of the teacher and teaching quality team and serves as the coordinator of policy products and services for the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Rowland has a strong background in research, evaluation, and policy analysis. Much of her experience has been focused on at-risk students and the issue of teacher and teaching quality in at-risk schools. Her prior experience includes two years of evaluating state-funded education programs in Columbus, Ohio, where she primarily worked on a five-part evaluation of Ohio's charter schools. She also comanaged a study of Ohio's achievement gaps. Rowland earned her master's degree in sociology from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and is working on her doctoral degree in sociology at Loyola University–Chicago.

Ariela Rozman
Rozman is the vice president of Cohort Programs at The New Teacher Project. Before joining The New Teacher Project, she led the Online Marketing group for PlanetRx.com, which included managing the company's online new-customer acquisition strategy; media buying and creative agency relationships; and large partnerships with companies, such as AOL, Yahoo!, and iVillage. Prior to joining PlanetRx.com, Rozman worked as a special assistant to the CEO at Muresco, a retail and manufacturing conglomerate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she was responsible for rolling out a streamlined organizational process for the company and developing and implementing the corresponding learning modules. Rozman also has served as a consultant at Bain & Co., a leading strategy consulting firm, working with Fortune 500 companies to improve their overall growth strategies and revenue opportunities. She holds a bachelor's degree in political and social thought from the University of Virginia.

Rebecca Villarreal
As the community service program consultant for the National Retired Teacher's Association (NRTA): AARP's Educator Community, Villarreal manages outreach efforts by working with a nationwide network of community service chairs comprising retired educators and school personnel. Collectively, they focus on meeting the needs of local populations of all ages and finding new and inventive ways to recruit, motivate, and recognize volunteers for their service. In addition, she leads the With Our Youth! program and manages NRTA's Educator Support Network project in partnership with Chicago Public Schools and the Retired Teachers Association of Chicago.

Prior to NRTA, Villarreal managed the dissemination grants program at the AARP Andrus Foundation and worked at Ogilvy Public Relations where she was a member of the education group servicing clients such as the Job Shadow Day Coalition and the U.S. Department of Labor's National School-to-Work office. She formerly served a four-year term on the board of Teaching for Change. Featured in The Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune, Villarreal is a published poet and visual and performing artist who has appeared on stage and television. She also has taught creative writing workshops to public school teachers and children.

Vincent B. Watkins, J.D.
Vincent B. Watkins, is the founder and CEO of The Watkins Group, Inc., an Atlanta-based political strategy firm. Watkins has more than 25 years of experience working within political and corporate arenas. He specializes in the development and implementation of grass-roots community-based marketing campaigns targeting diverse populations. His success is related directly to his ability to empower others to access previously untapped consumer markets by using a language to which their target audience will respond positively.

Since 2002, Watkins has worked in the area of recruitment and retention in special education to train educational communities to develop, implement, and evaluate community-based recruitment campaigns to attract a more diverse population to careers in special education. Vincent tailors his training to the needs and contexts of diverse communities, using a comprehensive resource base and network of relationships. Watkins's work largely has been influenced by research on the impact of culturally and linguistically diverse teachers on the achievement of students from similar backgrounds.

He currently is engaged in developing and implementing statewide diversity recruitment campaigns for states and local school districts that are receiving services through the National Association of State Directors of Special Education's federally funded project, the National Center for Special Education Personnel and Related Service Providers.

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