8th Annual DATAWISE Users' Conference Presenter Bios

DATAWISE IN ACTION: Connecting the Platform, Assessment Content, and Data for Student Success!

Download a PDF of the presenter bios.

STAFF PRESENTERS

	Anne Bierwirth \| Trainer and Proposal Writer Anne brings experience in specialized learning, school administration, and data analysis to her DATAWISE sales and marketing support position. She previously worked for 10 years in Title I and special education roles. Earlier in her career she developed strategic planning and marketing analysis skills in other service industries. Her background has familiarized her with the analytical needs of school and district administrators and the daily challenges teachers face.

	Andrea Chan \| Product Development Lead Andrea brings nearly two decades of teaching, educational technology, and educational publishing experience to her DATAWISE product development role. She has experience managing state- and district-level assessment programs. In her previous role as a program director, she oversaw the Utah state testing program. Prior to joining Measured Progress, Andrea managed the technical and content development aspects of assessment product development, gaining valuable experience developing and managing interim assessment programs for districts.

	Ron Deardorff \| Project Manager Ron brings nearly 15 years of teaching experience and more than three decades of information technology experience to his DATAWISE project management role. He has an extensive background in both application development and project management. Prior to joining Measured Progress, Ron provided customer support and account management to both domestic and international clients. He also teaches several information technology courses at the community college level. Ron's diverse background enhances DATAWISE's ability to meet the current and future needs of district and school educators and their students.

	Jason Dunton \| Business Analyst Jason has more than 14 years of experience in project management and product development roles, concentrating on assessment product development, training services, instructional design, and software development. Before coming to Measured Progress, Jason worked in various project management and business analysis capacities that supported the development of web-based software and courseware products. Jason's experience also includes three years as the scoring project manager for the California English Language Development test. Jason's diverse experience in the education and technology industries helps him effectively support enhancements for the continued development of DATAWISE.

	Deb Farrington \| Professional Development Specialist Deb provides consultation and training to improve student achievement by helping educators align curriculum and instruction with effective assessment practice. She brings more than 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher, curriculum coordinator, district improvement coordinator, and graduate-level instructor to her role. Deb has worked with numerous educators at the state, district, and classroom levels to implement the formative assessment process within a comprehensive assessment system. Deb's particular expertise focuses on helping instructional leaders and learning teams use data to support teaching and learning.

	DeAnna Gallagher \| Vice President of District Assessment Solutions As founder of DATAWISE, DeAnna has worked in collaboration with program evaluators, educators, and school administrators to build a nationally recognized assessment and student data system. Now vice president of district assessment solutions for Measured Progress, DeAnna combines her knowledge of the education field, assessment industry, systems architecture, and data integration to provide strategic leadership. She routinely shares her expertise through presentations to district selection panels, user groups, management teams, education professionals, and business community members.

	Kevin Mannion \| Account Manager and Trainer For the past eight years, Kevin has served as a DATAWISE account manager and lead product trainer, helping districts successfully implement the platform. He has an additional seven years of experience working in kindergarten through post-secondary education. Kevin's experience working with numerous districts and staff has provided him with the skills and best practices to effectively deploy enterprise-level assessment and data management systems such as DATAWISE. He excels at finding creative solutions through his unique understanding of district needs, situations, and cultures to help educators meet goals and promote student growth.

	Dirk Mattson, Ph.D. \| Vice President of Test Design, Development, and Operations Dirk has broad education experience that spans more than 20 years. After serving as a middle school teacher for several years, he became a special programs coordinator and then a curriculum coordinator. Dirk spent eight years with the Minnesota Department of Education, first as manager of test development and then as director of research and assessment. Throughout his career, he has overseen a wide range of initiatives as part of the standards reform movement. Dirk understands both policy and practice, enabling him to serve as a powerful resource for states and districts addressing today's education challenges.

	Jeremy O'Neil \| Professional Development Specialist Jeremy provides DATAWISE clients with consultation and training and develops and delivers professional development. He has extensive experience in the areas of schoolwide improvement programs and classroom teaching. He has led professional learning teams through inquiry-based processes to help them better understand how to use assessment data to improve instruction, as well as how data relates to teaching and learning.

	Kelly Powell \| National Assessment Consultant Kelly has worked on student assessment and instructional issues at the state and local levels since the inception of the standards movement. Kelly joined the Arizona Department of Education in 1990, rising to the position of assessment director. In this role, he helped expand the statewide assessment program to include English language learners and students with disabilities. The insights he gained at the state level helped inform his successful work at the Madison School District in central Phoenix. Kelly's wide-ranging assessment experience enables him to assist educators in finding the right assessment solutions that meet their needs and improve student learning.

	Jason Sutch, Ph.D. \| Vice President of National Sales and Marketing Jason has almost 20 years of experience in education. His background includes expertise in the curriculum, instruction, and assessment industries, in which he has worked with state and local clients to implement general and special education products and services for pre-K-12, dropouts, and adult education. Jason's public education experience includes service as a teacher, high school administrator, and district level administrator for curriculum and assessment. With experience spanning formative, summative, clinical, and large-scale assessments, as well as staff development, Jason helps Measured Progress support states, schools, and districts in achieving their goals.

	Sheri Trombatore \| Account Manager Sheri has filled numerous roles during her nine years with DATAWISE, including positions in client support, quality assurance, office management, accounts receivable, and event coordination. As an account manager, Sheri works closely with new and existing clients across the country to meet their needs and requests and help them successfully implement DATAWISE. Prior to working for DATAWISE, Sheri managed a small business and spent 20 years volunteering and working closely with local school systems in classroom and administrative roles. Sheri highly values her close relationships and strong rapport with her clients and is dedicated to supporting their student achievement goals.

	Beth Williams \| National Assessment Consultant of Consortia and Strategic Accounts Beth has more than 10 years of experience in the curriculum, instruction, assessment, and technology industries. She has been a teacher, principal, and district director of instructional technology and professional development. As a "school turnaround" principal, Beth used data to raise test scores 40 percentile points over three years. She is a successful grant writer, having won more than $5 million in grants over four years. She also served as a partner for a $10 million federal challenge grant award. Beth is excited to share her successful grant writing tips with our DATAWISE clients and to help them use data to inform instruction.

CLIENT PRESENTERS

	Uve Dahmen \| Director of Assessment and Accountability Twin Rivers Unified School District, McClellan, CA Uve has been involved in research and testing for the last nine years. During this time, he has worked to build cutting-edge measurement data; manage state and local testing programs; evaluate student achievement; and provide professional development to teachers, student learning coaches, and district office staff. Uve continues to develop and maintain common reporting methods that link formative, interim, and state summative data using DATAWISE.

	Renee Figura \| Resource Specialist Branciforte Middle School, Santa Cruz, CA Renee Figura is in her seventh year of teaching middle school students in a full-inclusion model. She is a member of Branciforte’s leadership team and believes in using data to inform instruction.

	Sue Gilliam \| Information Systems Manager Genesee Intermediate School District, Flint, MI Sue joined the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) in 2008, bringing with her 26 years of information technology experience. Sue leads a team of application analysts and application support specialists that provides implementation, integration, training, and help desk support and custom programming for GISD’s software products and services. Sue’s team works in close collaboration with the 21 local school districts in Genesee County. Prior to working for GISD, Sue held several positions at Electronic Data Systems, where she worked as a systems engineer, financial and administrative systems manager, and regional technical services manager.

	Sara Goldfarb \| 8th Grade Core Teacher Branciforte Middle School, Santa Cruz, CA Sara has taught middle school English, history, and drama for 12 years to a wide range of socio-economic and linguistic populations. She has multiple years of experience teaching leveled and unleveled classrooms of students, and has also been actively engaged in the development of meaningful, cost-efficient testing structures that support student achievement. Sara has been a member of Branciforte’s leadership team since the program’s inception six years ago.

	Wendy Thompson \| 8th Grade Core Teacher Branciforte Middle School, Santa Cruz, CA Wendy has more than 20 years of teaching experience, including many years at both the primary and middle school levels. She has been a member of Branciforte’s leadership team for six years, and in 2009 won the Santa Cruz Education Foundation’s Eddy Award for Teacher of the Year in grades 6-8.

	Ellen Vorenkamp, Ed. D \| Assessment Consultant Wayne Regional Education Service Agency, Wayne, Michigan Ellen has worked in education for more than 20 years as a teacher, administrator, and private consultant. She now serves as an assessment consultant for Wayne RESA, a regional educational service agency that supports 34 school districts in southeast Michigan.

Users' Conference links

Do you want to learn more about how DATAWISE helps educators translate data into instructional action? If so, your school or district might be interested in the Putting Assessment Data into Action tutorial series. In this series, your team will learn more about the benefits of using assessment data and the skills necessary to support effective data analysis in the classroom.

Did you attend the plenary on the implications of the Common Core State Standards? Learn more about Measured Progress’s overall approach to addressing these new standards by downloading the white paper The Common Core State Standards: How well are existing items aligned?

	Anne Bierwirth \| Trainer and Proposal Writer Anne brings experience in specialized learning, school administration, and data analysis to her DATAWISE sales and marketing support position. She previously worked for 10 years in Title I and special education roles. Earlier in her career she developed strategic planning and marketing analysis skills in other service industries. Her background has familiarized her with the analytical needs of school and district administrators and the daily challenges teachers face.

	Andrea Chan \| Product Development Lead Andrea brings nearly two decades of teaching, educational technology, and educational publishing experience to her DATAWISE product development role. She has experience managing state- and district-level assessment programs. In her previous role as a program director, she oversaw the Utah state testing program. Prior to joining Measured Progress, Andrea managed the technical and content development aspects of assessment product development, gaining valuable experience developing and managing interim assessment programs for districts.

	Ron Deardorff \| Project Manager Ron brings nearly 15 years of teaching experience and more than three decades of information technology experience to his DATAWISE project management role. He has an extensive background in both application development and project management. Prior to joining Measured Progress, Ron provided customer support and account management to both domestic and international clients. He also teaches several information technology courses at the community college level. Ron's diverse background enhances DATAWISE's ability to meet the current and future needs of district and school educators and their students.

	Jason Dunton \| Business Analyst Jason has more than 14 years of experience in project management and product development roles, concentrating on assessment product development, training services, instructional design, and software development. Before coming to Measured Progress, Jason worked in various project management and business analysis capacities that supported the development of web-based software and courseware products. Jason's experience also includes three years as the scoring project manager for the California English Language Development test. Jason's diverse experience in the education and technology industries helps him effectively support enhancements for the continued development of DATAWISE.

	Deb Farrington \| Professional Development Specialist Deb provides consultation and training to improve student achievement by helping educators align curriculum and instruction with effective assessment practice. She brings more than 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher, curriculum coordinator, district improvement coordinator, and graduate-level instructor to her role. Deb has worked with numerous educators at the state, district, and classroom levels to implement the formative assessment process within a comprehensive assessment system. Deb's particular expertise focuses on helping instructional leaders and learning teams use data to support teaching and learning.

	DeAnna Gallagher \| Vice President of District Assessment Solutions As founder of DATAWISE, DeAnna has worked in collaboration with program evaluators, educators, and school administrators to build a nationally recognized assessment and student data system. Now vice president of district assessment solutions for Measured Progress, DeAnna combines her knowledge of the education field, assessment industry, systems architecture, and data integration to provide strategic leadership. She routinely shares her expertise through presentations to district selection panels, user groups, management teams, education professionals, and business community members.

	Kevin Mannion \| Account Manager and Trainer For the past eight years, Kevin has served as a DATAWISE account manager and lead product trainer, helping districts successfully implement the platform. He has an additional seven years of experience working in kindergarten through post-secondary education. Kevin's experience working with numerous districts and staff has provided him with the skills and best practices to effectively deploy enterprise-level assessment and data management systems such as DATAWISE. He excels at finding creative solutions through his unique understanding of district needs, situations, and cultures to help educators meet goals and promote student growth.

	Dirk Mattson, Ph.D. \| Vice President of Test Design, Development, and Operations Dirk has broad education experience that spans more than 20 years. After serving as a middle school teacher for several years, he became a special programs coordinator and then a curriculum coordinator. Dirk spent eight years with the Minnesota Department of Education, first as manager of test development and then as director of research and assessment. Throughout his career, he has overseen a wide range of initiatives as part of the standards reform movement. Dirk understands both policy and practice, enabling him to serve as a powerful resource for states and districts addressing today's education challenges.

	Jeremy O'Neil \| Professional Development Specialist Jeremy provides DATAWISE clients with consultation and training and develops and delivers professional development. He has extensive experience in the areas of schoolwide improvement programs and classroom teaching. He has led professional learning teams through inquiry-based processes to help them better understand how to use assessment data to improve instruction, as well as how data relates to teaching and learning.

	Kelly Powell \| National Assessment Consultant Kelly has worked on student assessment and instructional issues at the state and local levels since the inception of the standards movement. Kelly joined the Arizona Department of Education in 1990, rising to the position of assessment director. In this role, he helped expand the statewide assessment program to include English language learners and students with disabilities. The insights he gained at the state level helped inform his successful work at the Madison School District in central Phoenix. Kelly's wide-ranging assessment experience enables him to assist educators in finding the right assessment solutions that meet their needs and improve student learning.

	Jason Sutch, Ph.D. \| Vice President of National Sales and Marketing Jason has almost 20 years of experience in education. His background includes expertise in the curriculum, instruction, and assessment industries, in which he has worked with state and local clients to implement general and special education products and services for pre-K-12, dropouts, and adult education. Jason's public education experience includes service as a teacher, high school administrator, and district level administrator for curriculum and assessment. With experience spanning formative, summative, clinical, and large-scale assessments, as well as staff development, Jason helps Measured Progress support states, schools, and districts in achieving their goals.

	Sheri Trombatore \| Account Manager Sheri has filled numerous roles during her nine years with DATAWISE, including positions in client support, quality assurance, office management, accounts receivable, and event coordination. As an account manager, Sheri works closely with new and existing clients across the country to meet their needs and requests and help them successfully implement DATAWISE. Prior to working for DATAWISE, Sheri managed a small business and spent 20 years volunteering and working closely with local school systems in classroom and administrative roles. Sheri highly values her close relationships and strong rapport with her clients and is dedicated to supporting their student achievement goals.

	Beth Williams \| National Assessment Consultant of Consortia and Strategic Accounts Beth has more than 10 years of experience in the curriculum, instruction, assessment, and technology industries. She has been a teacher, principal, and district director of instructional technology and professional development. As a "school turnaround" principal, Beth used data to raise test scores 40 percentile points over three years. She is a successful grant writer, having won more than $5 million in grants over four years. She also served as a partner for a $10 million federal challenge grant award. Beth is excited to share her successful grant writing tips with our DATAWISE clients and to help them use data to inform instruction.

	Uve Dahmen \| Director of Assessment and Accountability Twin Rivers Unified School District, McClellan, CA Uve has been involved in research and testing for the last nine years. During this time, he has worked to build cutting-edge measurement data; manage state and local testing programs; evaluate student achievement; and provide professional development to teachers, student learning coaches, and district office staff. Uve continues to develop and maintain common reporting methods that link formative, interim, and state summative data using DATAWISE.

	Renee Figura \| Resource Specialist Branciforte Middle School, Santa Cruz, CA Renee Figura is in her seventh year of teaching middle school students in a full-inclusion model. She is a member of Branciforte’s leadership team and believes in using data to inform instruction.

	Sue Gilliam \| Information Systems Manager Genesee Intermediate School District, Flint, MI Sue joined the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) in 2008, bringing with her 26 years of information technology experience. Sue leads a team of application analysts and application support specialists that provides implementation, integration, training, and help desk support and custom programming for GISD’s software products and services. Sue’s team works in close collaboration with the 21 local school districts in Genesee County. Prior to working for GISD, Sue held several positions at Electronic Data Systems, where she worked as a systems engineer, financial and administrative systems manager, and regional technical services manager.

	Sara Goldfarb \| 8th Grade Core Teacher Branciforte Middle School, Santa Cruz, CA Sara has taught middle school English, history, and drama for 12 years to a wide range of socio-economic and linguistic populations. She has multiple years of experience teaching leveled and unleveled classrooms of students, and has also been actively engaged in the development of meaningful, cost-efficient testing structures that support student achievement. Sara has been a member of Branciforte’s leadership team since the program’s inception six years ago.

	Wendy Thompson \| 8th Grade Core Teacher Branciforte Middle School, Santa Cruz, CA Wendy has more than 20 years of teaching experience, including many years at both the primary and middle school levels. She has been a member of Branciforte’s leadership team for six years, and in 2009 won the Santa Cruz Education Foundation’s Eddy Award for Teacher of the Year in grades 6-8.

	Ellen Vorenkamp, Ed. D \| Assessment Consultant Wayne Regional Education Service Agency, Wayne, Michigan Ellen has worked in education for more than 20 years as a teacher, administrator, and private consultant. She now serves as an assessment consultant for Wayne RESA, a regional educational service agency that supports 34 school districts in southeast Michigan.