Meet Our Team Members

Audrey Diaz

7th & 8th Grade Math & Science Teacher

Audrey Diaz teaches 7th and 8th grade Math, Science, and Advisory at Hubbard Media Arts Academy in Alum Rock School District. She has been teaching since 2004 and has taught K-8th grade.

Sandra Kunze

4th Grade Teacher

Sandra Kunze is a 4th Grade Teacher at Hubbard Media Arts Academy with the Alum Rock Union School District. Sandra has worked as an Elementary School Teacher since 2013, all of which have been with Alum Rock.

Danielle Letts

4th & 5th Grade Teacher

Danielle Letts is a 4th/5th grade teacher at Hubbard Media Arts Academy in Alum Rock Union Elementary School District in San Jose, California. She has been teaching in Alum Rock since 1999 in a variety of grade levels, the majority being 4th and 5th grade. She has been involved in numerous projects supporting teachers’ professional learning and promoting the achievement of all students.

Adam Smith

Designing for Equity Manager EF+Math

Adam E. Smith is the Designing for Equity Manager for the EF+Math Program. His research focuses on issues of math self-efficacy for Black students, infusing tenets of critical race theory and psychosocial constructs including math identity and teacher belief.

Rob Duncan

Associate Professor Colorado State University

Robert Duncan, Co-Investigator, is an Associate Professor in the department of Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University. His research focuses on understanding the connections between children’s early environments and their development of school readiness skills (e.g., language abilities, self-regulation, executive function, academic achievement).

Sarah Eason

Assistant Professor Purdue University

Sarah Eason, Co-Investigator, is an Assistant Professor in Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. Her research focuses on how families support children’s development of math knowledge and positive math attitudes, with an emphasis on how to develop resources that align with families’ social and cultural contexts.

Michael Eiland

Senior Research Associate Purdue University

Michael D. Eiland, Senior Research Associate at Purdue University, is an early childhood and elementary mathematics education research scientist. Dr. Eiland’s research focuses on mathematical thinking and learning. A former industrial engineer, he enjoys seeing children, especially from underrepresented groups, discover how STEM and its applications positively impacts their daily lives.

Caroline Hornburg

Associate Professor Virginia Tech

Caroline Hornburg, Principal Investigator, is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech. Her research program focuses on children’s understanding of specific math skills and the optimal design of interventions to improve children’s understanding.

Jisun Kim

Postdoctoral Research Associate Purdue University

Jisun Kim is a postdoctoral research associate in the Human Development and Family Science Department at Purdue University. She is interested in children’s use of interactive media (AI smart speakers, video chat, eBooks, etc.) in a learning context, and her research focuses on how to support children’s effective and engaging learning with media.

Amanda Mayes

Project Manager Delaware Department of Education

Amanda Mayes, former Project Manager, is the Data Research Manager at the Delaware Department of Education. Her research interests include early childhood education, academic and intrinsic impacts of arts experiences, acquisition of early math learning skills, improving cultural competency, and the research co-design process.

Tamika McElveen

Assistant Professor Miami University

Tamika McElveen, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Miami University. Her research examines the social and cultural influences on child and adolescent development. Through national and foundation grant-funded projects, she has gained expertise in the development and implementation of interventions and curricula designed to strengthen the STEM motivation, interest, and engagement of Black and Latine students.

Gigliana Melzi

Professor New York University

Gigliana Melzi, Co-Investigator, is a Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Affiliated Faculty at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University. Her research focuses on the intersection of culture and linguistic practices and its relation to young children’s early learning and development.

Dana Miller-Cotto

Assistant Professor University of California-Berkeley

Dana Miller-Cotto, Co-Investigator, is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on how and why executive functions, or the ability to regulate and control actions and cognitions, are related to mathematics skills with the goal of designing learning materials for students along all ability levels. She is also interested in what contextual factors explain differences in executive function by ethnicity/race.

Sarah Powell

Professor The University of Texas at Austin

Sarah Powell, Co-Principal Investigator, is a Professor in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Sarah conducts research in mathematics for students who experience mathematics difficulty and works on grants related to mathematics read-alouds, word-problem solving, data-based decision making in mathematics, and intervention replication.

Nydia Prishker

Assistant Professor St. Thomas Aquinas College

Nydia Prishker, Curriculum Designer, is an Assistant Professor of Childhood Education at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, NY. Nydia is a Bilingual Educator and an advocate for quality and equity in the education of children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. Nydia also works in developing new resources for teachers, providers, and parents to enhance the practices of teachers and families that support the school readiness of young children in a culturally responsive and relevant way.

David Purpura

Professor Purdue University

David Purpura, Principal Investigator, is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University and Director of the Center for Early Learning. His research program focuses on how young children learn math and how to identify children who are at risk for later math difficulties.

Andy Ribner

Assistant Professor Chatham University

Andy Ribner, Co-Investigator, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Chatham University and a Research Associate in the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. His primary area of study is on the development of children’s self-regulatory skills and their role in math learning in and out of classroom settings. He also studies the antecedents and consequences of screen-based media use in young children.

Ma Bernadette Salgarino

Assistant Director Santa Clara County Office of Education

Dr. Ma Bernadette Andres-Salgarino, Co-Principal Investigator, Assistant Director for iSTEAM of SCCOE is a National Board Certified Teacher, a member of the CA Mathematics Curriculum Framework Committee (2013 & 2023), and an advocate for Rehumanizing Mathematics. She was awarded the Texas Instruments – STEM Teacher of the Year in 2012 and ESUHSD Teacher of the Year in 2013 for her work fostering mathematics literacy and mathematics for social justice.

Sara Schmitt

Associate Professor University of Oregon

Sara Schmitt, Co-Principal Investigator, is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. She studies the development of self-regulation, including executive function, and develops and evaluates interventions designed to support these skills in children.

Isabel Valdivia

Research Assistant Virginia Tech

Isabel is a second year Human Development Ph.D. candidate, in the Child and Adolescent Development concentration. She has more than 10 years of experience working in different roles, from high school teacher to vice principal, and professional development coach of teachers and principals, in the school system of her home country, Chile. Currently, her research interests are to produce evidence that informs educators on how to adapt classroom practices to students from different backgrounds to improve their academic achievement. She believes understanding the interplay of executive functions and self-regulation in learning across school grades to be fundamental in this pursuit.

Eric Wilkey

Assistant Professor Vanderbilt University

Eric Wilkey, Co-Investigator, is an Assistant Professor in Psychology & Human Development at Vanderbilt University. His research focuses on how executive functions integrate with math skills to support math cognition and math learning and what factors lead to math learning difficulties.

Matin Abdel-Qawi

High School Network Superintendent

Matin Abdel-Qawi is the High School Network Superintendent for the Oakland Unified School District. Matin holds an MA from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been an equity-centered educational leader for over twenty years.

Angela Adams

3rd Grade Teacher

Angela Adams is a third grade teacher for the Middletown City School District in Ohio. She has taught first, second and third grades in the 31 years she has been in the district. She obtained her M.A.T in 2003. She is dedicated to the students of Middletown and to providing the best equitable learning opportunities for all of them.

Grace Carroll

CEO of Carroll Consulting

Grace Carroll is currently CEO of Carroll Consulting, which focuses on program design, implementation and process evaluation, and assessment/evaluation of community-based projects. She served ten years as the Director for African American Student Development at the University of California, Berkeley and three years as the Associate Director of the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) at Howard University. Her academic research on African American self-concept and racial perception culminated in her book, Environmental Stress and African Americans: The Other Side of the Moon. She also served on the research team that developed and conducted the qualitative data collection and analyses for the University of Michigan Law School’s defense of affirmative action policies. Carroll received her BA, MA and PhD in Sociology of Education from Stanford University as well as her teaching credentials.

Keri Hensley

Student Services Coordinator Middletown City School District

Keri Hensley is a Student Services Coordinator for Middletown City School District in Ohio. She has also served as Teacher, Reading Specialist, Teacher Leader, and Principal in the 23 years she has been in the district. Keri supports all educators in an effort to provide the best possible learning opportunities for all students.

Rex Howard

4th Grade Teacher

Rex Howard is a fourth grade teacher for the Middletown City School District in Ohio. He is a Middletown Alum. This is his 8th year teaching. He never expected or planned on teaching math, so he works hard to ensure it’s done right.

Michelle Hurr

3rd Grade Teacher

Michelle Hurr is a third grade teacher for Middletown City School District in Middletown, Ohio. She has taught 3rd grade regular education as well as special education for the past 18 years. She is passionate about her teaching and ensuring the success of all students. She enjoys finding new ideas and constantly looks for innovative methods to present material to students. Her passion shines through with relationships and rapport she builds with her students.

Beth Olthoff

Teacher Leader

Beth Olthoff serves as a Teacher Leader for Middletown City School District in Ohio. She has worked with Middletown City Schools from 2011-2014 and again from 2017-present. Previous years experience include elementary classroom teacher, District Literacy Coach, ELA and Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, Federal Grants Coordinator, and Instructional Specialist.

Lyndsey Pierce

3rd Grade Teacher

Lyndsey Pierce is a third grade teacher for Middletown City School District in Middletown, Ohio. Lyndsey is passionate about promoting student leadership and creating a classroom community that allows students to take ownership of their learning.

Kayla Richey

3rd Grade Teacher

Kayla Richey is a third grade teacher for Middletown City School District in Middletown, Ohio. Kayla has worked in both charter and public school settings. Kayla has been teaching for 9 years and has a masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Cincinnati.

Kelly Rutledge

Teacher Leader

Kelly Rutledge is a Teacher Leader for the Middletown City School District in Ohio. She taught 3rd and 4th grade for 26 years prior to assuming this coaching role. She supports her fellow educators to ensure positive and meaningful learning environments and experiences for ALL students.

Megan Weisman

3rd Grade Teacher

Megan Weisman is currently a 3rd grade teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary in Middletown Ohio. She recently graduated college in 2019. Megan’s favorite subject is math, and she hopes to inspire all her students to appreciate math. Math skills are life skills, and Megan is passionate about teaching her classes those skills.

Kyoung Choe

Former Consultant

Kyoung Choe, Former Consultant, uses web-based cognitive tasks, brain imaging, eye-tracking, and machine learning to understand neurocognitive mechanisms of math anxiety and math avoidance. He is passionate about using technology to increase student motivation, engagement, and learning in math at scale.

Le M. Tran

Research Associate

Le M. Tran, Former Curriculum Designer, is a Research Associate in the Meadow Center for Preventing Educational Risks at the University of Texas at Austin. Le’s area of interests includes culturally and linguistically responsive practices for students with disabilities particularly in the areas of math intervention, transition services, and IEP development.