Spencer Blasdale is Chief Executive Officer of SchoolWorks. He leads the development of the company’s strategic plan and oversees the execution of the plan. He provides service to clients as a leadership coach, school quality reviewer or strategy consultant. Before joining SchoolWorks, he was Executive Director of the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Boston, Massachusetts. Over a 12-year period, he led the growth of the school from 100 sixth and seventh grade students to more than 475 fifth through twelfth grade students. The school has been recognized as one of the top-performing charter schools in Massachusetts and has more than 200 alumni enrolled in four-year colleges and universities. Spencer also served as Board Chair of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association from 2004 to 2008. He has spent the past 20 years in the field of education, beginning with a teaching internship at The Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts and working as a teacher, administrator and service partner to district schools in Chicago and Boston. Spencer holds a BA in history from Princeton University and an M.Ed. from Harvard University.

Susan Carlson is a Project Manager at SchoolWorks. Susan has twenty-five years of experience as an educator in pre-school, elementary, high school and college settings. Prior to becoming a consultant for SchoolWorks, Susan served as principal for six years at the Josiah Haynes Elementary School in Sudbury. She was director of special education and support services in the Concord and Carlisle schools for seven years. Susan coordinated a program of service learning within an elementary and alternative high school setting. She served as an adjunct faculty member at Tufts University, teaching and supervising students in their student teaching placements in primarily urban settings. Susan began her career as a teacher of students with learning disabilities within both private and public school settings. She earned her CAGS in Educational Administration from Boston College, her M.A. in special education from Teachers College, Columbia University and her B.A. in psychology from Smith College. Her particular interests include teacher leadership, building strong school cultures, professional learning communities, special education and effective supervision and evaluation.

Gwendolyn Casazza is a Project Associate with SchoolWorks. Most recently, she participated in a series of site visits and produced formative reports assessing district efforts to support school improvement for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. As an educator and researcher, Gwendolyn has experience developing, managing, and evaluating educational programs for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences in the United States and Latin America. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, Gwendolyn examined the instructional practices of English/Language Arts teachers in New York City public middle schools for a study led by Stanford University and EDC. Gwendolyn also led a southern California research team to conduct school visits and interviews with school and district staff to evaluate a statewide program that supported and monitored low-performing K-12 schools. A native Spanish speaker of Central American descent, Gwendolyn provided technical assistance in a first/second grade classroom in rural El Salvador as part of a national literacy instruction reform effort. Gwendolyn’s previous experience also includes managing inquiry-based programs at a hands-on science center and serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer in an urban elementary school in California’s Sacramento region. Gwendolyn received a BA in International Relations and Comparative Literature from the University of California, Davis, and a credential for bilingual instruction at the elementary school level from California State University, Sacramento. She received a Masters degree in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Jenai Emmel is a Project Associate with SchoolWorks. She has significant governance experience and was a founding board member for three high-performing elementary schools in Los Angeles and New York. She is a former high school English teacher and, in 2003, was honored by Junior Achievement as Georgia Teacher of the Year. She was a charter middle and high school Assistant Principal. She wrote state-approved curriculum for teacher development and credentialing; designed K-12 summer school programming; created principal and teacher selection processes; and, developed residency models for aspiring leaders. Ms. Emmel worked at the New York City Department of Education, where she managed a $40 million dollar federal grant for prevention and intervention service education. In addition, she was part of change management efforts to re-engineer the Division of Human Resources into a strategic staffing partner for its 1,400 schools. She coached aspiring principals at the Charter School Institute at Loyola Marymount University and conducted school evaluations for charter schools in New York, California and Illinois. She remains committed to adult learning, to designing learning organizations and to research and innovation in Human Resources. Jenai is a Teach for America alumna and holds a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia and an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University.

Piel Hollingsworth is a Project Manager with SchoolWorks. Early in her career, she taught in rural Louisiana through Teach for America and has since taught in a number of public schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In 1999, Piel joined Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School – a nationally recognized urban public school – as a history teacher. She then became the school’s principal, and finally the co-director. During her tenure at Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter, Piel guided the creation of the high school, served on and led the school’s leadership team, mentored and then supervised the middle and high school principals, and oversaw the total educational program. Through her work as a consultant, Piel has extensive experience in school evaluation and has led school inspection teams in comprehensive school reviews for several charter authorizers. She has reviewed charter applications for authorizers across the country as well as authored charter applications. Piel has also focused on dissemination efforts, including the implementation of a 3 year, $5 million federal grant to disseminate best practices in urban education and assisting in developing profiles of highly effective urban schools and districts with a focus on leadership. Piel received her M.A.T from Union College and a B.A. in history from Hamilton College.

Robin Coyne Hull is a Project Manager at SchoolWorks. She manages school quality reviews and follow-up for National Heritage Academies and conducts school reviews in both urban and suburban settings across its network of 55 schools. She prepares an annual trend report for the organization, providing a strategic multi-year look at ongoing strengths and challenges across its schools. Robin has also conducted school quality reviews for KIPP, as well as charter renewal and site visit work in New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Massachusetts. In addition to school reviews, Robin provides Bay State Reading initiative with third-party accountability and oversight of their literacy initiative, annually reviewing 20 participating public schools and reporting (to both the organization and the legislature) on the progress toward meeting the Initiative goals. Robin has collaborated with foundations and charter schools in writing successful charter applications and charter renewal applications. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, Robin worked as a Massachusetts charter school leader for 11 years. She was Head of School for the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School – one of the highest achieving charter schools in Massachusetts. Robin holds a dual license in Massachusetts – superintendent and grades 1 to 6 elementary teacher and is also certified as an AMS Montessori elementary teacher. Robin served four years on the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association as chair of the technical assistance committee. She holds a BA in English from the University of New Hampshire and an M. Ed. from Bridgewater State College.

Christina Kennedy is the Office Manager for SchoolWorks. Her career includes 19 years of professional experience in public relations and administrative support. She has worked in a variety of industries, including the nonprofit sector, and also started a business communications consulting service. Christina holds a BA in political science from Regis College and a Master’s degree in Business Communications and Public Relations from Emerson College. She manages the day-to-day operations of the corporate office and provides support to the SchoolWorks Leadership Team, Project Managers and SchoolWorks Consultants. Christina oversees the office logistics to prepare SchoolWorks teams for client site visits.

Anne Lane is Director of Project Management at SchoolWorks. Anne has more than 30 years of experience in education, as a teacher, administrator and staff developer. She has a broad knowledge of pre-school, elementary and middle school curricula. She has served on multiple school quality reviews and has provided coaching support to charter schools and public school leaders throughout the United States. She has recently assisted in developing case studies and profiles of highly effective charter and public schools across the country. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, Anne worked as a preschool and elementary principal in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Anne is the recipient of the NAESP Distinguished Principal Award. From 1993 to 2005, she led the Academy Avenue School in Weymouth, Massachusetts – one of the highest achieving schools in Massachusetts and named a Commonwealth Compass School in 2003 and a National NCLB Blue Ribbon School in 2004. Anne holds a BS in Elementary Education from the Boston State College and an M. Ed. in School Administration from Bridgewater State College.

Emily McFadden, Ed. D. is the Treasurer for SchoolWorks. She has more than 15 years of experience in education, both as a teacher and curriculum developer. Emily began her career as a mathematics teacher for elementary, middle and high school students at the Brimmer and May School in Newton, Massachusetts. While working on her doctoral dissertation from 1994 to 1997, she taught courses on methods of teaching mathematics to undergraduate and graduate students at Boston University, as well as algebra and pre-calculus courses at Emerson College. Emily served as a grant assistant at Boston University, where she assisted a mathematics education professor to improve mathematics teaching in the Chelsea Public Schools as part of the Boston University-Chelsea Schools Partnership. Later she worked for the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) in Lexington, Massachusetts, where she assisted in the development of professional development materials for elementary mathematics teachers, using University of Chicago’s Everyday Mathematics Program. Emily conducted mathematics training sessions piloting the BRIDGES materials for elementary school teachers at various schools across the country. Emily holds a BS in Education and her Ed. M. and Ed. D. in Mathematics Education from Boston University. Her doctoral dissertation investigated the relationship between the formal study of algebra and the recognition of the mathematical structures of word problems.

Ledyard McFadden is the President of SchoolWorks. He has more than 19 years of experience in education. Ledyard began his career as an ESL teacher in Costa Rica and, later, at Chelsea High School in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Ledyard is a founder of the Bridge School in Chelsea, Massachusetts. In 1995, Ledyard became the Director of Finance and Operations of City on a Hill Charter School in Boston, Massachusetts. Later, he served as the Northeast Regional Manager for Beacon Education Management, where he developed several charter school applications and, as well, coordinated and assisted in the opening and start-up of these schools. As founder and President of SchoolWorks, Ledyard has been instrumental in the development and implementation of school quality review protocols for the Massachusetts Department of Education, New York State Education Department, Indianapolis Mayor’s Office, New York Charter Schools Institute, New Hampshire Department of Education and Ohio Department of Education. Most recently, Ledyard has focused on developing profiles of successful schools and districts for use in professional development. He has published articles about effective district practices in Phi Delta Kappan and Educational Leadership. Ledyard holds a BA in English from Pomona College and a Masters in Education from Harvard University.

Michelle Pieroni is the Executive Assistant and Bookkeeper in the SchoolWorks corporate office. She brings more than 15 years of legal administrative experience to SchoolWorks, including office management, benefits administration and accounts payable/receivable. Michelle received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing from Salem State College. Michelle supports the Corporate Staff, Project Managers and SchoolWorks Consultants, providing travel arrangements, preparing school information binders and assisting the business manager with accounts payable and expenses.

Karl A. Smith. Ed. D. is a Project Manager with SchoolWorks. Prior to joining SchoolWorks, he worked as a language arts teacher and, most recently, as a middle school principal. He has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of settings. Karl has chaired the New England Association School and College visits and, as well, has served on the Rhode Island School Reviews – SALT Visits. In addition, he has taught graduate courses in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for Lesley University. Karl has worked with Rhode Island College, teaching a support class for teachers seeking National Board Certification and was a State Facilitator for National Board Teachers in Rhode Island. Most recently, he has conducted extensive research and implementation in the area of Professional Learning Communities. Karl has also been trained as a Mentor for Aspiring Principals through a Kennedy Grant. Karl holds a BA in English from Ottawa University, a Masters of Education in Reading from Boston State College, a Masters of Education in School Administration from Bridgewater State College and a Doctorate in Reading and Language from Boston University.

Kim Wechtenhiser is the Director of Design and Quality for SchoolWorks. She is an experienced school reviewer and evaluator. As the Associate Vice President of the Charter Schools Institute at the State University of New York, Kim had primary responsibility for the Institute's charter renewal process. As part of this work, she led school inspection teams in comprehensive school reviews on an ongoing basis. Prior to her work with the Institute, Kim served as the Coordinator of New Schools Development in the Charter School Office at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where she led the review of new charter school applications, provided technical assistance to newly chartered schools, participated in the ongoing review of their academic and organizational performance, and oversaw the charter amendment process. Kim is the former Lead Teacher of Spanish at City on a Hill Charter Public School in Boston, and currently serves on the school’s Board of Trustees. She holds a B.A. in Spanish and Secondary Education and a M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature, both from Simmons College, and earned an Ed.M. in School Leadership from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She regularly presents at national conferences, including the National Association of Charter School Authorizers’ Annual Conference and the National Charter Schools Conference.

Kate Wheeler is a Project Associate with SchoolWorks. Most recently, she managed the implementation and daily operations of the new teacher evaluation system for DC Public Schools. Kate supported the completion and input of tri-annual assessments for over 6,000 employees; supervised the creation of a web-based portal in which to enter and analyze assessment data; organized and conducted over 100 teacher feedback sessions in planning for the new evaluation system; and, guided principals in providing support to teachers in need of assistance. While with DC Public Schools, Kate also coordinated the district’s Teacher Incentive Fund Grant, overseeing the presentation of over $1.5 million in awards over two years. She has participated in numerous school quality reviews and assisted in the development of case studies of highly effective schools. She is a former elementary school teacher and teacher leader, with experience in both traditional and charter schools. Kate holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Richmond and an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University.

Bill Wibel is a Project Manager at SchoolWorks. Bill began his career in Cecil County, Maryland, where he taught in a sixth grade self-contained setting. Later he went on to middle level education, where he taught and administered several schools. He spent 18 years on a military reservation as principal of three different schools. Bill is a founding Board member of the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans, Massachusetts. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Harvard Principals’ Center, where he has been a member for more than 20 years. Bill serves as a supervisor for Harvard University, assisting with graduate students in the principal’s certification strand. Bill holds a BS in Elementary Education from Tennessee Wesleyan College, a Masters in Education from Tennessee Technological University and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from Northeastern University.

SchoolWorks Consultants
Dominique Astier, M.A.
Marybeth Banios, M.Ed.
Tom Buffett, Ed.D.
Ingrid Carney, Ph.D.
Nancy Clair, Ed.D.
Jennifer Feller, Ed.M.
Kendra Ferguson, M.A.
Tom Harvey, Ed.D.
Susan Henry, M.Ed.
Loretta Heuer, M.Ed.
Joseph Jacovino, Ed.D.
Susan Jamback, M.Ed.
Carlton Jordan, Jr., M.Ed.
Muriel Leonard, Ph.D.
Dennis P. McKnight, Ed.D.
Linda Moriarty, CAGS, M.Ed.
Patricia O’Leary, M.Ed.
Erin F. Patterson, M.Ed.
Zita Samuels, M.Ed.
Marc Siciliano, M.Ed.
Myka-Lynne Sokoloff, M.Ed.
Ting Lang Sun, Ph.D.
Joseph Trunk, M.A.
Ryan Tyler, Ph.D.
Janet Williams, Ph.D.
Maida Williams, M.Ed.