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Meet the Discovery Education Curriculum Team

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Lisa Katz

Vice President, Research and Analysis

With over 22 years experience as an educator, program leader and researcher, Lisa began her career as a high school teacher, led state-wide assessment and curriculum program development at the Maryland State Department of Education and led digital curriculum development as a district leader in a school system in Maryland. The Discovery Education Research team supports product development, program measurement and implementation evaluations. Lisa holds a B.A. in History Education from the University of Delaware and a M.L.S. from University of Maryland, College Park.

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Robin Porter

Vice President, Digital Content

With more than 30 years in education, starting in a middle school classroom, Robin Porter leads curriculum development for Discovery Education’s marquee partnerships and the production, acquisition, curation, and publishing of digital content resources across our services. She is passionate about the power of digital as a way to engage students and meaningfully influence instruction.
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Amy Gensemer

Senior Director, K-12 Digital Instruction

Amy has 18 years of educational experience in Science, Technology, and Engineering as a high school classroom teacher, department chair, district curriculum specialist and most recently supervisor for Science, Technology, and Engineering for the largest school system in Maryland. Prior to her supervisor position, she designed and delivered Professional Development at that national level and has authored national STEM curriculum products.
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Dr. Erick Lang

Senior Director, Digital Learning

Dr. Erick Lang has more than 30 years of educational experience serving as a teacher, school-based administrator, central office director, and associate superintendent.  As an executive leader in a large suburban/urban district, he facilitated the design and implementation numerous large-scale teaching and learning initiatives.  Erick also taught graduate courses in education leadership at American University in Washington, D.C. and has served as a mentor to numerous teachers, school-based administrators, and central office leaders.
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Charity Lisko

Senior Director, Global Curriculum

Charity is a STEM educator with over 20 years of experience in teaching, curriculum design, school planning, and leadership development. Her career has spanned from teaching middle school STEM electives, to coaching and supporting principals in school design, to creating and implementing STEM initiatives at classroom, school, district, and national levels. Throughout her career, Charity has advocated for increasing access and inclusion in STEM education efforts so that students around the world can build on their natural instincts to think and learn as scientists and engineers. Charity holds a Master of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.
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Michelle Hunt-Laubach

Director, Global Curriculum

Michelle brings 30 years of professional experience to the role of Global Curriculum Director, having worked in a large urban school district and at the university level. Michelle has worked as a teacher, curriculum writer, professional development leader, educational consultant, and online course developer. Michelle’s areas of expertise include elementary mathematics, educational technology, professional development, and developing curriculum for domestic and international markets. Michelle holds a master’s degree in educational technology from Teachers College at Columbia University.
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Jamie Jenkins

Director, Instructional Design

Jamie has more than 15 years of educational experience—spanning teaching, instructional design, standards development, and district leadership in curriculum and professional development. She is the recipient of several state and national teaching awards and participates in field-based conservation studies all over the world. Jamie currently develops curriculum and content to support our corporate partnerships bringing digital media and emerging technology into the classroom. She holds three master’s degrees.
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Camsie McAdams

Director, Global STEM Curriculum

An experienced STEM education leader with close to 20 years in urban, public K-12 education, Camsie McAdams brings vast experience to her role at Discovery Education. Camsie is a former classroom teacher, coach, and curriculum/instructional leader at school, district, and national levels.  McAdams served in the Obama Administration as the Deputy Director for STEM at the U.S. Department of Education. She has also worked as the Director of STEM for District of Columbia Public Schools. With over a decade of experience teaching math, science, and literacy in New York City Public Schools and in California’s Oakland Unified School District, she is a recipient of several teaching awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching for the state of New York. McAdams received a degree in general engineering and political science from the University of Denver, and a Master of Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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Jessica McDermott

Director, Assessment and Adaptive Learning

Jessica began her career in education as an elementary school teacher and Teach for America Corps Member. During her 16 years in education, she served in many roles from Science Specialist at an all-boys public charter school to Senior Director of Assessment and Product for a national organization that runs Title I programs. Her proudest career achievement has been staying connected to her former students and watching them grow into amazing young people. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Education degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Hailey Adams Mangum

Senior Manager, Science

Hailey has over five years of experience in science education as an author of national STEM curriculum products. She has a degree in Secondary Science Education, concentration in Biology, from North Carolina State University. Before joining Discovery Education, she delivered professional development to K-12 teachers nationally.
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Drew Hammill

Senior Manager, Instructional Design

Drew is a Senior Instructional Design Manager for Discovery Education. He holds an M.A in Social Studies Education and a Masters in School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He began his career as an AmeriCorps volunteer working with students with behavioral and emotional disorders. Drew has served as a high school social studies teacher, school administer, and curriculum coordinator for K-12 Social Studies in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. While serving in these roles, he led professional development in areas of inquiry-based learning, literacy integration, and social-emotional learning.
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Ted Willard

Senior Subject Matter Expert, Science

Before joining Discovery Education, Ted spent eight years as the in-house standards expert for the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). In this role, he supported implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), other standards based on A Framework for K–12 Science Education, and three-dimensional learning. He is the author of The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions and editor of The NSTA Quick-Reference Guide to the NGSS (NSTA Press, 2014). Before joining NSTA, Ted spent twelve years at Project 2061 for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where he was responsible for the development of the Atlas of Science Literacy, Volume 2 (AAAS, 2007). Earlier in his career, Ted was a high school physics teacher. He has a degree in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Jennifer Fine

Subject Matter Expert, Science

Before joining Discovery Education, Jennifer was the Elementary Science Senior Administrator for the 15th largest school district in the nation. Prior to that role, she served as a classroom teacher, magnet school coordinator, and instructional coach. Jennifer also serves as an adjunct professor teaching blended learning Science Methods courses at a local university. She has a degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Science Education from East Carolina University and a degree in Curriculum Instruction Supervision Development from North Carolina State University.
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Roger Harris

Subject Matter Expert, Science

Roger graduated from the University of Oregon with a Master of Science degree. He served as a natural history expert and lecturer on international ecotours in South America and Africa for 10 years. Since then, he has served as a science educator in private and public schools in Oregon and North Carolina. Building on his teaching experience, he has been developing online curriculum and digital instructional tools since 2009.
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Dr. Alvin Lin

Subject Matter Expert, Science

Alvin was born and raised in Honolulu, Oʻahu of Hawaiʻi and brings over ten years of science and mathematics education experience to Discovery Education. Previously, he served as a STEM district resource teacher in the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua complex area, peer reviewer for Achieve and NextGenScience, and proud teacher and academic coordinator in the Hawaiʻi Department of Education. He received his BA in Chemistry, M.Ed. in Science Teaching, and Ed.D. in Professional Educational Practice. Alvin believes that with an open heart and mind we can empower and prepare all learners for tomorrow.
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Beth Morris

Subject Matter Expert, Mathematics, Global Curriculum

Beth began her career as an elementary school teacher where she first developed an interest in teaching math and in better understanding how students learn math. During her 15 years in mathematics education, she has shared her expertise in curriculum and provided professional development while serving as a middle school math teacher, math specialist and instructional coach in both public and private schools in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Leadership in Mathematics Education from Bank Street College of Education in New York, NY.
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Indrani Som-Pandey

Subject Matter Expert, Science

Indrani has more than 18 years of experience in the field of Scientific Research and Writing. Her experiences are focused around areas of evaluation and analysis of scientific processes including participation in and management of various STEM outreach programs. She has a graduate degree in Molecular Biology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. After obtaining her degree, she has been associated with a multitude of research projects at various institutes including Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health. Currently, she specializes in science content writing, reviewing, and critical analyses of material connected to the publishing industry for the production of technologically advanced digital textbooks.
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Betsy Sterling

Subject Matter Expert, Assessment, Global Curriculum

Betsy’s career in education began teaching English as a Second Language in South Korea and New York City. She then went on to work at a Charter school in Newark, NJ, where she was a math and science teacher, team leader, school expansion founding teacher and a math instructional coach. She earned the EPIC Spotlight Teacher Award for exceptional classroom level achievement gains based on value-added analysis by New Leaders for New Schools & Mathematica Policy Research. Betsy transitioned into assessment in 2012, and has worked as a contractor for an Ed-Tech start-up and for an organization that provides Title I assessment products. Her roles have included assessment editor, writer, and math content project manager, focusing on the development of high-quality, standards-based assessment items. Betsy is dedicated to the success of all students, and has first-hand experience of the effectiveness of data driven instruction to increase student achievement. Betsy holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction.
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Simone Wellington

Subject Matter Expert, Science, Global Curriculum

Simone can’t imagine living a life that isn’t all about science, adventure and travel. Growing up with a father who was a coral reef ecologist, she traveled to many islands and far-off coasts learning from him while he conducted his research. As an adult, she has continued to roam the globe. She has taught in West Africa, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and The Netherlands. Her students left her classroom each day with science not only in their heads but on their clothes and hands too! While teaching elementary science, she completed a Masters of Zoology. Her field experiences allowed her to work with orangutan researchers in Borneo, ornithologists studying macaws in a remote part of the Peruvian jungle, and Smithsonian conservationists working to save critically endangered frog populations in Central America. As PolarTREC fellowship recipient, Simone spent seven weeks aboard an icebreaker in the Bering Sea, assisting scientists with the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Project while blogging daily about her experiences to students in Washington, D.C. Most recently, she assisted the Owl Research Institute with a snowy owl behavior study on the Arctic tundra. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Master of Education in Elementary Education from The George Washington University, as well as a Master of Arts in Zoology from Miami University. Simone hopes to inspire children to be future stewards of our environment by instilling them with love and respect for the natural world.
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Kimberly Wright

Manager, Instructional Design

Kimberly is an Instructional Design Manager for Discovery Education. She holds a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a concentration in Biology and Geology, from the University of Texas at El Paso. As an undergrad she worked with traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM, to prepare middle and high school students for success in advanced studies and careers. Kimberly is the child of a Korean immigrant that believes it is vitally important that students feel as though they are seen and their culture validated and affirmed in the curriculum they are taught. Growing up and living in the border region of El Paso, she has dedicated her career to empowering underrepresented groups in education and healthcare. In 2020, she was awarded the Million Women Mentors Trailblazer Award, acknowledging her leadership and contributions to the field STEM of mentoring. She has served her community as a classroom teacher, STEM coach, global keynote speaker/professional development specialist, healthcare administrator, and mentor for LGBTQIA + youth in her community.