Inverness Research
 

Inverness Researchers

Becky Carroll
Dr. Pam Castori
Barbara Heenan
Dr. Jenifer V. Helms
Judy Hirabayashi
Nina Houghton
Laurie Lopez
Heather Mitchell
Allison Murray
Dr. Michelle Phillips
Dr. Katherine Ramage
Mary Regan
Dawn Robles
Laurie Senauke
Dr. Laura Stokes
Dr. Mark St. John
Pamela Tambe




Researchers Biographies

The following people form the core pool of Inverness researchers. They bring a wide range of professional experiences, knowledge, and skill to Inverness Research.

 

Dr. Mark St. John

Dr. Mark St. John, founder and president of Inverness Research Inc., has a broad background in science and mathematics education at all levels. For over 20 years he has been involved in the evaluation and study of public and private initiatives aimed at improving science and mathematics education. He also advises philanthropies about investments in educational improvement.

Dr. St. John and his colleagues at Inverness Research Inc. have been involved in many evaluations of reform initiatives in education—from the study of large scale initiatives undertaken by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education to the evaluation of individual science museum exhibits. They have been involved in studying professional development and teacher leadership networks, curriculum design projects, informal science education efforts, multi-institutional partnerships and centers, and systemic reform initiatives at the state, district, and school levels.

Dr. St. John's Bio in PDF format

 

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Becky Carroll

Becky Carroll has worked for Inverness Research since 1990. Her work has involved studies of K-12 mathematics and science education, as well as studies of exhibition and program development in the informal science field. In the informal field, her areas of interest include studies of collaboratives and networks, programs for youth, exhibition development projects, and professional development for museum professionals. In the formal field, she has participated in studies of mathematics and science program improvements and teacher professional development. Past and current projects in the informal domain include studies of the TEAMS collaborative; YouthALIVE!; Community Science Workshops; and the Precollege Science Collaborative and ITEST grant programs at the American Museum of Natural History; exhibit development projects at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science and the Exploratorium; as well as the TexNET and Playful Invention and Exploration networks. On the formal side, projects include the Rapid City Math Science Partnership, the Appalachian Math Science Partnership, the Wyoming Middle School Mathematics Initiative, the Gilbert Systemic Science Plan (LSC), and the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative.

 

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Dr. Pam Castori

Dr. Pam Castori works at Inverness Research on evaluating informal science education projects that target bringing cutting edge science research (e.g., nanotechnology) to public understanding and awareness, and on teacher professional development projects. Pam earned a Ph.D. in education, a MA in curriculum and instruction, and a teaching credential at the University of California, Davis, and taught biology, chemistry, and related subjects in public schools for 10 years. Her dissertation focused on the teaching-related work of a physicist who collaborates with K-12 teachers. Her areas of expertise include university-school collaborative research, evaluation and development projects in formal and informal science education settings; science curriculum and instruction with a particular interest in writing in science; teacher professional development and action research; and English Learner issues related to science teaching and learning. Pam worked at UC Davis for 16 years as a Science Education Specialist; currently she also works at UCD part time in the education outreach arm of the Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology.

 

 

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Dr. Jenifer V. Helms

Dr. Jenifer V. Helms is an educational consultant and researcher with Inverness Research who specializes in studying improvements in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology-related formal and informal education programs. Projects include the Center for Informal learning and Schools; San Diego Urban Systemic Project; Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning and Assessment in Mathematics; Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative; and Partnership for Learning in Washington State. Prior to joining Inverness Research, she was director of education at two nationally recognized informal learning institutions—The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, and Ocean Journey in Denver, Colorado. Jen was also assistant professor of science education at the University of Colorado in Boulder and taught high school science in California. She has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Stanford University.

 

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Judy Hirabayashi

Judy Hirabayashi has worked with Inverness Research since 1990. She has worked on evaluations of media-based projects such as the American Museum of Natural History’s Seminars on Science (online courses for science educators); professional development initiatives such as the National Writing Project, the Exploratorium’s Teacher Institute, and BSCS’s National Academy for Curricular Leadership; youth initiatives such as the Community Science Workshops; and science exhibits such as the Lawrence Hall of Science’s Forces that Shape the Bay and Chabot Science Center’s Dragon Skies. She brings social science training (B.A. from U.C. Berkeley), skills in survey research and data presentation, and an avocational interest in emerging science areas to her work with Inverness Research.

 

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Nina Houghton

Nina Houghton has been a researcher with Inverness Research since 1995, studying various state and federal-funded professional development and systemic reform projects. A former elementary school teacher, she has specialized in projects evaluating elementary mathematics and science improvement initiatives, including several NSF Local Systemic Change initiatives, as well as statewide and regional efforts with a K-12 focus. She has also worked on projects focused on other disciplines such as history/social science and writing, most recently with the National Writing Project and its New Teacher Initiative. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Stanford University and a M.A. in Elementary Education from Lesley College.

 

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Heather Mitchell

Heather Mitchell has worked with Inverness Research since 1998. Heather primarily studies science teaching and learning in state and federally funded K-12 science reform projects. Most recently she has been involved with several NSF funded initiatives including the Gilbert Local Systemic Change project, the CILS Center for Learning and Teaching, and the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership. She has also been involved with studies of the American Museum of Natural History’s Seminars on Science and the Seattle Public Schools Expository Writing and Science Notebooks Project. Before joining Inverness Research, Heather was the Director of the Family Science program at the University of Washington and the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle. She has a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Genetics and has worked in the fields of molecular biotechnology and wetland ecology.

 

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Allison Murray

Allison Murray has been doing database design, data collection and analysis, and presentation work for Inverness Research since 1998. Her work has supported many projects, including the National Writing Project, BSCS’s National Academy for Curricular Leadership, the Seattle Public Schools Expository Writing and Science Notebooks Project, and several NSF Local Systemic Change initiatives. Prior to working for Inverness, Allison was employed as an information technology analyst at Chevron and AT&T. She attended San Francisco State University and studied classical archaeology and art history.

 

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Dr. Michelle Phillips

Dr. Michelle Phillips has expertise in the areas of science education, informal education, and school-university partnerships, and is dedicated to working collaboratively in efforts to improve outcomes for both young and adult learners. Prior to becoming a research associate with Inverness Research, she worked as a marine mammalogist, a middle school mathematics and science teacher, Senior Researcher for the Center for Informal Learning and Schools at the Exploratorium, and a Social Science Researcher at SRI International. Michelle also taught Science Curriculum and Instruction at Stanford University, where she earned her PhD in Curriculum and Teacher Education in 2002. Dr. Phillips is committed to developing research and evaluation designs that address the needs of individuals as well as institutions involved in education reform. She has been particularly active in partnerships that promote authentic science inquiry and address issues of equity for populations under-represented in the sciences. Currently, her projects include The National Center for Engineering and Technology Education; The Cotsen Foundation Art of Teaching Program; The Algebra Project; Modeling in Mathematics and Science (an NSF-funded Learning Progressions project); and the Communication Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) Project.

 

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Dr. Katherine Ramage

Dr. Katherine Ramage has worked as a senior researcher with Inverness Research since 1992, studying educational improvement projects in science, mathematics, and literacy. She has collaborated with Inverness Research colleagues on projects related to professional development for teachers, state and local systemic change efforts related to implementing the National Standards, and informal science education projects in museums and community science centers, many funded by the National Science Foundation. Additionally, she has conducted research and evaluation of professional development projects concerned with improving the teaching of writing, such the Stuart Foundation-funded project in expository writing in Seattle, Washington’s elementary science program, and the National Writing Project’s Technology Initiative. Her background in sociolinguistics and education informs her perspective and provides a focus on improving equity in education to all her work.

 

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Mary Regan

Mary Regan joined Inverness Research in 1999 as a website developer and technical consultant. She built the Inverness Research website and helped set up and streamline several technical endeavors that help the researchers do their job with more ease and efficiency. While Mary came to Inverness Research after 9 years in the software industry as a technical writer, she began her career as a high school teacher. Education has remained a vital interest for her. As a result, she has also worked on certain projects that have a technical or web development aspect to them, such as MARS Toolkit for Change project (Mathematics Assessment Resource Service), and in the past, the Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) project. Mary holds a master’s degree, has taught business and technical writing at the junior college level, and is a 15 year member of the Society of Technical Communication.

 

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Dawn Robles

Dawn Robles (formerly Huntwork) has worked for Inverness Research since 1994. Her area of focus has been on science education programs provided in out-of-school environments. She has collaborated on and designed projects ranging from formative and summative evaluations of science museum exhibits, to studies of community-based-organization science programs, and studies of the use of video and on-line courses in teacher development. She has worked as a writer and copy editor, and on general publication management. Ms. Robles also has experience as a science educator, with an emphasis on natural history and nature appreciation. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Environmental Studies.

 

 

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Laurie Senauke

Laurie Senauke has worked in the database group of Inverness Research since 1994, working on database design, data analysis, and web-based data collection forms. Laurie has been involved with a wide range of projects, including the National Writing Project, BSCS, and the American Museum of Natural History. She attended Portland State University and The Evergreen State College.

 

 

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Dr. Laura Stokes

Dr. Laura Stokes has worked with Inverness Research since 1993, directing studies of a variety of state, federal, and foundation-funded teacher leadership, professional development, and systemic reform projects. Projects include The National Writing Project; Washington’s Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession; the American Museum of Natural History’s Seminars on Science; the Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium; the Seattle Public Schools Expository Writing and Science Notebooks Project. Before joining Inverness Research, she was director of the UC Davis site of the National Writing Project, director of the Composition Program at UC Davis, co-director of the California Writing Project, and Assistant Director of the California Subject Matter Projects at the University of California Office of the President. She has a B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in educational policy from Stanford University.

 

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Pamela Tambe

Since joining Inverness Research in 1993, Pam Tambe has worked on a wide-range of projects such as K-12 mathematics and science reform, media-based projects, and professional development and teacher enhancement programs. Past projects for Pam include Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative, many individual NSF Local Systemic Change initiatives, and Videocases for Mathematics Professional Development. As a former secondary mathematics teacher, she has specialized in projects evaluating mathematics curriculum and reform in a variety of settings. Most recently she is involved with the NSF-funded COMPASS Curriculum Implementation and Dissemination project and the Appalachian Math-Science Partnership. Pam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Teaching Credential in Secondary Mathematics.

 

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