About Us

Core Knowledge Group

Dr. Mark Abbott, Dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Research interests: Ocean biology/physics; satellite remote sensing; climate change; coastal oceanography.

Dick Barber, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Duke University. Research interest: large-scale primary productivity variability.

Annette deCharon is Director of Outreach for Bigelow Laboratoy for Ocean Sciences, West Boothbay Harbor, Maine (www.bigelow.org). She is an experienced translator of science and technology findings for educational and public audiences. She is also the Education Lead for NASA's Aquarius Mission, a satellite instrument being developed to measure global ocean salinity. Of particular interest how data and information can be presented in multimedia formats to help broad audiences appreciate and value ocean sciences. Her most recent educational CD-ROM is "Phytopia: Discovery of the Marine Ecosystem."

Judith Diamond, consultant (math, technology, ESOL), Adult Learning Resource Center, Des Plaines, Illinois. Board of Directors, Adult Numeracy Network.

Dr. Michael H. Freilich, Professor and Associate Dean, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Principal Investigator, NASA QuikSCAT mission; Principal Investigator, NASA SeaWinds-on-ADEOS II mission. Research Interests: radar remote sensing of ocean surface parameters, wind-driven upper ocean circulation, nearshore ocean processes.

Dr. Lynda Ginsburg, Senior Researcher, National Center on Adult Literacy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Board member, Adult Numeracy Network. Dr. Ginsburg is an expert in adult learning theory and leads NCAL’s efforts on adult numeracy. An experienced mathematics educator, she has developed and taught courses and workshops for K-12 teachers and adult educators on enriching instructional practice. Dr. Ginsburg directs NCAL's activities on several technology research and professional development projects. She is a founding member of the Adult Numeracy Network, and is the organization’s immediate past president/board member.

Liesl Hotaling is an Internet Training Specialist for the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. She assists teachers with the integration of Internet-based science and technology resources into curricula utilizing CIESE's inquiry-based learning projects. Most recently, she worked with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to create an Internet-based, ground level ozone educational project called Air Pollution: What's the Solution? Previous to working with CIESE, Ms. Hotaling served as a classroom teacher and worked as a field scientist.

Dr. Susan Humphris, Senior Scientist, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA. Research interests: understanding the distribution and geochemistry of hydrothermal vents (hot springs) on the seafloor. Susan has participated in many cruises and has spent more than three years at sea on various oceanographic research ships. She has completed more than 25 dives in the submersible Alvin in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, and has recently used the remotely-operated vehicle Jason (which is known for the pictures of the Titanic) for scientific work. Susan is also interested in education and is currently developing the "Dive and Discover" website that provides near real-time access to research at sea.

Martin Jeffries, Research Professor of Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Research interests include: the formation and thickness of Antarctic sea ice, and the growth and decay of lake ice in the Arctic. Dr. Jeffries is also interested in teacher education issues: since they conducted research together in Antarctica in 1994, he has worked with Marge Porter, Woodstock Academy, Connecticut, and he now serves as chairman of the advisory board to Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic.

Esther Leonelli, Program Director, Notre Dame Education Center, Boston, MA. Founding member of the Adult Numeracy Network, webmaster, and Numeracy Discussion List Moderator. Formerly an ABE/GED math instructor and adult math curriculum developer. Interests include ABE/GED math instruction and professional development for adult math educators.

Myrna Manly, retired Professor of Mathematics, El Camino College, Torrance, CA., with a special interest in Developmental Mathematics. Numeracy consultant (ALL International Survey, GED Testing Service, VA WIN GED as Project) and author (The Math Problem Solver, The GED Problem Solver).

Scott May is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the world's largest professional organization of science teachers. At NSTA he is presently working to develop and implement a strategic business plan for the NSTA Institute, the Association's umbrella professional development initiative. The Institute is quickly becoming a leading web portal for science teachers to plan and assess their professional development (PD) needs and to learn about and procure both on-line and face-to-face PD programs.

Ellen McDevitt is president of FourthRiver Associates, a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of professional development: instructional design, training, assessment, and meeting planning. She is a founding member and immediate past president of the Adult Numeracy Network, and served 8 years as its newsletter editor. She designed the Making Math Real Institute in Pennsylvania, an original model for staff development for adult numeracy practitioners, which ran for four consecutive years in the state. She has worked in adult education for nearly 20 years in Pennsylvania, and before that in New Hampshire and in Washington, D.C.

Mary Jane Schmitt, TERC, Cambridge, MA. Project co-director for EMPower- Extending Mathematical Power at TERC; Harvard NCSALL doctoral fellow; member of the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey Numeracy Team; coPrincipal Investigator of the NSF-funded Massachusetts Parent Involvement Project, founding member and current president of the Adult Numeracy Network.

Dr. Evelyn B. Sherr, Dr. Barry F. Sherr, Professors of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. Research interests include the microbial ecology of the Arctic Ocean, roles of microbes in ecosystem processes, carbon-energy flux through pelagic food webs. Additional interests include quality of science education, human population issues, the evolution vs creationism debate.

Dr. Walker O. Smith, Jr., Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, The College of William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA. Research interests: controls of phytoplankton growth and the factors which control the fate of the photosynthetic material in the surface layer of the ocean.