Meet the ExploreLearning Professional Development Team

Meet your team

Our team of expert trainers from across the U.S. and Canada is ready to help you get the most out of Gizmos. They are experienced math and science educators representing every grade level. Most hold advanced degrees in math, science, or education leadership-related fields and several are National Board Certified Teachers.

Laura Chervenak

Vice President, Professional Development

Virginia

Pam Larson

Professional Development Director

Kansas

Dawn Rowley

Implementation Coordinator Director

South Carolina

Erika Sims

Professional Development Operations Director

Virginia

Jodi Barber-Harris

Professional Development Manager

Texas

Lisa Amerson

Professional Development Manager

North Carolina

Nikki Polite

Professional Development Manager

Georgia

Emily Duganne

Professional Development Manager

Virginia

Noel Street

Area Operations Manager

Virginia

Julian Molitz

Area Operations Manager

Virginia

Trista Straube

Area Operations Manager

Virginia

Bonnie Ellis

Professional Development Manager

Virginia

Tia Brown

Solutions Manager

Virginia

Kay Bennett

Implementation Manager

Virginia

Julia Fischer

Implementation Manager

Arizona

Melissa Iellimo

Associate Implementation Manager

New Jersey

Chanel Johnson

Implementation Manager

Georgia

Desire Kirchofer

Associate Implementation Manager

Arizona

Everybody's Talking About Gizmos

Hello, Ms. D. I apologize about emailing you during the weekend, but I couldn’t wait to tell you. Gizmos is so much fun, and I absolutely love it. I actually learn something and I like the fact that it is interactive. Thank you so much for making us do Gizmos.

- Gizmos Student, American International School, Abu Dhabi

I really love Gizmos as they help students grasp difficult concepts that can’t always be seen. They make abstract ideas come to life.

- Gizmos Teacher, Foothills School Division, Alberta, Canada

I see more student engagement with lesson content when students are using Gizmos. Student grades have shown more understanding of the topics.

- Gizmos Teacher, Salinas Unified School District, CA

Teachers deserve a tool like Gizmos to empower students to conduct their own investigations, learn without reading lots of text but by doing lots of reasoning.

- Gizmos Teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District, CA

Another great feature of Gizmos is that I can manipulate them to accomplish my desired learning outcomes for my students. Sometimes I take a Gizmo that is meant to be an entire lab, and I cut it down into a smaller, briefer activity. But, other times, I combine some of the smaller labs into one and have the students access the various Gizmos from the class home page for a bigger assignment. In that way, Gizmos are always able to accomplish my desired outcomes.

- Teacher, Stuarts Draft High School