Jennifer Edstrom, founder and principal consultant of Edstrom Educational Consulting, has a decade of assessment    experience garnered from work with individual classrooms, state accountability programs, and national shelf products.  After graduating from Wellesley College, she was certified to teach in the public school systems in Needham, Massachusetts, South Brunswick, New Jersey and Glencoe, Illinois.  As a consultant for ETS, Ms. Edstrom was trained by Grant Wiggins’s CLASS organization to author material for their Assessment Wizard program, a software program that assists teachers in developing authentic performance assessments.  In 2002, Ms. Edstrom joined Riverside Publishing Company, where she oversaw the content development of high-stakes testing programs at all grade-levels and in all subject areas.  Most notably, she worked closely with the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Assessment and Arts Supervisor for the State of Washington in researching, developing, and implementing their Goal 2 authentic performance assessments in the areas of Art, Music, Drama and Dance, now being used across the state at the elementary, middle and high school grades.

Ms. Edstrom left Riverside Publishing to found Edstrom Educational Consulting in 2005.  Through her leadership, EEC has grown a large client base that includes notable educational publishing divisions, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and CTB/McGraw-Hill.  In her role as principal consultant, Ms. Edstrom has acted as an advisor in the best practices of curriculum and assessment, as well as authored curriculum and assessment materials of the highest quality with attention to specifications.   She has instructed educators in both small and large-group settings with a focus on all aspects of curriculum and assessment, from testing best practices, types of assessment and creation of rubrics.

Nettie Keck received her MA in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University, Teachers College.  With 16 years educational experience in both independent and public schools, she is certified to teach in New York, New Jersey and Washington states. She has trained with Lucy Calkins at The Teachers College Writer’s Project.  Nettie has experience writing, evaluating and implementing curriculum and assessments as an teacher, administrator and educational consultant.

Dr. Susan H. Harris is an educational consultant with experience in curriculum development, assessment, program accreditation, strategic planning and institutional research.  In addition to serving as a consultant for EEC, she serves as a free-lance writer and editor and offers consultant services regarding accreditation.  Prior to her work with EEC, Dr. Harris worked with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) on the development of the California Teaching Performance Assessment, with particular emphasis on the implementation of the performance assessment tool.  She has served as a faculty member, department chair, dean, and administrator at several accredited universities.  Her education includes a Bachelor of Science from Duke University, a Master of Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctor of Science from the University of San Diego.

Dr. Helene T. Mandell is an educator that possesses a vast wealth of experience with pedagogical best practices, curriculum and assessment theory and teacher preparation.  In addition to serving as a consultant for EEC, she is the Director of Professional Services and Coordinator of the Teacher Credentialing Programs in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego. Previously, she served as the statewide director for CalStateTEACH, a non-traditional teacher preparation program offered through the California State University System. She has been a public school teacher as well as a professor and department chair in Teacher Education. She is a calibrated assessor for both the California Teacher Performance Assessment (CalTPA) and the Performance Assessment for California’s Teachers (PACT). Dr. Mandell’s additional areas of interest include, Language Acquisition and Educational Technology. She has earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of San Diego, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing State Board of Institutional Review and is active in state accreditation activities and site visits.