Our racially and linguistically-diverse team of consultants brings to the table expertise in teaching and learning, educational planning and management, social policy, mental health, social services, information technology, and law.
Meet our Consultants
John Verre is the Director of COMPASS Consulting and the Co-Director of the Harvard Institute on Critical Issues in Urban Special Education. [-]
Before becoming a consultant, Mr. Verre was the founding director of the McKinley Schools, a specialized urban public school for students with serious social-emotional-behavioral challenges. He is a former secondary special education teacher, private school director, public school principal, and Co-Chair of the Harvard Education Review.
Beth Norton is the Managing Consultant and a litigation attorney specializing in labor relations and education. [-]
Before entering law, Ms. Norton served as a Lead Consultant in Civil Rights and Regulatory Compliance and Service Teams. She is a former elementary and middle school teacher.
Makeeba McCreary is Lead Consultant for Jordan Fundamentals, and a Supervising Consultant for Service Teams. [-]
Ms. McCreary has experience in fund development in excess of $2M for urban, non-profit organizations with a focus on public and private secondary education. She is a specialist in program development for youth with social-emotional-behavioral challenges, as well as program design and evaluation for larger urban community organizations and school-community partnerships.
Katrina Huff-Larmond is a Supervising Consultant for Service Teams and a psychotherapist . [-]
Ms. Huff-Larmond works with underprivileged individuals and families in the greater Boston area and is a diversity coach assisting clients in learning strategies towards becoming culturally competent through dialogue. She is a former supervisor of outreach and tracking for social service and juvenile justice clients.
Carolyn Romano is the Lead Consultant for Trauma and Learning, and an attorney focusing on special education and disability policy. [-]
Ms. Romano has served as the director of two federally funded projects in education reform and family engagement, and has extensive grant-writing experience.
Stephanie Additon is a consultant for Service Teams. [-]
Ms. Additon is the co-director of a family and community engagement program focusing on students and families of color.
Gena Rotas is a consultant for Service Teams. [-]
Ms. Rotas is a psychotherapist, social worker, educator, and personal life coach.
Frank Tuitt is a consultant for Organizational Development and specializes in qualitative research. [-]
Dr. Tuitt is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Denver College of Education and member of the Board of Trustees of Connecticut College. He is the Co-editor and contributing author of the book Race and Higher Education: Rethinking Pedagogy in Diverse College Classrooms and is a former Co-Chair of the Harvard Education Review.
Steven Culpepper is a consultant for Organizational Development, and specializes in quantitative research, statistics, assessment, and psychometrics. [-]
Dr. Culpepper teaches statistics at the University of Denver, and serves as a Member of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) National Indian Education Study Technical Review Panel.
Meet our Associates
Kimberly Willingham [-]
Ms. Willingham is the project manager of a collaborative YMCA-public schools program that helps engage families in the schools. She was an elementary school teacher, is a former director of a presidential library-sponsored youth service program, and is an alumna of Teach for America, Inc.
Wilburn Logan[-]
Mr. Logan is the co-director of a family and community engagement program focusing on students and families of color.
Cynthia Joyce [-]
Ms. Joyce is the Director of Student Services for a rural district, and the former director in urban and suburban school districts. She specializes in regulatory compliance and has been a liaison with the Office for Civil Rights.
John Manzi [-]
Mr. Manzi is the Director of Information Technology for a large, urban school district. He specializes in the development, implementation and utilization of data management systems.
Krista Macari [-]
Ms. Macari is the Chief Academic Officer at the Cotting School, a private special education school for students with severe disabilities. She is the former Department Head for Communication Therapies at Cotting, and currently serves as a member of a technical assistance team for program development in southeastern United States and in Haiti.
Mohamud Mohamed [-]
Mr. Mohamed is the Refugee Resettlement Coordinator at Jewish Family Services in Springfield, MA. He is a former Program Manager for CARE-USA International and a teacher in elementary, middle and high schools in Somalia. Mr. Mohamed specializes in cultural competence and partnerships among communities, federal and state governmental agencies and national and international non-profit organization.
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