Meet The Team

Dr. Fisher is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College having been an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Gray Citation of Merit, an Exemplary Leader Award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, such as Visible Learning for Literacy, Building Equity, and Assessment-Capable Visible Learners. Dr. Fisher serves as Chair of the Achieve3000 Math Advisory Board.
Specialties: literacy instruction; differentiated instruction; education leadership

Mr. McNulty is the President of Successful Practices Network/National Dropout Prevention Center and a senior fellow to the International Center for Leadership in Education, having previously served as its president. Prior to joining the International Center, he was a senior fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he worked with leading educators on improving the nation’s high schools. Mr. McNulty is a past president of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and author of It’s Not Us Against Them — Creating the Schools We Need.

An educator since 1973, he has been a teacher, vice principal, principal, and superintendent, as well as Vermont’s education commissioner. Ray is committed to raising performance standards for both teachers and students and to building solid connections between schools and their communities.

Specialties: educational renovation

Dr. Muhammad is an award-winning author and international thought leader. He currently serves as the CEO of New Frontier 21 Consulting, a company dedicated to providing cutting-edge professional development to schools all over the world. A former teacher and school administrator, he served as a practitioner for nearly twenty years.

Dr. Muhammad is a leading expert in the areas of school culture and Professional Learning Communities (PLC). He has worked with schools across the globe and in all 50 U.S. states.

Dr. Muhammad’s books include Time for Change: The Four Essential Skills of a Transformational School Leader, Overcoming the Achievement Gap Trap: Liberating Mindsets to Effect Change, The Will to Lead and the Skill to Teach; Transforming Schools at Every Level, and Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division.

Specialties: educational leadership; school culture; professional learning communities

Dr. Nelson is a dedicated instructional leader, expert in the use of technology to improve student outcomes, and passionate advocate for English language learners. During his tenure as the Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services at the Chula Vista Elementary School District in California, he oversaw the district’s dramatic improvement in academic performance and high-stakes test scores through the implementation of a student-centered instructional framework and a cloud-based differentiated instruction solution. With four decades of experience in education, Dr. Nelson has also worked as a classroom teacher, ESL instructor, school principal, and lecturer at San Diego State University.

Specialties: accelerating student achievement; Common Core State Standards; leadership coaching

Dr. Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., is the president of MetaMetrics, an educational measurement and research organization. Together with co-founder and CEO A. Jackson Stenner, Ph.D., Dr. Smith created The Lexile^® Framework for Reading; El Sistema Lexile^® para Leer, the Spanish-language version of the widely used reading framework; The Lexile^® Framework for Writing; and The Quantile^® Framework for Mathematics. Focused on fostering literacy and mathematics excellence, Dr. Smith strives to make education measurement useful and actionable in classroom instruction and the home.

Specialties: Lexile Framework; educational measurement

Dr. Stahl is a Clinical Professor of Literacy at New York University where she teaches graduate courses in literacy and directs the NYU Literacy Clinic. She taught in public elementary school classrooms for over 25 years. Her research focuses on reading acquisition, struggling readers, and comprehension. Dr. Stahl’s books include Assessment for Reading Instruction (3rd Ed.), Developing Reading Comprehension: Effective Instruction for All Children in Prek-2, Reading Assessment in an RTI Framework, and Reading Research at Work: Foundations of Effective Practice. Her articles have appeared in Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Urban Education, and the Journal of Literacy Research. She has been the recipient of Harvard’s Jeanne Chall Visiting Researcher Award and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development Teaching Excellence Award.

Specialties: reading acquisition; struggling readers; and comprehension

Dr. Tonks is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. He researches academic motivation, focusing on reading engagement in children and adolescents. Additional research interests include measuring student motivation, the interplay of culture and motivation, and Japanese culture and education. Dr. Tonks presents regularly at national and international conferences and has co-authored numerous articles and chapters in a variety of academic journals and books. His research has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, he regularly teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on motivation, educational psychology, child and adolescent development, policy, and research methodology.

Specialties: Measuring student motivation; the interplay of culture and motivation; and Japanese culture and education.

Romana Bertolotti is currently the Senior Professional Services Director for the Northeast Team at Achieve3000 and Co-Chair, Internal Professional Development subcommittee for C.A.R.E.  Ms. Bertolotti was hired in 2015 to work in partnership with districts and schools in New York, New Jersey, and New England. She provides high-quality professional development services, develops and maintains relationships with and serves as liaison between Achieve3000 and partner districts. Ms. Bertolotti has 24+ years of quantifiable success developing and implementing powerful professional development.

Ms. Bertolotti has taught critical thinking, communication theory, and history of mass media at New York University and Marymount Manhattan College. She holds a master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Perugia as well as a master’s degree in Media Studies from New York University. Her areas of interest include language and culture, critical theory, literacy, and writing.

Dr. Sara Bhonsale serves as the Regional Director of Partnerships supporting both Alaska and Hawaii schools. She is Chair of the Data subcommittee for C.A.R.E. The subcommittee’s purpose is to research, analyze, and share recommendations based on data gleaned relative to increasing the organization’s diverse reach and ensuring our partners are effectively supported in all demographic and socio-economic territories.

Dr. Bhonsale has been in education for over 20 years, beginning as a teacher and moving into school turn-around working with schools to develop equitable and results-based practices. She joined the Achieve3000 team in 2014 and continues to be passionate about helping all students use literacy as the primary tool towards equity.

Cranston Chester has over 23 years of IT experience in various industries with over 18 years experience in education technology. In his role as Technical Onboarding Services Manager at Achieve3000, one of his primary functions is the technical implementation and support of Tier 1 customers, utilizing his well-honed project management and communications skills and technological expertise. In addition, he serves as Co-Chair, Internal Professional Development subcommittee of C.A.R.E. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University and enjoys mentoring teenage boys of color on STEM based careers, life skills, and the importance of giving back. He is active in Boy Scouts with his two teenage sons and enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures.

Dr. Davis is a Professional Services Director in the Mid-Atlantic Region and Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Achieve3000 Literacy. She also serves as Co-Chair of the C.A.R.E. (Community Action for Respect & Equity) Committee to advance the internal and external understanding of the importance equity, diversity, and social justice in the development of the company’s employees as as well as our products and services.

Dr. Davis has an extensive background as a turnaround administrator with over 23 years of experience. She has held a number of roles in education, including consulting and training for the Department of Juvenile Justice and serving as an elementary, middle and high school principal and as an adjunct college professor. Dr. Davis has also served as a consultant, working to assist low performing schools by helping them to effectively use data to improve educational programs and instructional practices.

Tiffany Glasper is a Director of Customer Advocacy for Achieve3000, where she builds collaborative solution-driven relationships with key school districts across the country. She is also Co-Chair of the Internal Professional Development subcommittee of the C.A.R.E. Committee. In her role as Director of Customer Advocacy she regularly conducts nationwide webinars, drives leader-focused remote and in-person presentation, and guides critical conversations around districts’ needs and opportunities. Prior, she has held many roles in the education industry including teaching all elementary subjects, being an AVID middle school instructor, a private sector curriculum director, education project manager, and non-profit education director. She is most passionate about educating the whole child and strives to impact the students and educators she encounters in meaningful and empowering ways.

Halene E. Holland currently serves as the Manager of Sales Operations Support and Accounts Receivable for Achieve3000. She also serves on the C.A.R.E. Committee as Chair of the Special Events subcommittee. This subcommittee is responsible for creating and conducting multiple monthly internal and external events to advance the understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Holland has over 20 years of previous experience working as a Sales Support Manager and as a Loss Prevention/Risk Manager for two major international corporations. Holland also served as one of the founding steering committee members for her former company’s Diversity Committee helping to build the committee and promote better understanding of diversity and work-life balance issues.

Holland currently resides in central New Jersey with her husband and two daughters.

Lee Anne Housley is the Regional Vice President for Professional Services (International and Southwest) and Co-Chair, Content and Services subcommittee of C.A.R.E., As RVP of Professional Services she is responsible for the operational management and quality assurance of Achieve3000 implementations in 49 countries along with the Southwest region. She has been in education for 21 years and brings her passion for serving all students through a differentiated and strengths-based approach to this role. Her previous roles include award-winning high school science teacher as well as positions with other education companies including Vice President of Instructional Excellence, Director of Operations for Literacy First, Director of School Partnerships, and Senior Consultant. Her work experience includes operational management of professional learning programs along with managing 75 consultants working nationally and internationally, consulting, coaching, and delivering professional development for public and nonpublic schools, developing new products and curriculum, and presenting at national, regional, and state level conferences on a variety of topics.

Jenny Miranda-Gonzalez is a Professional Services Director for Achieve3000’s Florida region. She’s responsible for developing customized professional development sessions for administrators, teachers, and support staff. In addition to this role, she is Co-Chair, Content and Services Subcommittee of C.A.R.E. Prior to her role at Achieve3000, she served as a sales and implementation director at McGraw-Hill, Inc and as a Director of the Adult Ed Center and Parent Academy in Miami-Dade Public Schools, developing curriculum and coordinating logistics to offer Pathways to Citizenship, G.E.D, ESOL, Workforce Readiness and parenting classes. Ms. Miranda-Gonzalez has 20+ experience working with students, teachers and instructional technology in NYC Public Schools and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She and her family reside in South Florida.

As a Professional Services Manager with Achieve 3000, Nakoa’s goal is to provide high quality professional learning sessions, classroom modeling consulting sessions, and collaborate with district and school stakeholders to ensure customized yet efficient implementations. Nakoa has been in education for 18 years. In this arena, she has served as an instructional coach, educational consultant, curriculum specialist, district/state professional learning facilitator, ESOL teacher, and general education teacher. Additionally, she is the Co-Chair of the Data subcommittee for C.A.R.E.

Prior to joining Achieve3000, Nakoa was an Instructional Coach and district professional learning facilitator from Atlanta Public Schools

Nakoa received her bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Morris Brown College and her master’s in Teaching Elementary Literacy and Educational Leadership Certificate were obtained from Walden University. Nakoa resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her toddler son and husband.

Darrell Wilson is a National Director of Strategic Partnerships for Achieve3000 and Chair, Partnerships subcommittee of C.A.R.E. In both roles, he works with civic leaders and various organizations to build strategic initiatives that accelerate literacy in communities. He recently formulated the Achieve3000 national partnership with EDU, Inc Common Application to 58 Historically Black Colleges. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to creating support for students in need by connecting with major organizations such as the NFL, ESPN and Fox among others. In 2017, he was named National Geographic’s Consultant of the Year for Career Readiness. He has previously worked with National Urban League, La Raza, Kaufman Foundation and The Buffett Foundation to secure grants providing students access to college readiness and literacy materials.