Jana Dean
CEO & Instructor
Jana Dean is a middle school mathematics coach in Olympia, Washington. She keeps a blog at Math Between Us (www.mathbetweenus.org) and writes columns for the Dutch math educators’ magazine Euclides and the Washington Council of Teachers of Mathematics. A recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching (2019) and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math Teaching (2016) Jana’s research interest is the role of language in learning mathematics.
Debbie Olson
COO & Instructor
Debbie has been a secondary/post-secondary mathematics educator since 1997 and is an adjunct mathematics faculty member at Spokane Falls Community College. She has contributed actively to efforts such as the Spokane Area Transitions Math Project, the Riverpoint Partnership Math Project, the Rethinking Precollege Mathematics Project, the Eastern Washington University/Community Colleges of Spokane College Spark Transitions Project. Debbie is an American Mathematical Association of Two Year College Project ACCCESS Fellow, and has served as a Washington State Bridge to College Math Course Leader and as an Executive Committee for the Washington Teachers of Teacher of Mathematics.
Patty Lofgren
Co-Founder & Instructor
Patty Lofgren is recognized nationally as an expert teacher and professional development leader. She was a 1992 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. Patty spent 21 years as a K-8 classroom teacher, dedicated to offering powerful mathematics to her students. In addition, she served in a variety of leadership and staff development capacities at the local, state and national levels and is widely recognized for her work in the area of mathematics performance assessment.
Amanda Hargreaves
Executive Assistant
Amanda manages MEC’s administrative office and serves as MEC’s primary initial contact. In addition, Amanda uses her many years of experience in the technology field and as an active public school parent to collaborate with and provide valuable insight to MEC’s facilitation team.
Cathy Humphreys
Instructor
Cathy has 30 years of experience as a teacher of grades 2-11. She has been active in professional development for teachers throughout her career, both as an in-service leader at the local, state, and national levels, as an instructor for pre-service secondary mathematics teachers in the Stanford Teacher Education Program, and as a middle school mathematics coach. She is the co-author of four books: A Collection of Math Lessons for Grades 6-8, with Marilyn Burns (1990); Connecting Mathematical Ideas: Middle School Video cases of Teaching and Learning, with Jo Boaler (2005); Making Number Talks Matter: Developing Mathematical Practices and Deepening Understanding, Grades 4-10, with Ruth Parker (2015); and, most recently Digging Deeper: Making Number Talks Matter Even More, Grades 3-10, with Ruth Parker (2018).
Kyla Gellerson
Instructor
Kyla has 20 years of experience teaching mathematics to middle school and high school students in Washington State. Currently, shei is a TOSA designing math curriculum for Newcomer students. Kyla has participated in numerous state grants that allowed her to contribute to the Smarter Balanced Digital Library, review open educational resources, and join the Washington State MEC MSP. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and serves as a Washington State Math Fellow.
Hailey Gilmore
Instructor
Hailey has been a teacher in North Thurston Public Schools in Lacey, WA since 2001. She served as a classroom teacher for 13 years before moving into the Learning Assistance Program as a Math Interventionist for grades K-5. Hailey currently works as an Elementary Math Instructional Specialist for NTPS. Through this role, Hailey provides curricular support, mentors and coaches teachers, and leads professional development within the district. Hailey is a National Board Certified Teacher with an emphasis in Early Childhood development. She has been facilitating Number Talks in K-5 classrooms since 2015.
Ruth Parker
Co-Founder & Retired CEO
Ruth is a leading expert in working with parents and the public in support of quality mathematics education in schools. As a new teacher in 1971 on the Makah Indian Reservation in Neah Bay, Washington, Ruth was part of a federally-funded project to develop a model school for Native American children, and remains deeply committed to eliminating opportunity gaps for historically underrepresented populations. She is nationally known and highly respected as a mathematics educator, professional development leader and dynamic speaker. Ruth has directed major efforts to prepare new mathematics teacher leaders in California, Alabama, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State. She is the author of Mathematical Power: Lessons from A Classroom (Heinemann, 1993) and Making Number Talks Matter (Stenhouse, 2015).