US Math Recovery Council^® Board of Directors

Lesley Maxfield serves Spokane Public Schools as a District Elementary Math Coach. In addition to implementing Math Recovery^® training, she provides collaborative mentoring and professional development support for elementary math coaches and interventionists. This year, she is offering PD for the district MRIS and Champion certified staff. Lesley also does intervention work supporting students at Title 1 schools.

Jeff Little is Vice President, Corporate Actuarial, with Thrivent, a Fortune 500, member-owned, not-for-profit, financial services organization. During his career at Thrivent, he has held positions in a variety of areas including product management, pricing, risk management, expense management, and strategic development. Jeff is an actuary and achieved his designation as Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) in 2001. He received his B.S. in Mathematics from Illinois State University. In his spare time, he enjoys being active outdoors, reading, and planning his family’s next travel adventure. He lives with his wife Jennifer, his daughter Claire, his son Gabe, their three cats, and their one dog in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

Jonathan is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at Bowling Green State University. He has two main research foci: (1) problem solving within K-16 contexts and (3) assessment within mathematics education contexts. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts and shared more than 70 presentations since 2011. He is currently serving as lead editor for two books focusing on assessment and measures for mathematics education contexts, which will be published in 2019. He has earned more than $4.7 million in federal and state-level grants over the last seven years. Topics for those grants include developing robust assessments of students' mathematics knowledge and designing and leading professional development for K-12 mathematics teachers, which includes intervention specialists. Prior to his Bowling Green State University appointment, Jonathan taught grades 6 - Algebra, including remediation courses, in Virginia. He passionately believes that everyone is capable of engaging in meaningful mathematical learning and thinking. Jonathan seeks every opportunity to assist others in becoming mathematically proficient citizens capable of solving today and tomorrow's problems. He enjoys learning alongside mathematics students of all ages and engaging with teachers through professional development opportunities.

Jonathan earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in mathematics education from the University of Florida in 2011. He completed minors in Research and Evaluation Methodologies and Educational Psychology during his program. Additionally, he successfully finished 18 hours of graduate-level mathematics. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the College of William and Mary and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University.

Dana is a mathematics education consultant at Oakland Schools, an intermediate school district located in Southeast Michigan. In this role, Dana has worked alongside teachers, mathematics and literacy coaches, interventionists, and administrators in an effort to cultivate rich learning environments that are supportive and responsive to each learner. Prior to joining Oakland Schools, Dana was a middle school mathematics teacher. Dana began her Math Recovery^® journey in 2015 when she started taking Math Recovery^® Intervention Specialist. Since that time, Dana has become a Math Recovery^® Leader and Champion.

Dana earned a Ph.D. in Teacher Education from the University of Michigan in 2010. She also holds a B.S. in Education from the University of Michigan and a M.A. in Middle Level Education from Central Michigan University.

Julie is the Oshkosh Area School District Math Intervention Specialist - Elementary Math Coordinator. She has been a part of Math Recovery^® since 2006 when she became a Math Recovery^® Intervention Specialist and went on to become an AVMR Champion and MRIS Teacher Leader. Julie has a passion for professional development and helping teachers reach the needs of the diverse students they serve.

Julie earned her Master's degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh.

Amelia Hough-Ross is Deputy Chief Technology Officer of Companion Data Services (CDS), a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. During her career at CDS, she has supported business development for commercial and government contracts and led efforts to migrate applications to the cloud for projects supporting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Prior to working for CDS, Amelia led technical projects for The Expedia Group, Sherwin-Williams, and Progressive Insurance. Amelia is an AWS Certified Associate Developer, Solutions Architect, Sysops Administrator, and Certified Security Specialist. She received her B.A. in Computer Science from Smith College and her MBA in strategy and organizational behavior from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. In her spare time, she enjoys cardio workouts, listening to audio books, and planning family outings.

Currently consulting for pharmaceutical and healthcare related companies, and formerly with the FDA as a lead counsel, Judd has used his career experience to help others. Prior to joining the FDA, Judd was a consultant for several pharma companies, and was also a Vice President of Legal and Compliance within Tricida Inc. At Array Biopharma he was an Executive Director of Legal and Compliance and Privacy Officer. Prior to relocating to the Colorado area, Judd was with Depomed Inc. focusing on healthcare compliance along with DOJ, State, and Senate investigations related to the opioid space. Before joining Depomed, Judd handled all compliance related monitoring, auditing, and investigations at Questcor Pharmaceuticals. Beyond the corporate side of the industry, Judd spent time at FDA in the Office of the Commissioner during his law school tenure. He also spent time at the Department of Justice in the Office of Consumer Protection.

Judd earned his Bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University prior to obtaining his Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University. He obtained a Master in Healthcare Administration at Seton Hall University, a Master’s of Science degree from John’s Hopkins University, and another Master’s of Science from Columbia University. Judd has graduate certificates from American University in Genetics, Medicine, International Health, Bioethics, and Pharmaceutical Law. Judd also has a Healthcare Compliance Certificate from Seton Hall University School of Law. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at Yale University, and serving as a Board Member of the Benzodiazepine Alliance to ensure appropriate prescribing habits.

Regina Ligon is an Elementary (K-5) Dean of Students with the Albuquerque Public Schools in Albuquerque, NM. She works with teachers, administrators and district leaders analyzing, planning and guiding the implementation of school curriculum. Her work includes coaching teachers and providing professional development; implementing interventions with students; and participating in reflective collaboration with colleagues. She has been a Math Recovery^® Intervention Specialist since 2017 and is passionate about work with students and teachers.

Regina received her B.S. from New Mexico State University in Education and became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2011.

John is the founder of Evoque Business Consulting, where he creates business strategy, marketing and sales plans, develops communications and assesses acquisition targets for consumer product companies. He has held leadership positions at Crystal Farms and The Schwan Food Company. John has experience growing established national brands in addition to launching new ones, both driven by a desire for innovation.

Beth is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Utah State University. She has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts and shared more than 40 presentations since 2010. Beth is currently writing and designing grant proposals to examine transitions students with learning disabilities make when reorganizing whole number and operational schema to construct fractions and fraction operations.

Beth earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in mathematics education from Virginia Tech in 2013. She also holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and Studio Art from SUNY Potsdam and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a Mathematics Specialist certificate from Virginia Tech.

Yaraliz Soto is currently the Math Instructional Leadership Specialist (ILS) for Morgan Full Service Community School (Grades Pk-4) in Holyoke, MA. She has been in this role for the past five years. Prior to that, she was a district-wide Math ILS for grades 4-8. She started her educational career as a 7/8 Math and Science teacher for Holyoke Community Charter School, working in this role for 7 years. In 2018, Yaraliz began her Math Recovery journey as a Math Recovery Intervention Specialist and has since added Math Recovery Champion to her resume.

Yaraliz received her B.A. from Barnard College in New York City and her M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

Mike Vallier is a math consultant in Kalamazoo Michigan. He began as a fifth grade teacher in 2000. After becoming a Math Recovery Intervention Specialist in 2015, he began coaching and developing the MTSS program for his district. Mike now provides individual math coaching and consulting to K-8 teachers and school districts in Kalamazoo County. He also provides local and regional professional development offerings throughout Michigan. Mike became a Math Recovery Champion in 2018, and helped found a statewide collaborative network of Champions and MR Leaders. He will complete his MRSp Leader designation this year. Mike is the president of the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and is a member of several state and national math organizations.

Mike received his Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, and his Master's Degree in Educational Technology from Western Michigan University.

Dr. Christina Miller, Executive Director of the US Math Recovery Council^® (USMRC), has been an active member of the Math Recovery^® community for over 15 years serving in various roles including Math Recovery trainer, board member, Program Development Director, and serves currently as Executive Director. Before joining the US Math Recovery Council team full-time, Christina worked over 19 years in K-12 public education in capacities including classroom teacher, math interventionist, and instructional coach. She worked with students, teachers, and administrations to improve the quality of math instruction including supporting large-scale initiatives and implementations of Math Recovery. Christina has supported both undergraduate and graduate-level coursework in higher education. Her current work involves leading the organization in fulfilling the mission of the US Math Recovery Council to transform numeracy education through Math Recovery principles. Christina holds a B.A. in Elementary Education, M.A. in Educational Leadership, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in mathematics and elementary education.