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.

Bertine is currently the Principal of Stocktrail Elementary school, the sole Dual Language Immersion elementary school in Gillette, Wyoming’s Campbell County School District. Bertine and his staff are committed to helping every child grow academically, socially and emotionally. He believes in data driven instruction and it is through that lens that he and his team make decisions. In 2020, Bertine was named the Wyoming Principal of the Year. Prior to moving into a principal position, he taught math at Campbell County High School in Gillette, WY for 10 years. He has a bachelor’s in Mathematics and Mathematics Education from the University of Wyoming, and earned a master's in Educational Leadership from South Dakota State University. He is currently working on his Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Wyoming.

Bertine is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire) in Africa. He is a proud father of three and his wife is also an educator, having taught both kindergarten and first grade for over a decade. As an educator and leader, his focus is on ensuring that ALL students succeed.

Melissa is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Houston. Her research focuses on the knowledge, beliefs, and practices that teachers need to support multilingual learners in the mathematics classroom. She primarily focuses on grades 3-8, but also works across K-12. As a former elementary teacher, math coach, and math interventionist, Melissa situates her research in practice by working closely with teachers and students. She has authored more than 35 peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented more than 85 presentations since 2013. Melissa earned her B.A. in Elementary Education and Economics from the College of William and Mary, her M.A. in International Education from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. in Teaching and Teacher Education with an emphasis in mathematics education 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.

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.

Dr. Beth MacDonald began working as an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Mathematics Education at Illinois State University in the fall of 2022. After teaching kindergarten, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade in southwest Virginia for 15 years, she served as mathematics specialist for two years in two PK-5 Title 1 schools. Beth’s current research includes examining conceptual resources students with learning disabilities utilize when reorganizing their whole number and operational schemes to construct fractions and fraction operations. Prior to accepting a position at Illinois State University, Beth served as an Assistant/Associate Professor at Utah State University in Elementary Mathematics Education.

Dr. MacDonald 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.

Deanna has been supporting students and teachers since she was in grade school. That love of learning and heart for service led to a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, a master’s in Educational Leadership, and countless continuing education certificates. She has been teaching since 1994, starting in Orlando, Florida before moving to Santa Clara, California in 1998. Teaching with different grade level teams taught her the value of collaboration and inspired her to become a teacher on special assignment. Since becoming a TOSA she has provided district-wide and site-based professional learning, led teams of teacher leaders, created curriculum resources, modeled best practices with students in classrooms, contributed to grade level PLCs, and shared her knowledge as a presenter at national math conferences. Her greatest accomplishment, besides raising her two sons, was becoming an Add+Vantage Math Recovery (AVMR) Champion in 2018, which helped her to provide teachers with the knowledge, assessments, and lessons to support Tier I and Tier II instruction. Adding AVMR to her repertoire of curriculum support and math workshop professional development strengthened her ability to support teachers as they strive to meet students’ needs and improve outcomes for all students.

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.