Staff

Wafaa Ahmed serves as an Assistant Project Director for the SERP Institute, where she manages the implementation of the SERP-DCPS Partnership for Codifying Knowledge Through Micro-Credentialing. She also supports the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) and other projects. She graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, receiving a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Public Policy. Prior to SERP, she served as a research assistant at Dartmouth's Cognition and Education Lab. She also worked as a policy analyst at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, co-authoring reports on special education, foster care and social capital.

Akshay Anikhindi is the SERP Institute's Web Technology Specialist. He is responsible for supporting the organization's online presence, analytics reporting, and internal software/hardware needs. He has more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit and association space. Akshay holds a B.S. in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland and additional training in project management and web analytics.

Christine Dahnke is the Director of Organizational Development and Partnerships at SERP, where she leads efforts to elevate the institute’s visibility and cultivate strategic partnerships that advance its mission. Collaborating closely with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors, Christine spearheads initiatives to strengthen research-practice partnerships and drive SERP’s long-term growth. Christine has served as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and district administrator, with a focus on educational equity and systems-level problem solving. She is a strong advocate for multilingualism and lifelong learning. Christine holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a master’s degree from Florida International University, and a bachelor’s degree from American University.

Suzanne Donovan is Executive Director of the SERP Institute, where she is building a program of work in partnership with school districts, and anchored in classroom and school practice. She was primary author and co-editor of the two SERP reports: Strategic Education Research Partnership proposed the design and governance structure of the SERP Institute, and Learning and Instruction: A SERP Research Agenda details an illustrative research and development agenda directly tied to classroom practice. Suzanne has also directed the "How People Learn" project at the National Academies since 1999. She served as study director and editor of the most recent report in the series: How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom, which was published in 2005. She was also the study director and co-editor for the NRC report Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education, and was a co-editor of Eager to Learn: Educating our Preschoolers. She has a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley. Before joining the National Research Council, she was on the faculty of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

David Dudley studied art at Oberlin College and did graduate work in creative writing and English at Temple University. He has illustrated books for Oxford University Press, University of California Press, and the Developmental Studies Center, and has done animation, video, and design for Consumer Health Interactive and California WIC. At the University of California at Berkeley, David worked as an art developer, illustrator, writer, and editor for Living by Chemistry, an NSF-sponsored high school chemistry curriculum development project. David has also published creative nonfiction and fiction, literary criticism, and environmental journalism in such periodicals as Schuylkill, Studies in Short Fiction, the San Jose Mercury News, and California Wild (the magazine of the California Academy of Sciences), and has written for a variety of medical websites.

Susan Eagle joined SERP as the Director of Finance in February 2005. She began her career as an audit associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Deloitte & Touche, focusing on the non-profit industry. Upon graduating from business school, Susan worked as a senior management consultant for McKinsey & Company where she worked on Board-level strategic issues for companies in various industries. Susan received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, with distinction, from the McIntire School of the University of Virginia. Susan is also the mother of two sets of twins!

Matt Ellinger has worked at SERP since 2008 and now serves as Creative Director. Matt is a designer and educator focusing on user-centered design for teaching and learning. Matt also leads communications efforts, designs and creates content for all SERP websites, and supports all staff in web, design, and communications. His work prior to SERP includes time with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching where he designed multimedia records of practice, administered studies on the professional preparation of teachers, and facilitated lesson study programs for school districts in Silicon Valley. Matt consults for WestEd's Understanding Science Program as a materials developer and content specialist. Prior to entering the  world of research and design in education, Matt taught elementary and middle school and later served as a school principal. Matt studied education and design at the University of Texas and San Francisco State University.

Emily Hayden is a Literacy Specialist for the SERP Institute where she develops curriculum and supports implementation and evaluation of projects including STARI and micro-credentialing. Prior to earning her PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Emily was a K-12 teacher, literacy specialist, and special education administrator in public Title 1 schools, working with diverse students in high poverty/high mobility settings. Her teaching experience spans K-12 as well as undergraduate/graduate students at the university level, and she has worked with teachers, researchers, community leaders, and policymakers to design curriculum and professional development. She has served as a faculty member at universities in New York and the midwest. Her research focuses on equitable, socially just access to literacy learning across disciplines as well as teacher development.

Beverly Hoffmaster serves as the Director of Operations, which includes financial management, grants administration, and human resources. She earned a degree in Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon University and went on to work in retail commerce for over twenty years prior to joining the SERP team. Her business background includes senior management positions at Finlay Fine Jewelry and The Imaginarium (an educational toy store). Beverly admits to being "crazy" for her dogs and enjoys connecting with family when not overseeing operations at SERP.

Allie Huyghe serves as Assistant Director. In this role, she helps steer the direction of the organization and routinely oversees and seeks to improve processes for management, record-keeping, quality control, and collaboration. She also serves as a project manager to the ByExample projects as well as supports STARI, Word Generation, and other projects. Prior to SERP, she worked with the Neuropsychology Group at the National Cancer Institute within the National Institutes of Health, and has aided in numerous research projects in the field of Industrial/ Organizational Psychology. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the George Washington University.

Avery Jones serves as the Special Assistant, which includes taking on executive assistant responsibilities, as well as project work. She holds a B.A. in English and economics from Baylor University and a master’s in English literature from Texas Christian University. She has broad experience in event planning, executive support, communication, editing, travel coordination, and office management.

Kala Jones is a Literary Specialist for the SERP Institute where she supports implementation and evaluation of the STARI program in several districts across the country. For the past eight years, Kala has spent her time as an AP educator, literacy department chair, new teacher educator, and college advisor in public Title 1 schools and AmeriCorps organizations. During this time she also earned her doctorate from Florida International University in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Language, Literacy, and Culture. Her research focuses on school specific slow violence and its negative impact on Black and Brown students from low-income and majority-minority neighborhoods. In addition to her recent PhD, Kala has a bachelor's in Psychology and English from Mount Holyoke College and an education specialist's degree from Florida International University. In her free time, the Miami native enjoys traveling, writing, and cuddling with her cat, Azula.

Josie Sandor serves as the Program Assistant for the SERP institute where she supports the implementation of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention program (STARI). She attended Binghamton University and pursued the accelerated Masters program, so she was able to receive a B.S. in Human Development Magna Cum Laude and a Masters in Public Administration Summa Cum Laude in four and half years. Her previous experiences include interning with both nonprofit and government organizations. Her interest in equitable education began at an early age as she acted as the student representative to the board of education for the SOMSD school district, Josie has a passion for equity and social justice that aligns with SERP’s mission to build opportunity for educational opportunity  through utilizing advocacy based initiatives at the intersection of empowerment and expanding access to literacy for children. In her free time, she enjoys pursuing fiber arts, playing the bass and going hiking.

Karen Tran is the Assistant Project Director for SERP's Bay Area Field Sites. Her work includes leading the formative evaluation of Oakland's math and science programming as it transitions to the CCSS and NGSS. She also facilitates the research-practice partnership, Reading to Learn in Science, involving nearly 40 teachers in two dozen San Francisco schools. She brings both practice and research experience to her role at SERP, having taught ELL students as an AmeriCorps member and conducting research on a range of school/district improvement issues in her positions at both WestEd and Stanford. She holds a B.A. in political science and geography from UCLA, and a M.A. in policy, organization and leadership studies from Stanford University.

Margaret Troyer is the Director of Literacy Research & Development. In this role, she draws on her significant experience working with adolescent readers to expand the reach of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI). Margaret holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education where her dissertation work focused on teacher implementation of STARI. Margaret began her career in education as a middle school English teacher in the Baltimore City Public Schools and later worked as a teacher and literacy coach in Washington DC. In addition to her Ed.D from Harvard, Margaret has a bachelor’s in English from Oberlin College and an M.A. in teaching from Johns Hopkins University.