ORC Staff Directory

Margaret Kasten, Executive DirectorContact the Director

Margaret (Peggy) Kasten has taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels. She began her career as a high school mathematics teacher in Monterey, California. She was also a classroom teacher and district-level mathematics supervisor in Missouri. Prior to becoming the director of the Ohio Resource Center, Peggy served as a mathematics consultant and as an assistant director at the Ohio Department of Education. She has been an active member of Phi Delta Kappa, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM), and the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM). She has served as the regional services representative for NCTM and, for three years, was the editor of the Projects section of Mathematics Teacher, an NCTM journal. She has held various positions with OCTM and was twice elected to the ASSM board. Peggy holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Missouri and a Ph.D. in mathematics education from The Ohio State University.

David Majesky, Associate Director

Dave Majesky began his teaching career in 1971 in Lorain City Schools as a high school English and journalism teacher. For several years he taught secondary students with learning disabilities. Dave was actively involved in the teachers' association, having been a grievance chair, negotiator, newsletter editor, and president for three elected terms. As a central office administrator, he was responsible at various times for preK-12 curriculum and instruction, professional development, technology, career-technical education, gifted education, grant-funded programs, athletics, certificated personnel, public relations, and alternative programs. At the state level he was active in the Urban Initiative program of the Ohio Department of Education and served as Lorain's representative to the state's School-to-Work project. Dave holds a bachelor's degree in English from Miami University and a master of education degree in secondary curriculum from Bowling Green State University, with additional coursework from Cleveland State University.

Nicole Luthy, Assistant Director

Nicole Luthy began her career in education as a teacher in the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools, where she served on curriculum and professional development teams. Before joining ORC, she was a reading and language arts consultant in the Ohio Department of Education with responsibility for state and federal literacy initiatives and grants. She was a member of the Ohio Literacy Campaign team and coordinated the Summer Institute for Reading Intervention program. Nicole received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Emory University and a master's degree in reading from The Ohio State University, where she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree.


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Christine Bohman, Science Content Specialist

Christie Bohman has a professional background that includes teaching high school life science courses. She taught biology, anatomy, environmental chemistry, and basic science courses while working in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey school districts. She also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach and as a professional development instructor while teaching at Troy High School in Troy, Pennsylvania. Christie attended Bloomsburg University on a basketball scholarship while earning her bachelor’s degree in biology. During her career at Bloomsburg, she served as an academic liaison between school administrators and athletes, as co-captain for the women’s basketball team, and as a leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program. After leaving Bloomsburg University, Christie received her master’s degree in education with an emphasis in instructional technology from Bucknell University, where she also served as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program.

Nancy Brannon, Early Childhood Specialist

Nancy Brannon is a lifelong educator of young children. After receiving her undergraduate degree at Bowling Green State University, she taught second grade at Stockbridge Elementary School and went on to teach first grade and kindergarten in Columbus Public Schools. All total, she taught for eleven years before she and her husband, also an educator in Columbus Public Schools, retired and went back to school. Nancy completed her master’s of arts in Christian education from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and moved to Huntington, West Virginia, to serve as a children’s minister and child care director. After working with elementary and preschool children, educators, and families in the southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia counties located along the Ohio River, she moved back home to Columbus to broaden the scope of her service.

Sheila Cantlebary, Reading Content Specialist

Sheila Cantlebary began her education career in the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools. She taught middle school English, language arts, and reading for 16 years before becoming a high school teacher in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow program. Sheila also worked as a district-level K-12 Reading/Language Arts coordinator. Her professional development experience includes facilitating State Institute for Reading Instruction (SIRI) and English Language Arts Academy sessions. Currently, she is a co-facilitator of the High School Language Arts Network sponsored by the Central Ohio Regional School Improvement Team. Sheila received both her bachelor's and master’s degrees in English education from The Ohio State University. She is a member of the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the International Reading Association.

John Croyle, Program Manager

John Croyle began serving the education mission of The Ohio State University in 1984. Highlights include producing the American College of Radiology’s 100th Year Case of the Day exhibit in Washington, D.C., and serving as the senior illustrator/photographer for an international best-selling anatomy text, Atlas of Axial, Coronal and Sagittal Anatomy with CT and MRI (by A. John Christoforidis). More recently John was the producer for a live weekly television program serving more than 1,500 hospitals throughout the United States; and before joining the Ohio Resource Center team, he was the program manager for an online distance education curriculum that awarded over 50,000 professional development credits to more than 10,000 professionals from 86 countries and 46 U.S. institutions. Currently, John is responsible for the development and implementation of education websites that are a collaboration of the Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Resource Center, Ohio Department of Education, and other higher education institutions across Ohio.

Carol Brown Dodson, Resource Specialist

A 16-year veteran teacher in Ohio, Carol Brown Dodson has taught English language arts and social studies at both the middle and high school levels. Following her work in the classroom, she became a writing specialist for Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools, where she participated in the development and implementation of the Columbus writing assessment. She also served as English language arts supervisor before becoming language arts consultant for the Ohio Department of Education. Active in the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Carol has served on the Board of Directors and has been the Ohio affiliate representative to NCTE. She has been a board member and president of the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. Carol holds a bachelor's degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master's degree from The Ohio State University. She received education administration specialist's training at The Ohio State University and the University of Dayton.

Steve Meiring, Center of Excellence Coordinator

Steve Meiring began his education career in Indiana in 1965, teaching junior high school (all subjects) between earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He went on to teach chemistry and, later, mathematics in Hammond and Marion. He then went on to teach mathematics at Tri-State University in Angola. After four years, he came to Ohio to serve 26 years as a mathematics consultant for the Ohio Department of Education. During that tenure, he wrote a wide variety of inservice publications and conducted innumerable workshops and other professional development activities, the most notable of which were in problem solving. He also served on the prestigious Mathematical Sciences Education Board of the NRC and the American Junior High School Examination committee of the Mathematical Association of America. In addition he has taught mathematics courses at The Ohio State University. From 1999 to present, he has worked for Project SUSTAIN at Ohio State, the Ohio Board of Regents, and currently serves as the coordinator of five regional consortia of higher education institutions and school districts and the Center for Evaluation and Assessment of Mathematics and Science Education, all dedicated to mathematics and science education improvement.

Alexa Murray, Professional Development Specialist

Alexa (A.J.) Murray has worked for the past several years in a curriculum development and research capacity, specializing in the creation of web-based resources and program evaluation. In a prior position with OSU, she worked for nearly six years as a project coordinator on several U.S. Department of Education–funded projects. Before arriving at ORC, Alexa was the program evaluator for the Special Education & Transition Program Area at the Nisonger Center within OSU’s College of Medicine, where she was responsible for coordinating formative and summative outcome evaluations across projects. Being a perpetual student, Alexa holds two master’s degrees, one in gerontological studies from Miami University of Ohio and the other in counseling education from OSU. As her mother frequently likes to point out, neither degree is currently being used, and therefore, her large sum of accrued student loan debt is all for naught, but Alexa optimistically hopes that her background has helped to make her a more well-rounded educator and researcher. She also likes long walks on the beach and dreams of world peace, but that’s for another bio...

Rebecca Parker, Curriculum and Professional Development Specialist

Rebecca A. Parker has devoted her entire professional career of nineteen years to career and technical education at the local, state, and national levels. She has served as Assistant Director of the Professional Development Academy for the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education, and she played a key role in the development and implementation of the National Leadership Institute for the two years it was funded. Rebecca has also taught secondary early childhood education at an Ohio career center, been an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University, worked with new CTE teachers in OSU’s alternative licensure program, and had experience as a curriculum and professional development specialist. She received a bachelor's degree in vocational family and consumer sciences education and a master's degree in vocational technical studies, both from The Ohio State University, and she is an Ohio Career and Technical Education Leadership Institute alumnus.

Brian Schoch, Career-Technical Specialist

Before coming to ORC, Brian Schoch was a teacher in the Columbus, Ohio Public Schools, where he taught high school business, marketing, and technology courses. He also served as his school’s boys track coach, boys and girls cross country coach, school web-site coordinator, huddle leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and public address announcer. Brian earned his master’s degree in Workforce Development Education from The Ohio State University, while working at the Center on Education and Training for Employment (CETE). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Miami University.

Teresa Shiverdecker, Science Content Specialist

Teresa (Terry) Shiverdecker began her career in education as a high school science teacher at Russia Local School in Shelby County, Ohio. While at Russia, she taught both physical and biological sciences, served on curriculum committees, and designed and taught a course for the Concord Consortium's Virtual High School. Her teaching experience also includes adjunct work at the University of Cincinnati and Wright State University, Lake Campus. Before joining ORC, Terry was director of secondary curriculum and instruction for the Shelby County Educational Service Center. She is a member of the National Science Teachers Association, Science Education Council of Ohio, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Terry received a bachelor's degree from Wright State University, her master's degree from Miami University, and an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Cincinnati.

Judy Spicer, Mathematics Content Specialist

Judy Spicer has a professional background that includes teaching mathematics at the high school and community college levels, writing about mathematics curriculum materials and related issues, and serving as the mathematics content specialist in the development of two education-related digital libraries. A member of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, Judy is a frequent presenter at national conferences. Her interests include improving the quality of education for all students and encouraging the use of Internet resources and computer software to help students visualize and understand mathematics. Judy received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Georgian Court University in New Jersey and a master's degree in mathematics education from Penn State.

Sigrid Wagner, Mathematics Content Specialist

With mathematics teaching experience in secondary school and college classrooms, Sigrid Wagner is currently on leave from her position as a professor of mathematics education at The Ohio State University. She has served in leadership positions with a number of professional organizations in mathematics education and has directed projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. She has served as associate editor of the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, co-editor of Research Issues in the Learning and Teaching of Algebra (1989) and series editor of Research Ideas for the Classroom (3 volumes, 1993). Before joining ORC, Sigrid directed Project SUSTAIN (Schools and Universities Statewide Teaching Approaches to INquiry), a multiyear, multimillion-dollar effort of the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Department of Education to institutionalize improvements in mathematics and science teacher preparation programs. Sigrid received bachelor's and master's degrees from Kent State University and Purdue University respectively, and her Ph.D. in mathematics education from New York University.


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Andy Ault, Graphic Designer

Constance Buckley, Web Developer/Engineer

Judy Duguid, Editor

Joyce Francis, Office Assistant

Carrie Garner, Graphic Designer

Richard Huggins, Senior Systems Manager

Jerrod Kennedy, Systems Specialist

Doug Line, Web Developer/Engineer

Gale Martin, Administrative Assistant

Aaron Petry, Web Developer/Engineer

Marilyn Yeamans, Assistant Business Manager


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Graduate Research Assistant
Jaime Kautz
Amy Pinnegar

Undergraduate Staff
Rodney Chambers
Sinjen Miller

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