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Elevating Education For All.

The Emerald Education team has more than 190 years of collective leadership and education elevation experience in mathematics, STEM and CTE, workforce development, and educational leadership development.

June St. Clair Atkinson, PhD

Chief Executive Officer
  • State Superintendent of North Carolina Public Schools (2005-2016)
  • Former High School Business Teacher and Community College Instructor
  • Former President for the National Council of Chief State School Officers
  • Former Chief Consultant & Director N.C. Department of Public Instruction for Business, Career, and Technical Education & Instructional Services
  • Doctorate, Educational Leadership & Policy, North Carolina State University
  • Honorary Doctorate, Campbell University
  • Master’s Degree, Vocational & Technical Education, Virginia Tech
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Business Education – Radford University
June Atkinson, CEO, Emerald Education Team
Dr. Atkinson has received numerous awards for her educational efforts, including:
  • Champion of Children Award from the North Carolina Association of School Administrator
  • State Policy Maker of the Year Award from the National Association for State Educational Technology Directors
  • North Carolina Association of Educators Inclusive Leadership Award

As the first woman elected to the State Superintendent of North Carolina Public Schools, Dr. Atkinson grew the graduation rate from 68% to an all-time high of 86%. She did so by understanding the importance of improving teaching and learning in educational environments that encouraged success, and she brings this expertise and passion to Emerald Education.

Jennifer Curtis, PhD

Founder and President
  • Former North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Section Chief for Mathematics
  • Former Director of the Math Science Partnership Grant ($4.8 million annually)
  • Former roles include district curriculum leader, principal mentor, digital learning implementer, elementary school principal, secondary mathematics teacher, and pre-school teacher
  • Doctorate, Educational Leadership & Policy – University of Virginia
  • Master’s Degree, Elementary & Middle Education – Old Dominion University
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Interdisciplinary Studies Focusing on Applied Mathematics and Science – Old Dominion University
Jennifer Curtis, Founder & President, Emerald Education
Jenn believes that when teachers, parents, and communities work together, great things happen for our children. School, District, and State Level Leaders are the key holders of partnerships and relationships in education. That is why Emerald Education was born.
As Founder and President, her mission is to assemble enthusiastic and compassionate people with the expertise, skills, and experience to advise, collaborate, and partner with school and district leaders and state education agencies so that each and every student has an opportunity to learn according to their individual needs and goals.

Rachel Beaulieu

Vice President
  • Served as North Carolina’s Legislative Director for the Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education.
  • 2008 Chair (Debut) Institute for Teachers (LIFT), a program that instructs teachers about the law of their jobs
  • Former 4th and 5th Grade Teacher, Alamance-Burlington School System
  • Juris Doctor, University of Chapel Hill School of Law
  • North Carolina Teaching Fellow, Bachelor’s Degree, Elementary Education – Elon University
Rachel Beaulieu, Vice President, Emerald Education

Rachel is a known advocate for students and teachers in her law practice. She has championed causes vital to education, such as increased professional development and targeted training for educators. Rachel understands the importance of this critical element in the continuum of care for our school children and education outcomes.

Kenna Barger

Chief Academic Officer
  • National Board-Certified Educator
  • Former Division Director for Instructional Programs at the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) in Atlanta, Georgia overseeing the development of people, products and processes within the Advanced Career, Learning Centered Leader Partnership, Literacy and Math, Project-Based Learning and Readiness programs
  • Former Mathematics Teacher, School Administrator, District Leader and Department of Education Consultant in West Virginia
  • Master’s Degree, Curriculum and Instruction – Secondary Mathematics – West Virginia University
  • 45 Endorsements For Educational Leadership
Kenna Barger, Chief Academic Officer, Emerald Education
Kenna has over 25 years of experience partnering with educators in schools, districts, and state agencies across the nation in an effort to improve the efficacy of initiatives related to school improvement, professional learning, STEM, and Career and Technical Education. She has been featured in the Creative Classroom Video Series by Harvard Project Zero and the PBS Taping, “Raising Expectations of Career Bound Students,” and served as the education representative at the President’s Economic Forum.
Recognition for Kenna’s work includes:
  • Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award
  • Disney American Teacher Award
  • Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Jamie Woodlief

Director, Finance Executive
  • Former Project Coordinator for the Digital Learning Initiative in Academic and Digital Learning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
  • Former Reporter WLFL-TV, Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Accounting – Western Governor’s University
Jamie Woodlief, Executive Director, Finance, Emerald Education
In her role in the Office of the State Superintendent, Jamie was pivotal in the office’s daily operations. As Project Coordinator for the Digital Learning Initiative in Academic and Digital Learning, she oversaw the state-wide 100% successful opt-in process for the Home Base suite of tools for the 2017-18 school year. In her years of working in education, she has collaborated with, supported, managed, or coordinated with nearly every division in the agency and likely every school district in North Carolina.

Tammy Baumann, PhD

Executive Director, Academic Services
  • Former Chief Academic Officer at Open Up Resources – Responsible for strategic partnerships, leading the math and literacy curriculum and professional learning portfolio, and managing the state adoption and RFP process.
  • Former Vice President of Academic Services for NWEA – Provided strategic oversight for design and development of tools, resources, and professional learning for mathematics and literacy instruction
Tammy Baumann, Executive Director, Academic Services, Emerald Education
  • Served at the local, state, and national level as a committee member, panelist, or chairman for organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, U. S. Department of Education, NAEP, Achieve, and the PA Department of Education
  • Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction –  Capella University
  • Master’s Degree,  Secondary Education – Indiana University
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Mathematics Education – Edinboro University
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Marketing – Indiana University
Tammy is an innovative and dedicated educational leader with 20+ years of experience in K–12 education, serving as a teacher, instructional coach, building administrator, and curriculum director. In the public education sector, she has supported teaching and learning practices for mathematics and literacy, focusing on identity, emergent bilingual students, and student engagement.
She has held managerial and executive roles with nonprofit and for-profit educational companies for 8+ years. A strategic thinker, Tammy has developed product and market strategy, expanded the portfolio of organizational partnerships, lead change management, and designed and implemented quality assurance processes. Her experience includes building teams, growing leadership capacity, developing curriculum and professional learning, and fostering innovation.

Michelle Tucker

Director, Mathematics
  • Former Director of K-12 Mathematics, (School System)
  • Former Elementary and  Middle School Math Teacher
  • Master’s of Education in Curriculum & Instruction, North Carolina State University
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Early Childhood Development – University of Lynchburg (Formerly Lynchburg College)
Michelle Tucker, Director, Mathematics, Emerald Education

Michelle believes that all students deserve access to a standards-aligned, high-quality, rigorous curriculum and a highly trained teacher in providing mathematics instruction. Access is at the core of equity, and all students are entitled to access.

She has led the procurement and creation of district-wide curriculum across all levels and facilitated professional learning on effective mathematics instruction. She has worked to develop a balanced assessment system and instructional model to support all students within the MTSS framework.

Katrina Santner

Director, Assessment
  • Former Manager for the design and development of a variety of large-scale, formative and interim assessment product package serving over 2.4 million students across 23 states
  • Led professional learning for district, school, and teacher leaders, both in the U.S. and abroad
  • Worked closely with a consortium of states to develop and launch the PARCC assessments.
  • Former high school mathematics teacher and instructional coach, partnering with mathematics teachers from elementary through high school to improve teaching and learning practices.
  • Master’s of Arts in Education with a focus on International Education Policy, The George Washington University
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Mathematics and Education – Saint Louis University
Katrina Santner, Director, Assessment, Emerald Education
Katrina is deeply committed to advancing equitable education outcomes for all students by advocating for standards-aligned, culturally responsive, and accessible assessments and instructional materials. She believes that every student deserves to know and experience the joy of mathematics.

Patrick Curtis

Director, Business Operations
  •  Bio coming soon
Patrick Curtis, Director, Business Operations, Emerald Education

Sharron Stuart

Graphic Design Manager
  • Former Substitute & School Secretary
  • Former Owner & Lead Graphic Designer, DCS Design, Inc.
  • Former Marketing Coordinator, Montgomery Watson Engineering
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Business Administration – West Virginia University

Sharron sees the value of being involved in education as a top priority and shaping the minds of the future. As a full-time school employee, she served as a community liaison to improve the relationships between students, staff, and parents. She made it a goal to become a major conduit in communication, making it easier and less intimidating to people of all ages. She was also involved with many projects outside her school, providing services for the entire district.

Sharon Stuart, Graphic Design Manager, Emerald Education

Tabita Adair

Math Content Manager
  • Former teacher, administrator, academic dean, educational specialist, content developer, and curriculum writer in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia with backgrounds in public, private, classical, and homeschool learning environments.
  • Former team member, Chief Academic Officer, and Academic Dean, Georgia University Model School (Homeschool/Private School Hybrid)
  • Former Educational Specialist, Pearson – Delivered mathematics professional development to teachers, schools, and districts across the country, as well as customized training for schools and districts as requested. She performed school-wide needs assessments, developed an action plan, and delivered job-embedded services and coaching. In her time at Pearson, she also wrote assessment and personalized instruction professional learning modules to be delivered by educational specialists with teachers nationally.
Tabitha Adai, Math Content Manager, Emerald Education
  • Former Consultant, Gallopade – Wrote social Studies project based learning and writing prompts for grades 6-8 based on Georgia and Tennessee state standards.
  • Former Content Developer, Math Learning Center – Helped revise and write the Grade 1 Bridges in Mathematics Third Edition.
  • Master’s Degree, Elementary Education – University of Florida

Tabita believes all children grow and learn best in environments where they feel valued and safe and has worked to support teachers in creating this type of environment in their classrooms. As an elementary teacher, she worked to pass on her curiosity and passion for life-long learning to her students.

Tabita was recognized as Teacher of the Year at Carr Elementary School in Dallas, NC.

Dawne Coker

Math Content Manager
  • Former University Instructor, Distance Education Math Methods For Preservice Teachers
  • Former K-5 District Math Curriculum Specialist for a large urban school system.
  • Designed system-wide professional learning opportunities for groups of 1000+ teachers in face-to-face and hybrid settings
  • Former elementary teacher, math coach, and technology facilitator
  • Master’s Degree, Special Education with a concentration in Learning Disabilities – North Carolina State University
  • Collaborated with East Carolina University in piloting an Elementary Math Add-On Licensure Program, earning her 18 credit hours in master’s level math education coursework.
  • Bachelor’s Degree, Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Fredonia
Dawn Coker, Math Content Manager, Emerald Education
Besides math education being the focus of her career, it is also Dawne’s passion and way of giving back to the community. She has served in leadership roles on district and statewide grants, including NC Tools4Teachers and the North Carolina Collaborative for Mathematics Learning. Further, Dawne has volunteered on state-level committees to revise state math standards, design curricular resources, create formative assessment tasks and interim assessments, and build a bank of standardized test items.
Dawne’s work has been featured in the Education Week article, ‘Digital Math Games and Apps’. She has also been referenced in the book Zero for Parents and Teachers and in the article ‘Future Directions for Technology Enhanced Learning Environments.

Renee Bunch

Regional Account Manager
  • Former Middle School Principal
  • Former High School Administrator
  • Former Middle & High School Math Teacher
  • BS Interdisciplinary Studies, University of North Texas
  • MS in Education with a Focus on Curriculum, Instruction Assessment, Walden University
As she has done throughout her career, Renee works to deliver exceptional education solutions and experiences for our clients. Renee understands the unique needs of educators and can provide solutions that drive positive outcomes in classrooms throughout the country.
Renee Bunch, Regional Account Manager, Emerald Education

Jamie Curtis

Wellness Coordinator & Operations
  •  Bio coming soon
Jamie Curtis, Wellness Coordinator & Operations, Emerald Education

Kate Shields

Regional Account Manager
  • Former District Administrator role obtaining grants for the district, development teacher training programs, assisting in the launch of RTII/MTSS, reinventing district technology processes and systems, and launching the 1-1 computing initiative
  • Former K-12 teacher and educational technology specialist as a teacher and K-12 instructional technology specialist
  • BS Liberal Studies, Neumann University (Aston, PA)
  • Masters in Education, Instructional Technology, St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA)
While Kate loved teaching, she has followed her true passion in working with teachers and partnering with them to purposefully infuse technology into their curriculum. She believes everyone is a student, and every day is a chance to learn something new.
Kate Shields, Regional Account Manager, Emerald Education

Betsy Urschel

Math Content Spcialist
  • Former Lead Elementary Mathematics Instructional Coach for a large urban school district
  • Former Secondary Mathematics Coordinator at a large urban school district and a suburban district
  • Former Secondary Mathematics Consultant for the Texas Education Service Center providing support for over 130 school districts, charters, and private schools across 10 counties
  • Former Senior Consultant, STEM and Leadership supporting school districts, community college, and state education agencies nationwide in the areas of mathematics, career and technical education, school leadership, integrated academics, and technology 
  • Former Campus Administrator and Middle School and High School Mathematics and Technology Teacher
  • Master of Science, Elementary Education Mathematics – University of Houston, Clear Lake
  • Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing – Stephen F. Austin State University
Betsy Urchel, Math Content Specialist, Emerald Education

Betsy has delivered over 800 staff development workshops at the district, state, and regional levels in 27 states.  She has presented at various National Conferences including National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), National Tech Prep Network (NTPN), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Southern Regional Education Board’s High Schools That Work (HSTW), and Kids Who Know and Do (KWKD). 

In addition to being an applications specialist on an Algebra 2 textbook, Betsy is a published writer with the books Jump into Algebra! and Modeling Mathematics: Learning Through Applications. She has authored numerous articles as well.
Betsy’s roots are in Texas where she has been a contributing writer for the Mathematical Modeling Institute for Secondary Teachers and the Mathematical Models with Applications Course Materials: Science TEXTEAMS Implementation Strategies as well as the Mathematical Models with Applications: Clarifying Activities for the Texas Education Agency.

Most recently, Betsy was named as an International Mathematics Leadership Expert Speaker, Knowledgehook. Ontario, Canada.

Jodi Chapman

Copy Editor
  • Former Copy Editor/Proofreader, Macmillan Learning
  • Former Writer/Editor, Scratch Wireless, Inc
  • Bachelor’s Degree, English Brigham Young University

Jodi’s goal in educational publishing is to make the material—whether organic chemistry textbook or Kindergarten math lesson—as accurate and accessible to students as possible. She’s passionate about the serial comma.

Jody Chapman, Copy Editor, Emerald Education