Home
About Us
History
Board of Directors
Staff
Media Center
Industry Information
Sponsorship
Contact Us
Site Map
|
Board of Directors
Officers
|
President
Daniel Caton
President-Elect
Neal Goff
Vice President
Lee Wilson
Treasurer
Kevin McAliley
Past President
Suzanne I. Barchers, Ed.D.
|
|
|
|
Directors
|
David Beacom
Corinne Burton
Robert Coughlan
Grant Davies
David Glover
Linda Hanger
Michael Johnson
Fady Khairallah
Victoria Porras
Maria Szalay
Bret Thomas
Scott Traylor
Randy Wilhelm
Ira Wolfman
Greg Worrell
Charlene F. Gaynor
|
Officers
|
|
|

|
President
Daniel Caton
- Executive Vice President, McGraw-Hill School Education
Group
Dan Caton is Executive Vice President of McGraw-Hill School
Education Group, where he leads the program development and
product marketing activities for all PreK-12 educational programs
and services. Dan previously served as President of McGraw-Hill
Learning Group, the McGraw-Hill publisher of special needs
and supplemental print and technology instructional materials.
Dan began his career as a middle school teacher in southern
California. He moved to educational publishing, where he oversaw
the creation of educational programs in nearly all areas of
elementary and secondary publishing. Dan also served in marketing
capacities, most notably in product management and as a supervisor
of market research.
Beginning in 1986, Dan also supervised the development of
electronic education, beginning with stand-alone disc-based
software and moving on to early CD-ROM development. He later
oversaw development of some of the first educational web pages
in the areas of biology, chemistry, physics, and elementary
and secondary mathematics. Dan then served as Vice President,
Product Development for Computer Curriculum Corporation in
Sunnyvale, California.
Prior to joining McGraw-Hill in April of 2007, Dan served
as President of Pearson Learning Group, the Pearson unit responsible
for alternative basal, supplemental materials, and formative
assessment.
Dan serves as the President-Elect of the Board of the Association
of Educational Publishers. He currently serves on the Board
of Directors of the Columbus Symphony and on the Business
Advisory Council of the Columbus College of Art and Design.
Dan holds a BA in Literature from Claremont McKenna College
and an MA in Education from Claremont Graduate School, both
located in Claremont, California.
TOP
|
|
|
President-Elect
Neal Goff
- President, Egremont Associates
Neal Goff is President of Egremont Associates, LLC, a consultancy
that provides marketing and strategic advice to publishers
and educational technology companies. Prior to forming Egremont
Associates, he was President of the Weekly Reader Publishing
Group. In this role, he oversaw Weekly Readers 12 classroom
magazines, its Curriculum and Custom Publishing businesses,
the FactsforLearning database business and Weekly Readers
other digital activities.
Neal has been in publishing for most of the last three decades,
much of that time working in childrens and educational
publishing. From 1982 to 1993, he worked at Time Inc., where
he held senior positions at Time-Life Books and Book-of-the-Month
Club. While there, he led the start-up of Childrens
Book-of-the-Month Club, which he managed through its initial
launch to profitability. He later became President of Prentice
Hall Direct, then the direct marketing division of Simon &
Schuster, and President of Scholastic Library (formerly Grolier)
Publishing.
Neal graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and
has an MBA from the Columbia Graduate School of Business.
He is a former board member of the Association of American
Publishers, the Book Industry Study Group, and AuthorHouse,
the leading self-publishing company. He currently serves on
the Boards of the Association of Educational Publishers and
the Urban Education Exchange.
Neal and his wife live in New York City. They have two children.
TOP
|
|
|
Vice President
Lee Wilson
- President & CEO, PCI Education
PCI Education offers real-life approaches to teaching basic
academic skills and life skills to struggling students, from
Special Education to the regular classroom to ESL to Adult
Education. Lee has completed two terms on the AEP Board of
Directors. He has more than 20 years of experience in the
K-12 field with expertise in strategy, products, marketing,
and sales issues for technology and print publishers.
Prior to joining PCI Education, he operated Headway Strategies,
an Texas-based management consulting firm focused on the education
industry. He has also served as Vice President, Marketing
and Chief Marketing Officer at Harcourt Achieve; Regional
Vice President of Pearson Learning Group; and General Manager
of K12Planet.com at Chancery Software. In his seven years
at Apple Computer Lee held a variety of positions, including
Business Development Manager and K-12 Enterprise Solutions
Marketing Specialist. He has an MBA from The Wharton School
at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelors degree
in history and political science from Princeton University.
TOP
|
|
|
Treasurer
Kevin McAliley
Kevin McAliley is an experienced executive in educational
media, currently providing strategic consulting services to
software and print educational companies, and investment advisory
services to financial institutions and private equity firms.
Kevin was the CEO of Triumph Learning and led its growth from
$15MM in 2001 to almost $90MM in 2008. Kevin was also CEO
of Channel One Communications, the world's largest private
satellite network, and Films Media Group. Earlier in his career
he led the team that launched Newbridge Educational Publishing,
which grew from a business plan to a $24MM publisher, and
was also twice nominated for an Emmy Award as an educational
TV producer. Kevin has been the principal in over $500MM of
mergers and acquisitions in print and digital educational
media. He has been a speaker at SIIA, EdNet, and AEP events.
He earned an MBA from Columbia and an A.B. from Harvard.
TOP
|
|
|
Past President
Suzanne I. Barchers, Ed.D.
Suzanne Barchers began her career as a teacher and administrator,
working in primarily urban settings across the country. She
also served as education director and deputy director of the
Children’s Museum of Denver.
After the publication in 1990 of her first book, Creating
and Managing the Literate Classroom, Suzanne became acquisitions
editor for Teacher Ideas Press, a division of Libraries Unlimited.
She next developed a line of books for teachers, parents,
and children for Fulcrum Publishing, a trade publishing company
in Colorado. From 1990 to 1999, she served as an affiliate
faculty member at the University of Colorado, Denver.
Suzanne has written extensively for the education market,
completing two college textbooks, more than 20 teacher resource
books, more than 50 articles, a geography CD-ROM, and a keyboard
curriculum. She has written more than 72 children's books
and readers for various publishers, bringing her total number
of published and forthcoming books to more than 100. She is
a seasoned speaker, having presented at regional, national,
and international conferences. Before going to LeapFrog, she
was Managing Editor at Weekly Reader. She currently
writes and consults from her home in Stanford, CA.
Suzanne has a bachelor’s degree in elementary Education
from Eastern Illinois University, a master’s degree
in education from Oregon State University, and a doctorate
of education in curriculum and design from the University
of Colorado, Boulder.
TOP
|
Directors
|
|
|
|
David Beacom
- Publisher and Associate Executive Director, National Science
Teachers Association
David Beacom is currently Associate Executive Director and
Publisher for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA),
where he heads the product development effort—which
includes books, professional journals, a newspaper, websites,
and e-newsletters. David joined NSTA after two decades with
the National Geographic Society, where he developed hundreds
of school programs—ranging from traditional print and
audiovisual media to advanced technologies. During his tenure
at the Society, he was the lead creative and editorial voice
in education and developed Geographic’s pioneering electronic
media titles. He has written on travel and design for National
Geographic Traveler, The Washington Post, The
Chicago Tribune, and other publications, and on publishing
for ASAE’s Association Now. David lives in Washington,
DC.
TOP
|
|
|
Corinne Burton
- President, Shell Education
- President, Teacher Created Materials
Corinne Burton is the President of Shell
Education and of Teacher Created Materials. Corinne joined
Teacher Created Materials full time in 2000 and started, in
partnership with Deanne Mendoza, Shell Education in 2005.
As Shell Education continues to grow into a strong supplemental
publishing and professional development company, Corinne continues
at both Shell Education and Teacher Created Materials.
Having worked in each department at Teacher Created Materials,
Corinne has an in depth understanding of operations, finance,
sales/marketing, and editorial. Her comprehensive insight
and leadership has grown Teacher Created Materials and Shell
Education into companies that operate throughout the United
States and over 90 countries around the world.
Prior to joining Teacher Created Materials
full time, Corinne was an elementary school teacher in the
Capistrano Unified School District. Teaching made Corinne
a strong advocate for education. Corinne works with schools
and districts to understand the needs of educators, celebrate
the achievement of students, and support districts, parents
and teachers along the way. She has helped build Teacher Created
Materials and Shell Education by respecting teachers, listening
to them, and appreciating their contributions.
Corinne attended the University of California,
San Diego where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in Political
Science. She continued her education with a California Teaching
Credential from University of California, Irvine and her Masters
in Educational Technology from Teacher’s College at
Columbia University. As a local of Huntington Beach, California,
Corinne lives in the city where she grew up and currently
lives with her husband and three daughters.
TOP
|
|
|
Robert Coughlan
- Co-Owner/Principal, Capstone Publishers
Mr. Coughlan and his wife, Michelle, have three children
and reside in MN. He enjoys being involved in CEO peer to
peer roundtables, reading and traveling with his family. Currently,
Bob is a Board member for the Mankato United Way, Greater
Mankato Early Learning Initiative and Association of Educational
Publishers. Bob graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane,
Washington with a bachelor of arts degree in History.
Capstone is the leading publisher of childrens books
and digital products and services, offering everything from
nonfiction, fiction, and picture books to interactive books,
audio books, and literacy programs. Imprints and divisions
include Capstone Press, Compass Point Books, Picture Window
Books, Stone Arch Books, Red Brick Learning, Capstone Digital,
and Heinemann-Raintree.
TOP
|
|
|
Grant Davies
- CEO, Teaching Strategies Inc.
Grant Davies is Chief Executive Officer of Teaching Strategies
Inc., an early childhood publishing and education services
company. Prior to joining Teaching Strategies, he was CEO
of Davies Consulting Inc. He has more than thirty years experience
collaborating with clients in the education, healthcare, and
publishing industries as a management consultant. He has provided
consulting services to these industries on strategic and business
planning, financial systems, operations improvement, and change
management. Mr. Davies currently sits on the boards of The
American Hospice Foundation and Bethesda MD Fire Department.
Mr. Davies received his MBA from McGill University and is
both a Chartered Public Accountant (Canada) and a Certified
Management Consultant.
TOP
|
|
|
David Glover
David Glover is the CEO of Learning Media, the largest educational
publisher in New Zealand. The company is government-owned
and provides contract publishing and professional development
services, as well as marketing its own publications worldwide.
David is a seasoned leader with over 15 years' experience
at CEO level and 25 years at Board level. He began his career
working in London as an award-winning copywriter for Time-Life
Books, then went on to become Creative Director and CEO of
McCann-Erickson Worldwide advertising agencies in the U.K.,
Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand.
In 2002 David settled permanently in New Zealand and acquired
and managed the country's most respected business training
company. In 2008 he sold the business, joined Learning Media
and returned to the world of publishing.
David holds an MA(Hons) from Jesus College, Cambridge University.
He is a Fellow of the NZ Institute of Management, an accredited
member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a director of
the NZ Council for Educational Research.
TOP
|
|
|
Linda Hanger
Linda Hanger was most recently the President
of Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. Founded in 1979,
Evan-Moor publishes supplemental educational materials which
support the PreK-6th classroom across the curriculum. Previous
positions include President & CEO, Nolo, Berkeley, CA
(1993-2004); Faculty, Stanford Professional Publishing
Course, Stanford University (1999-2004); Senior Vice
President & Publisher, M & T Publishing, San Mateo,
CA (1989-1993); and Vice President/Sales & Marketing,
Osborne/McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, CA (1982-1989).
Current Board of Director positions include
Nolo (1999 to present) and Schoolwise Press (Publishing 20/20)
(1995 to present).
TOP
|
|

|
Michael Johnson
- President, Full Potential Associates
Since 1985 Michael has been designing, developing,
and delivering technology solutions for government entities,
publishing companies, universities, public and school libraries,
and classrooms of all types. In 2008, Michael founded Full
Potential Associates which is a consultancy focused on the
strategic and technical issues facing the publishing and education
world.
His career spans small technology companies
such as The Library Corporation all the way up to large multinational
distribution companies such as Follett Corporation.
In 2000, while at Follett, Michael started
his involvement in strategy at the broader Group and Corporate
levels. This strategy work was well beyond products and existing
markets involving things such as corporate strategy and M&A.
In 2005, Michael founded the Follett Digital
Resources business unit within Follett Corporation. In addition
to running that business unit, Michael was a member of Follett’s
Senior Leadership Group and Follett’s IT Leadership
Council. Michael’s operation was the group charged with
driving Follett Corporation’s digital strategy.
Michael was involved in a series of M&A
activities during his time at Follett with two of the projects
(ICI and Fourteen40) ending up be directly acquired by Follett
Digital Resources.
Michael has been involved in a wide variety
of industry committees, sub-committees, work groups and the
like. He is a frequent panelist, moderator, or speaker on
strategic and technical topics across the country and abroad.
In 2008, Michael was named to the Board
of Directors for the Association of Educational Publishers.
TOP
|
|
|
Fady Khairallah
With over 20 years of business leadership
and success in driving new business growth through innovation,
Fady Khairallah is currently the President of MDR, a Dun and
Bradstreet Company in Shelton, CT. MDR is a leading provider
of sales and marketing solutions for the education sector.
Under Fady’s leadership, MDR has grown from $27 to $53
million in yearly revenue while improving net margin to a
world-class 53%. Fady brings MDR and its customers extensive
experience in marketing, technology and operations to solve
challenging business problems. Before assuming the GM role
in April 2005, Fady served as MDR’s COO. Khairallah
has driven an accelerated product development process and
championed investment in sales and customer support to meet
MDR customer needs.
Previously, Fady served as COO of Sound
Vision Inc, a VC-backed startup in Wayland, MA. Fady was recruited
to assist the Chairman in implementing a transition strategy
that moved the company’s business focus from a supplier
of ASICs to a player in the consumer digital photography market.
In 2000, Fady founded Deligent, a web consultancy
focused on creating state of the art CRM systems. Deligent’s
client list included Aetna, Johnson & Johnson, Schering
Plough, Fidelity, HelpCare, and iPRO Exchange. Deligent
developed Answer Center™ a unique system that captures
best-of-class CSR behaviors implemented in a self-service
environment.
Before founding Deligent, Fady was Managing
Director at Zentropy Partners, where he managed 200% company
growth and spearheaded the company’s launch, transition
and integration from several of the Interpublic’s interactive
companies including Hill Holliday Interactive, where he served
as Chief Technology Officer. Prior to joining Hill Holliday
Interactive, Fady was Chief Technology Officer at SiegelGale.
Among Fady’s proudest achievements
is his work as director of research and development for the
Associated Press, where he oversaw and designed the conversion
of AP’s photo operation to satellite delivery. He was
instrumental in the engineering of the first digital news
camera in a joint venture with Kodak.
Fady resides in Fairfield County, CT with
his wife, Pamela, a reading teacher, and his two school-aged
children. Fady holds a B.S. in engineering from Stevens
Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in computer
engineering from Syracuse University, and an executive M.B.A.
from Columbia Business School. He is fluent in French
and Arabic.
TOP
|
|
|
Victoria Porras
- Founder, President, and Owner, Victory Productions
Victoria Porras is the founder, president,
and owner of Victory Productions, a full-service educational
developer of K–12 print and online instructional materials
for English- and Spanish-speaking students. Founded in 1995,
Victory is a multinational company with headquarters in Worcester,
Massachusetts, a composition facility in Medellín,
Colombia, and a translation office in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Victoria brings to Victory six years of
experience as a teacher, five years as a fine artist with
a concentration in sculpture and engraving, and twelve years
as the owner of a graphic arts and corporate communications
firm. While teaching, Victoria developed a compelling interest
in how teachers teach and students learn a second language.
Her mission for Victory is to develop dynamic educational
tools that exceed all expectation in inspiring students and
enhancing the lives of others.
Victoria earned a BA with a major in fine
arts and a minor in education and an MFA from the Universidad
Nacional in Bogotá, Colombia, in sculpture and printmaking.
She studied printmaking at Saint Martin’s School of
Art in London, England. She pursued independent studies of
sculpture at the technologically innovative Center for Advanced
Visual Studies at MIT, and graphic design at the Rhode Island
School of Design.
TOP
|
|
|
Maria Szalay
- Senior Vice President of Product Development, K12
Joining K12 in 2000, Maria brought with
her over 18 years of strategy and development capability.
Previously, she served as practice director at Operon Partners,
an e-business consulting firm where she led consulting teams;
she worked at Telecom New Zealand rolling out the companys
Online Solutions Business; and she served for eight years
as a management consultant at KPMG. Maria started her career
at Shearson Lehman. She holds a B.S./B.A. from Virginia Polytechnic
Institute & State University and an M.B.A. from American
University.
TOP
|
|
|
Bret Thomas
- President & CEO, Bayard, Inc.
Bret D. Thomas is President and CEO of Bayard, Inc., part
of a worldwide, dynamic, and creative multimedia group committed
to publishing Christian materials for schools, parishes, and
homes. Its three divisions in the United States include Twenty-Third
Publications, the Bayard Magazine Group, and Creative Communications
for the Parish.
Bret has earned graduate and undergraduate degrees from the
University of Pittsburgh and the University of Dayton. He
came to Bayard, Inc., after most recently serving as President
and CEO of Peter Li Education Group and as National Sales
Manager of Technology Publishing Company. Bret currently serves
as president of the National Catholic Educational Exhibitors
association and sits on the Catholic Book Publishers Association
board of directors, the board of trustees for the Bergamo
Center of Lifelong Learning, and the advisory council for
the University of Daytons School of Education and Allied
Professions.
TOP
|
|
|
Scott Traylor
360KID is a youth-focused technology company specializing
in product ideation, market testing, and product development
of kids interactive media for the consumer marketplace
as well as the classroom. Formerly, Scott was a computer science
instructor for 12 years at Harvard University's Extension
School. He is also actively involved in research, writing,
and speaking about child engagement through new technologies,
social media, and various consumer-based delivery systems.
Scott serves on the Board of the Exploration School, a summer
enrichment program for 3rd through 12th graders on the campuses
of Yale University, Wellesley College, and St. Marks School
in Southborough, MA. He also advises a small number of venture
backed online learning startups in the K12 space.
TOP
|
|
|
Randy Wilhelm
Randy Wilhelm co-founded netTrekker in 1999
to enhance the education of youth through innovative technology.
Since then, Wilhelm has effectively navigated his company
through the ups and downs of the dot.com <http://dot.com>
craze and bust to create a highly successful organization.
He currently serves as CEO of netTrekker.
netTrekker is a leader in the delivery of digital K-12 educational
content. netTrekker is the #1 educational search tool in K-12
schools and delivers engaging, educational digital content
in a safe, easy-to-use format. With netTrekker, Wilhelm was
able to change how digital curriculum is tagged, sorted and
delivered to all stakeholders in K-12 education.
netTrekker is serving more than 10 million students in thousands
of schools globally and is currently expanding its international
reach into the United Kingdom, Asia-Pacific and Middle East
regions. Peers, educators, and parents have honored netTrekker
over 25 times for its contribution to education. In 2007,
netTrekker was named the Best Education Solution in SIIA's
CODiE award competition, and was named to the 2007 Inc. 5000
and 2006 Inc. 500 lists as one of the fastest-growing private
companies in the United States.
Wilhelm has built partnerships throughout the education and
technology industries, including those with major hardware
manufacturers, educational publishers, and software developers.
He has spoken at numerous events such as EdNET, Software and
Information Industry Association (SIIA), and The Consortium
for School Networking (CoSN) conferences.
Prior to netTrekker, Wilhelm spent over a dozen years principally
consulting Fortune 500 businesses on how to better analyze
and control costs in their employee benefit packages. An Executive
Vice President at USI Midwest (NASDAQ:USIH), he was the key
leader that managed the delivery of rapid and sustainable
growth at one of the world's leading insurance brokers.
In 2009, Wilhelm was honored as the Larry Albice Award recipient,
given by the Hamilton County Development Company for entrepreneurship
and community involvement.
Wilhelm serves on several education and youth related not-for-profit
and for-profit boards and committees including:
- Board of Directors member for Consortium for School Networking
(CoSN)
- Board member for Association of Educational Publishers
(AEP)
- Executive Board member for The Partnership for 21st Century
Skills
- Member of the Ohio Governor's Public Education Advisory
Group
- Task Force member for the Congress on the Future of Content
- Board of Advisors member for Kinderstreet
- Executive Advisory Board, Xavier University, Williams
- College of Business (Management)
- Board member of Teen Challenge Cincinnati
- Past Chairman of the Board for Fernside; A Center for
Grieving Children
- Past National Chairman of the Board for American Heritage
Girls (Scouting organization)
- Past Executive Advisory Board member for the Join Together
Project for Deaf Education
- Past member of the HELP Team (Hurricane Education Leadership
Program)
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from DePauw
University and lives in Mason, Ohio, with his wife and five
children.
TOP
|
|
|
Ira Wolfman
- Senior Vice President, Editorial, Weekly Reader Publishing
Ira has overall editorial responsibility for all content--including
11 in-school magazines, digital publications, and the Weekly
Reader web site. He oversees the flagship Weekly Reader magazines,
which are produced in six editions from Pre-K through sixth
grade, and five other publications that cover career education,
current events, health, literature, and science.
Prior to joining Weekly Reader, Wolfman spent 25 years directing
educational publishing programs. He was editorial director,
and later Vice President and Group Publisher, of magazines
for parents, children, and teachers at Children's Television
Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop). Wolfman has also
worked at the New York Times Magazine Group and New York Daily
News Magazine. He has frequently served as a judge for the
American Society of Magazine Editors' National Magazine Awards
and the AEP Distinguished Achievement Awards and for many
years served on the faculty of the NYU Summit Publishing Institute.
TOP
|
|
|
Greg Worrell
- President, Scholastic Classroom and Library Group, Scholastic
Inc.
As President of Scholastic Classroom and
Library Group, Greg Worrell is responsible for the development
and management of Scholastic's business strategy for "supplementary
programs" within the Education market. As part of this,
he oversees the publishing, marketing and selling activities
of Scholastic's vast print and reference resources used in
schools, libraries, extended day and after school program
as well as homes nationwide. Specifically, the Scholastic
Classroom and Library Group includes Scholastic's Classroom
Magazines, Classroom Books, Literacy Initiatives and Library
Publishing divisions. As a Group, this entity provides educational
materials that reach more than 25 million students and 65%
of U.S. schools.
Worrell has been responsible for reinvigorating
this area of the company's business, strengthening the Scholastic
brand through critically acclaimed book series like 24/7:
Science Behind the Scenes and supplemental programs like Muhammad
Ali presents: Go the Distance! Worrell has also been a champion
in reinforcing the important role libraries play in supporting
student achievement through the publication of research reports
like School Libraries Work! This resulted in Scholastic’s
recognition by AASL with the Crystal Apple Award. Worrell
has also been personally recognized for his commitment to
learning through libraries by the California School Library
Association and by the Links of Westchester County, NY, for
community work in support of children.
Worrell joined Scholastic in 1992, responsible
for business development and marketing of Classroom Magazines.
He also served as General Manager for Quality Education Data
(QED) a division of Scholastic, after Scholastic acquired
this educational research and database company in 1999.
Before joining Scholastic, Greg worked
for MCI Telecommunications in Marketing and Sales Management.
Worrell holds a degree from St. John's University and lives
in New Jersey.
TOP
|
|
|
CEO
Charlene F. Gaynor
Charlene F. Gaynor is CEO of the Association of Educational
Publishers. AEP safeguards the professional and business interests
of the country's leading print and digital supplemental publishers.
Supported by over 500 members of all media and sizes, AEP
provides the information, training, and outreach necessary
to the development of quality K-12 publications, software
and instructional materials. It facilitates communication
between key interest groups such as educators, policy makers,
foundations, associations, business and the media. AEP also
seeks to increase public awareness of the importance of a
wide range of learning resources to successful teaching and
learning.
Charlene is a graduate of Marquette University. She came
to AEP from Learning, a national magazine for elementary
teachers, where she was publisher. Charlene has over 20 years
experience in startups and turnarounds. She is an alumna of
the Stanford Professional Publishing Course and the Center
for Creative Leadership. She has served on the advisory boards
of the Bicentennial Commission of the United States, the Learning
Center of Philadelphia, and the Rowan University School of
Communications.
TOP
|
For more information about AEP, send us
an email or call 302-295-8350.
|