Jeanne Stamp
I am a social worker—both by profession and at heart. Helping families and their children who are experiencing poverty and homelessness is truly a passion, and I’ve dedicated my life to it for over 35 years. I have witnessed remarkable progress in that time, and I have seen countless lives changed.
Jennifer Dorsey
My parents and I would work logic problems when I was little and they always asked me the same questions. How do you know that’s the answer? Can you prove it? I come from a long line of teachers and lawyers, and I draw from both in my work as an educational researcher at the Dana Center. I have my father’s insistence on proof and accuracy, and my mother’s penchant for clearly sharing information.
Jeremy Martin
In my 6 years teaching in Austin-area schools, I worked hard every day to create a caring, inclusive, and empowering classroom community for my students. Now I work on the policies that shape what happens in classrooms in Texas and beyond. One of the reasons that I remain motivated by the mission of the Center—equity, access, and excellence in math and science education—is to ensure that all students can reclaim a place in the community of mathematical learners.
Joan M. Zoellner
Joan is a professional learning and implementation specialist at the Dana Center. She serves as the project lead for the Corequisite Research Design Collaborative, a national initiative designed to increase the number of students enrolled in corequisite supports that are based on sound, research-informed design principles.
Josh Recio
My father spent his career as a math teacher and baseball coach. So, naturally, I began calculating my own stats in little league. My appreciation for data (and baseball) has continued throughout my life. Teaching high school math, including statistics, and continuing into district level work and now as a course program specialist with the Dana Center has allowed me an opportunity to work with some truly inspiring people.
Katey Arrington
I’m from a military family, so as a child I experienced several different school systems. I’ve worked in education since I graduated college because I believe mathematics is important, accessible and beneficial for everyone if we go about teaching it well. After serving as mathematics coordinator in Pflugerville Independent School District for over 5 years, I joined the Dana Center to work on K–12 mathematics education with even more of my heroes.
Kathi Cook
I was the first member of my family to complete any level of education after high school. When I graduated from college with my shiny new bachelor’s degree and Texas teachers’ certificate in hand, I had no idea where they would take me. I had been extremely fortunate to have had mathematics teachers who supported me through the years, and I wanted to help the students in my own classroom achieve their goals.
Lara Zuehlke
As a child living on a pig farm in Clifton, Texas, I was certainly no stranger to the idea of working hard. With such a small school district, I had my mother twice as teacher. She had a poster in her classroom (and used to tell students often), “Your I CAN is more important than your IQ.” I’ve learned firsthand over the years that hard work alone can be fruitless if you don’t also believe you can succeed.
Leslie Gurrola
I grew up in a low very income area of Texas, and I have seen first hand how education can break the cycle of poverty and forever change the trajectory of families. For 12 years, I have worked at Greater Texas Foundation, where I have the great honor of helping to improve postsecondary attainment and address inequities in our education systems across the state.
Lindsay Fitzpatrick
In my seven years of teaching social studies in the Bronx and East Austin, I learned about the intense complexities of setting up an environment where students can be their best selves and focus on learning. Too often, our most vulnerable students and families are underserved by education situations that do not meet their needs and do not allow them to become the successful adults they want to be.