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Chief Executive Officer
Mary-Dean Barringer is the Chief Executive Officer of All Kinds of Minds.
Mary-Dean has the responsibility for the development and expansion of the
Institute’s neurodevelopmental model for schools. Her efforts leading the
Schools Attuned® Program have resulted in more than 43,000 K–12 educators
receiving and implementing research-based training about learning variation to
better instruct struggling students.
Throughout her path in education, Mary-Dean has dedicated herself to keeping
America focused on learning -- making schools effective learning environments
for all children. Prior to her tenure at All Kinds of Minds, Mary-Dean was a
founding board member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
and then served as Vice President of Outreach and Mobilization for the
non-profit education organization for a decade. During this time she worked
with state policymakers and national organizations to develop financial and
other incentives to encourage teachers to seek National Board Certification. By
2000, 38 states and 200 districts had embraced the program that grew in volume
from 200 in the first year to 14,000 six years later.
Mary-Dean started her career as teacher of exceptional needs students in
Michigan. As a special education teacher for thirteen years, Mary Dean received
numerous awards and recognition for her innovation and advocacy, including the
1985 Council for Exceptional Children’s National Teacher of the Year award.
Mary-Dean received a Bachelor’s of Science in special education from Eastern
Michigan University and earned a dual-major Master’s of Science in
developmental disabilities and early childhood from Wayne State University. She
pursued doctoral studies in education policy at Michigan State University until
1994. In 2008, Mary-Dean was inducted into the Eastern Michigan University
College of Education Hall of Fame. This honor celebrates alumni who have
distinguished themselves in the field of education, both locally and
nationally.
Vice President of Educational Programs and Services
Cynthia Crenshaw is Vice President of Educational Programs and Services for All
Kinds of Minds where she oversees all aspects of product development and
delivery for the Institute. This includes research and program evaluation, the
networked virtual learning community and the logistics of all modes of delivery
for the organization’s products. She brings a unique combination of skills and
experience to All Kinds of Minds. She has elementary and secondary teaching
experience and extensive pedagogical expertise in online learning. Cynthia has
held multiple leadership positions in the corporate education sector where she
has assisted organizations in establishing their corporate universities,
managing learning management system implementations, defining business
processes, and developing cadres of facilitators and designing curriculums. She
graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri with a Bachelor of
Science in elementary education and received a Master of Science and doctorate
in curriculum and instruction from the University of Kansas.
Senior Manager for State Programs and Policy
John D. Denning is the Senior Manager for State Programs and Policy at All
Kinds of Minds. In this role, John serves as the key liaison between external
regional and national organizations that intersect with the ongoing work of the
Institute and its policy and programmatic efforts to ensure all students have
access to high quality instruction. Before coming to All Kinds of Minds in
2003, he worked with Congressman H. Martin Lancaster from North Carolina where
he staffed a number of roles, including requests for information related to
education. A North Carolina Teaching Fellow, John taught American history,
government and economics for a number of years before joining Dr. Barnett Berry
of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future to help launch the
SE Center for Teaching Quality. His responsibilities included project
management for a number of ongoing teaching quality policy tracking efforts,
including the Teaching Quality Indicators Project, and an examination of NCLB,
Leave Teacher Unqualified. In addition, he was instrumental in the creation of
the Center’s annual Status of Teaching Report. In 2007, North Carolina Lt.
Governor Beverly Perdue appointed him as Chair of the NC Fellows Commission.
John holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from Elon
College, a Masters of Art in public administration from Exeter University and a
doctorate of education in educational leadership and policy from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
Mary Jo Dunnington is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for All Kinds of
Minds, where she oversees the organization's external strategies, including
philanthropy, sales and marketing, public relations and policy work. Mary Jo
was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina, and holds both an
MBA and a Master's in education from Stanford University. Her professional
experience includes developing and promoting teacher networks and professional
development at the National Geographic Society; serving as Chief Operating
Officer of the Partnership for New York City; and helping the North Carolina
Network of Grantmakers develop a strategic agenda for K-12 education
philanthropy in the state. She has a deep interest in and passion for our
mission and in helping nonprofit organizations thrive.
Manager of Research and Evaluation
Tamara Nimkoff is the Manager of Research and Evaluation for All Kinds of
Minds. She directs the Institute’s research agenda, including monitoring and
facilitating research activities carried out by independent entities,
establishes program evaluation procedures to assure the quality of program
design and delivery, manages projects that advance the Institute's knowledge
base related to learning and the neurodevelopmental framework, and advises the
organization’s staff and other key constituents in understanding and using
research to support their work. Prior to engaging in the field of educational
research, Tamara taught elementary aged students with learning disabilities,
instructed adults in GED preparation and English as a Second Language, and
managed a K-12 learning center. Tamara has a doctorate in educational
psychology, measurement, and evaluation from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and Master of Arts in
special education, both from the University of Georgia in Athens.
Senior Clinical Scholar
Craig Pohlman’s work focuses on the core knowledge that serves as the
foundation for the products, tools, and services All Kinds of Minds offers.
This knowledge includes the research literature related to neurodevelopmental
functions and how they affect academic skills. He is a member of the All Kinds
of Minds Scholar Network, which includes thought leaders in the field of
learning. He serves as editor and regular contributor to the Learning Landscape.
Craig is a licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist.
He began his career teaching elementary and middle school students. He later
went on to earn his doctorate in school psychology at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), where he trained at The Clinical Center for
the Study of Development and Learning, University of North Carolina School of
Medicine (CDL). He has earned appointments at UNC-CH as a Clinical Assistant
Professor for the school psychology program and as a Clinical Scientist at the
CDL. Craig has conducted or supervised thousands of assessments of struggling
learners, and has designed numerous techniques and tools to help others
integrate a neurodevelopmental assessment approach into their work with kids.
His book, Revealing Minds, is a
hands-on guide for assessing students facing learning challenges.
Program Implementation Manager
Michele Robinson’s focus at All Kinds of Minds is Program Development and
Implementation, providing support services and building the capacity of
districts, schools and teachers to understand and provide instruction that
meets the learning needs of students, as well as contributing to the
development of the Institute’s research base and programs. Michele began her
involvement with All Kinds of Minds while teaching fifth grade, attending the
Schools Attuned Program and integrating the principles and concepts of the
program into her teaching practice. When she joined the staff of All Kinds of
Minds in 1999, she delivered the Schools Attuned Program to educators in North
Carolina and across the United States. Michele has led several initiatives for
Schools Attuned, including oversight of state programs in North Carolina and
Oklahoma, followed by management of the program’s Curriculum Development team.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Appalachian State
University and her master’s in education from the University of North Carolina
at Charlotte.
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Corporate
Affairs
Dan Wascher is Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Corporate Affairs
for All Kinds of Minds. In this role, he has responsibility for the general
administrative functions of all Kinds of Minds, including finance, accounting,
human resources, legal, facility operations and information technology. Dan
joined the Institute in 2002 as the Finance Manager and then became the Senior
Manager for Schools Attuned in Business Planning, Financial Management and
Operations. Prior to coming to All Kinds of Minds, he held positions in
finance, marketing and business development and worked most recently at Nortel
Networks. Dan received a Master’s of Business Administration in finance and
international business and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in international
relations and economics from the University of Windsor.
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