Contributors

Cynthia Allen

Cynthia Allen founded SeaCrest in 2006 with Janice Moore. She and Moore have completed more than 190 successful accredited applications for NCCA, ABSNC, and ANSI. Allen is the author of "Removing Roadblocks and Clearing the Way for Accreditation Success: Part 1” and “Removing Roadblocks and Clearing the Way for Accreditation Success: Part 2.”

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Janice Moore

Janice Moore co-founded SeaCrest Consulting with Cynthia Allen in 2006 to serve as a resource for organizations seeking to build, improve and grow certification programs. Leveraging 20 years of experience in the certification industry, she serves as a strategic partner for organizations seeking to develop new credentials, improve existing programs and achieve accreditation. After working with clients across dozens of industries to develop their certification programs, Janice firmly believes that accreditation standards are an effective framework for improvement. Her understanding of the application and interpretation of accreditation standards and the workings of the NCCA, ANAB and ABSNC accrediting processes is evident in the more than 280 successful accreditation applications submitted by SeaCrest. Janice serves as a strategic planning partner to evaluate and improve clients’ major program areas helping set goals, assess feasibility, develop strong governance foundations, facilitate policy development and design quality management programs. Moore has authored "Removing Roadblocks and Clearing the Way for Accreditation Success" Part 1 and Part 2, "Denied but Not Discouraged — Moving Forward to NCCA Accreditation Success," "Survey Results: COVID-19’s Impact on Certifying Organizations" and "Is It Time to Raise Certification Renewal Requirements? A Look at Common Program Methods."

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Nathan Thompson

Nathan Thompson is Chief Product Officer at Assessment Systems Corporation, where he has the opportunity to work his mission of elevating psychometrics through the design of software to automate mundane processes like Angoff studies and annual statistical reports, while making sophisticated approaches like adaptive testing and psychometric forensics more accessible. Dr. Thompson received his PhD in Psychometric Methods from the University of Minnesota, then briefly worked at Prometric and the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology before moving to ASC in 2008. His scholarly interests remain with item response theory and computerized adaptive testing, where he maintains a research program and is a frequent contributor to professional conferences as well as journals. He is also a cofounder and Membership Director of the International Association for Computerized Adaptive Testing. Thompson is the author of "Adaptive Testing: Multiple Choices, What’s The Right Answer?

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Sarah Carroll, PhD

Dr. Sarah Carroll is a senior psychometrician at Castle Worldwide, where she leads her clients through key psychometric processes, including job analysis studies, test and item development efforts, standard setting studies, and statistical and psychometric analyses and reporting. She also has extensive experience in the design and analysis of non-cognitive assessments, surveys, questionnaires, and pre-employment tests. Sarah is actively involved in research, has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences, and has several peer-reviewed journal publications. She currently serves as a psychometric reviewer on the Institute for Credentialing Excellence’s (ICE) Assessment-Based Certificate Accreditation Committee. Sarah earned her MSc and PhD in industrial/ organizational psychology from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Sarah authored "Job Analysis: Beyond the Basics."

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Julia E. Judish

Julia E. Judish, special counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Washington, D.C., serves as a trusted adviser on all facets of the employment relationship and on nonprofit governance. Julia provides critical and strategic counseling to nonprofit organizations and private sector employers. Her practice includes ADA accessibility, credentialing and affirmative action issues. In addition to counseling clients on legal compliance, personnel best practices, employment contracts and resolution of sensitive employee disputes, she also advises on structure, governance, fiduciary duties and related areas. She writes extensively on employment and nonprofit legal issues and is a regular speaker on these topics. Judish is a co-author, with Jerald Jacobs, of the Certification and Accreditation Law Handbook (3d ed.) and author of “Legal Standards for Disciplinary Policies and Procedures of Certification Organizations,” "Implications for Remote Work for Certification Organizations," "Court Decisions Reject Challenges to MOC Requirements, Support Standard-Setting" and "What the Connecticut Clean Slate Bill Means for Certifying Organizations."

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Carla Caro

Carla Caro, MA, is a research director at Professional Examination Service (ProExam, an ACT-affiliated company). Caro has previously worked as a public policy analyst and in the area of educational advocacy. Her volunteer activities with ICE include serving on the NCCA Standards Revision project in the Technical Advisory Group for Psychometrics and on the Publications and Government Affairs committees. Caro holds the ICE certificate and is a frequent presenter at the ICE annual conference. Caro is the co-author of "Can't Put a Price On It: The Value of Fostering Volunteer and SME Engagement.

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Anthony Gage, MS

Anthony Gage, MS, manager of psychometrics at Ascend Learning, has been in the measurement and assessment industry for 10 years. Currently, he is responsible for managing psychometrics activities for all nine NASM and NHA certification programs. His work with subject matter experts has included facilitating practice analysis, standard setting studies, and the development of low-stakes assessments for continuing medical education. Gage is the co-author of "Can't Put a Price On It: The Value of Fostering Volunteer and SME Engagement"

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Margaret Harrison, MS, CPNP-PC, CAE

Margaret Harrison, MS, CPNP-PC, CAE, has served as PNCB's chief executive officer since 2011 and previously served as PNCB's executive vice president for general practice exam development from 2006 to 2011. She is a graduate of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing, received her bachelor of science in nursing degree from the University of Maryland and her master's in nursing degree from the University of Arizona. She has more than 30 years of military and civilian pediatric nursing experience as a nurse practitioner and nurse manager. Harrison is the co-author of "Retention Rates for Voluntary Certifications."

Lori Anne Boocks

Lori Anne Boocks has served as PNCB's director of marketing and communications since 2006. Her focus is to create and implement certificant-centric strategies that result in growth, such as the influential No Pass, No Pay testing program. Additional experience includes development of the Campaign for Pediatric Nursing to encourage students to choose a pediatric nursing career and increase gender and cultural diversity in the profession. Boocks is the co-author of "Retention Rates for Voluntary Certifications."

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Lisa Lutz

Lisa Lutz is president and CEO of SOLID LLC. She has over 20 years of experience in policy analysis and program evaluation, specializing in education, employment and training issues related to military service members and veterans. Her work has concentrated on the use of occupational credentialing to promote the professional development of service members and ensure their smooth transition from the military to the civilian workforce. She has performed research, provided policy guidance and developed programs in this area for numerous organizations, including the U.S. Departments of Defense, Labor, Army, Navy, Air Force, Energy and Transportation. Lutz is the author of "American Legion Issues State of Credentialing of Service Members and Veterans Report."

Tracy Petrillo

Tracy Petrillo, EdD, CAE, is a nonprofit management expert and a thought leader in the areas of continuing professional education, adult learning, credentialing, certification and leadership development. She currently serves as CEO for the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM), a startup interprofessional medical society. Petrillo was the former Chief Learning Officer for EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. Dr. Petrillo is a certified association executive (CAE) who was awarded the highest national honor for staff, the 2016 Professional Performance Award, by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and was named a Changemaker by MeetingsNet magazine. Tracy speaks nationally on learning innovations and educational technologies to nonprofit, medical, corporate and higher education audiences and advises educational strategy planning to create actionable initiatives for Entangled Solutions. She completed her doctorate in educational leadership and management with a specialization in human resource development. Petrillo authored "The Value of a Value Proposition Study."

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Dennis Maynes

Dennis Maynes is chief scientist at Caveon Test Security. He has pioneered several methods for the statistical detection of potential test fraud, including the use of clusters to detect cheat rings and the use of embedded verification tests to detect brain dump users. He has conducted more than 450 data forensics projects for more than 50 organizations, including 11 state departments of education, 10 medical programs and 12 information technology certification programs. Maynes holds a master's degree in statistics from Brigham Young University. Maynes authored "Taking Test Security to the Next Level Through Design."

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Michael S. Finger, PhD

Michael S. Finger, Ph.D., is a senior research scientist at NWEA. He previously served as the director of psychometric services at Comira. Finger earned his Ph.D. in psychometric methods from the Department of Psychology of the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Finger has over 15 years experience in psychometrics and high-stakes testing. He currently serves as a member of the ICE Research and Development Committee.

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Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum

Jeffrey Tenenbaum chairs Venable’s Nonprofit Organizations Practice Group. He is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit attorneys, and also is a highly accomplished author, lecturer and commentator on nonprofit legal matters. Tenenbaum co-authored "Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Professional Certification Board."

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Andrew Bigart

Andrew E. Bigart is an associate at Venable. His practice focuses on antitrust and consumer protection law, anti-money laundering and economic sanctions, and business counseling. Bigart co-authored "Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Professional Certification Board"

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Amy Jauman, PhD, GPHR, SMS

Amy Jauman, PhD, GPHR, SMS, is the program director for the master’s program in human resources management at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She is also a published author, ghostwriter and international speaker. In her work, she focuses on using experiential learning techniques and online resources to make information meaningful to adult learners in traditional and remote business and educational environments. Her audiences have included traditional and nontraditional learners around the world. She has supported local businesses through board service with the Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota, the Children’s Hospital Association and the Association for Talent Development. Author of "Strategic Responses for Certification Agencies on Social Media" and co-author of  "What’s the Value of My Certification? Inside the Minds of Job Seekers and Hiring Managers."

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Gavin Moore

Gavin Moore is an independent consultant focused on leveraging innovative practices and technology to bolster credentialing, education, and employment pathways and the connections between them. Since 2011, Moore has worked alongside credentialing organizations to assess and recommend meaningful improvements based on established industry standards.

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Jennifer Naughton, MA Ed, SPHR

Jennifer Naughton, MA Ed, SPHR, is an experienced credentialing and training leader who has delivered hundreds of client solutions throughout her career. Jennifer is passionate about training and testing and about giving back.

She is currently the Principal and Founder of Naughton Consulting, a firm that specializes in credentialing, competencies, and training. Prior to Naughton Consulting, Jennifer was a senior director at the Association for Talent Development (ATD) where she helped to create ATD's competency-based stackable credentialing framework to better serve talent development professionals throughout their careers. She also started-up ATD's first industry certification and certification prep businesses. Prior to ATD, she was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton and a research scientist at HumRRO, where she managed organizational assessment, performance management, and training projects for federal agencies and associations.

She holds a Master's in Education (Human Resource Development) from the George Washington University and is SPHR and Product Manager certified. Contact her at jennifer@naughtonconsults.com.

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Jennifer Davis

Jennifer Davis is a senior psychometrician at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). She has over 10 years of experience in licensure/certification testing and additional experience as an institutional researcher at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Davis holds a PhD in Psychometric Methods from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s degree in Research and Evaluation from the University of Wisconsin. While in graduate school she entered the licensure/certification arena as a psychometric intern for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Prior to joining NABP she worked at Pearson VUE and Assessment Systems Corporation.

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Carissa L. Homme, PhD

Carissa L. Homme, PhD, is Manager of Test Development and Certification at the Competency & Credentialing Institute in Denver, Colorado.

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Ronald E. Hanchar, MBA, Hanchar Consulting Services, LLC

Ron Hanchar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanchar Consulting Services, LLC, has been involved in the development and management of certification and licensure programs for over 20 years. In Ron’s previous roles as Executive Director and Director, he has managed all aspects of certification governance, program development, operations, and maintenance for several certifying organizations. As a result, the expertise he has gained continues to be sought after by those organizations needing help in the development and maintenance of their certification programs. Ron understands the importance of working with stakeholders in developing and monitoring quality certification programs to assure that they are legally defensible and psychometrically sound. Ron obtained baccalaureate degrees in History and Business Management from Calumet College of St. Joseph’s, as well as a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Purdue University.

Ron is the author of the Credentialing Insights article "How to Start a New Certification."

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Cynthia Parshall, PhD

Dr. Cynthia Parshall is the Principal Consultant with Touchstone Consulting. For the last few years, she’s focused her energy on helping exam programs solve their biggest pain points through the use of well-planned nudges. Cynthia’s professional experience includes service as a psychometrician, researcher, and professor. She’s been a consultant since 2004 and she’s the lead author on the book Practical Considerations in Computer-Based Testing

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Ellen Julian, PhD

Dr. Ellen Julian has been fascinated by tests since the second grade and has been trying to figure them out ever since. Trained as a psychometrician, she helps testing programs grow and make transitions from paper to computer, and from multiple-choice to performance tests. Ellen is President of the Performance Testing Council and hosts the DC-area Testing and Certification Salons.

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Robert Shaw

Robert Shaw worked as a respiratory therapist and respiratory therapy educator between 1982 and 1995. After earning a doctorate degree in Higher Education with emphases in measurement and statistics from the University of Missouri in 1994, Robert began advising occupational credentialing programs in 1995. Robert worked for Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP), from 1995 through 2015 while providing psychometric direction to several programs including the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). The NBRC owned AMP until the company was sold to PSI at the end of 2015. Robert is the Vice President of the Examinations division for the NBRC. Author of "I.C.E. Virtual Exchange Preview: Debunking Myths About Linear-On-the-Fly Testing," "Spotlight on Jim Henderson: 2019 ICE Lifetime Achievement Award Winner," "Three Short Reliability Stories," "Adapting to the Unexpected: Joy Schneck, Executive Director, Certification Board for Music Therapists," "Your Organization’s Examination Cannot Be Valid," and "New Credential Maintenance Program Features to be Implemented by the National Board for Respiratory Care."

Chad W. Buckendahl, Ph.D.

Chad W. Buckendahl, Ph.D., is a Partner with ACS Ventures, LLC. His research interests include standard setting, test evaluation, validity, and legal issues. Dr. Buckendahl has designed and led validation studies for credentialing programs in architecture, dentistry, dental hygiene, medicine, education, finance, and law; general education, end of course, alternate, and English language literacy assessments in PreK-12 education; and language assessment for admissions, citizenship, and certification. Dr. Buckendahl also serves on technical advisory committees for credentialing and PreK-12 education programs; editorial boards for peer reviewed journals; and on volunteer committees for the Association of Test Publishers (ATP), Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME).

Avis D. Bullard, MS, CSSBB (ASQ)

Avis D. Bullard, MS, CSSBB (ASQ), was named the Board of Pharmacy Specialites (BPS) director of quality assurance in 2016. In this role she is responsible for the implementation of ISO 17024 and the maintenance of NCCA accreditation for all BPS pharmacy practice specialties. From 2007-2016, Bullard served as a quality manager and a branch manager for URS Federal Services. She received her Master of Science degree in clinical chemistry from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1996 and earned her certification as a Certified Six-Sigma Black Belt from the American Society for Quality in January 2019. In 2018, Bullard served as vice-chair of the ICE Program Committee, and in 2019, served as the committee's chair.

For the past 17 years Bullard has implemented quality management systems in various government, industry and non-profit organizations, to include the DoD, VA and medical device manufacturing, using the organization applicable ISO standards and federal regulatory requirements. As a quality assurance professional, she has extensive experience in helping organizations to improve service and product quality by implementing process controls, performing data analysis and providing appropriate tools for measuring and monitoring performance.

Co-author of “Structuring Success in a New Client-Vendor Relationship," "Applying Quality Assurance to Credentialing Programs" and "Following the ‘Less Traveled’ Quality Road: BPS Pursues Dual Accreditation During a Pandemic."

William M. Ellis. MS, RPh

William M. Ellis MS, RPh, was named executive director of the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) in 2011. From 1997-2011, Ellis served as CEO and executive director of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation. He was the executive vice president for the Pennsylvania Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists from 1986-1997.

Ellis also served as the elected chair of the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy (CCP) from 2012-2015; CCP provides leadership, guidance, public information and coordination for the profession of pharmacy's credentialing programs. In 2014, he was appointed a commissioner to the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and was elected as the 2016 chairman. The NCCA helps to ensure the health, welfare and safety of the public through the accreditation of a variety of individual certification programs that assess professional competency. The NCCA is an administratively independent resource recognized as the authority on accreditation standards for professional certification programs.

After receiving his pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (PCP), where he currently serves as the chair of the College's Board of Visitors, Ellis completed an executive residency with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in 1986 and earned his Master of Science degree in health education from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia in 1994. 

Co-author of "Applying Quality Assurance to Credentialing Programs" and "Following the ‘Less Traveled’ Quality Road: BPS Pursues Dual Accreditation During a Pandemic."

TJay Gerber

TJay Gerber is the Global Certification Manager for Scrum Alliance and oversees twelve certification programs which guide individuals through the application of Agile practices, principles, and values. He holds the Certified Agile Leader (CAL I), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certifications and has helped associations make impactful changes to their certification portfolios. Scrum Alliance is the largest, most established and influential professional membership and certification organization in the Agile community. Gerber is the author of "Improving Efficiency With Scrum".

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Joshua Stopek

Josh Stopek is a senior manager with the CPA Exam, having served since 2007 in a variety of roles, all mainly focused on simulation development. His main role is to figure out how to improve the examination through research into accounting trends, testing and psychometric innovations and review of current of our item bank. This includes working with external accounting bodies and CPAs, developing and trying out new item types, talking with external psychometricians and testing bodies, and working with staff to think differently about assessment. Josh is a CPA, who gained experience working in external and internal audit. He has an MBA with a focus in Professional Accounting from Rutgers Business School, as well as B.A.s in Communication and Art history from Rutgers College. Josh is the co-author of "Listening to Test Takers; Pre-Testing New Item Formats and Approaches."

Matthew Schultz

Matthew Schultz joined the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in March 2014 and supports psychometric research on new item types, scoring models, practice analysis, automated essay scoring, timing and other relevant research topics. Prior to the AICPA, Matthew was Director, Psychometric Services at Vantage Learning/McCann Associates. Matthew received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and his Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy in Psychometrics from Fordham University. He has developed over 30 papers, presentations and book chapters. Matthew is the co-author of “Listening to Test Takers – Pre-Testing New Item Formats and Approaches.”

Nicholas Soto

Nicholas Soto is the Vice President of Professional Development at the Construction Management Association (CMAA), specifically leading the Construction Manager Certification Institute (CMCI). Nicholas actively participates on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), is the vice chair of the ICE Emerging Leaders Task Force and is a member of the ANSI Certificate Accreditation Program Accreditation Committee (CAPAC). He is also the past chair of the Certification Network Group (CNG) and their board of directors, as well as the past chair of the Washington DC CNG Steering Committee.

Mary Post

Mary Post is the Executive Director, Administrative Affairs for the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). Ms. Post joined the ABA on June 2008. As Executive Director she is responsible for shaping the ABA’s operational vision and culture, leading and developing staff and organizational capabilities, and ensuring that all initiatives, decisions, policies and programs approved by the ABA Board of Directors are successfully implemented. Ms. Post serves on the ABMS Research and Education Foundation Board of Directors and is Chair of the ABMS Solutions, LLC Board of Managers. She was awarded the CAE credential after successfully completing the Certified Association Executive (CAE) examination in December of 2006. Ms. Post is the co-author of "Evolving a Continuing Certification Program."

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Dr. Rory McCorkle

Dr. Rory McCorkle is the Senior Vice President of Certification and Education Services for PSI. He helps PSI clients meet their testing, educational and strategic goals through the suite of services offered by PSI, while leading a team of business development, account management, and consulting professionals. Dr. McCorkle has worked with over 750 testing organizations, including well-known universities and colleges, licensing bodies, and renowned certification programs. Dr. McCorkle’s involvement in the credentialing community includes chairing the 2019 Association of Test Publishers (ATP) Innovations Conference and External Stakeholders Committee for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), and serving as Past- President of the Performance Testing Council, Security Director for the IT Certification Council, and Director at Large for the Credentialing Network Group (CNG). He is a member of ANSI’s Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee (PCAC).

Terri Hinkley, Ed.D., MBA, BScN, RN

Terri Hinkley, Ed.D., MBA, BScN, RN, was hired by the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) in August 2017. Terri is a former senior clinical research operation professional with 21 years of clinical and industry experience, coupled with over 32 years in acute care nursing in the healthcare setting. She has six years of association management staff experience, having held executive positions in both an individual membership association and a certification board where she was responsible for strategic planning with her volunteer boards and translating that strategy into operations with her staff. She was a longtime volunteer leader and board member within the association before moving into a staff role.

Terri teaches in the graduate Clinical Research program at George Washington University and in an online continuing education nursing program in Toronto. Terri received her RN from Centennial College, BScN from York University, an Executive MBA from Athabasca University, and EdD from the George Washington University.

Terri is the author of "Trends in Credentialing: Takeaways from the 2019 ICE Executive Summit.."

Christy Tedeschi

Christy Tedeschi is the director of sales at The Award Group (TAG). She was promoted to director in 2016 and has been a sales executive for over 20 years. She has extensive experience partnering with associations in the healthcare, advertising, communications and legal industries. Christy received her bachelor of science from the University of Delaware. She can be reached at ctedeschi@theawardgroup.com. Tedeschi is the co-author of "Structuring Success in a New Client-Vendor Relationship."

Tari Hall

Tari Hall is the certification manager at BPS. In this role she is responsible for coordinating with TAG to assure that the vendor receives the correct information in a timely manner. She manages the replacement process for both lapel pins and certificates. She has over 20 years' experience in customer service and creating a pleasant experience is her top priority. She can be reached at thall@aphanet.org. Hall is the co-author of "Structuring Success in a New Client-Vendor Relationship."

Lisa Alikhan

Lisa Alikhan is the Senior Manager of Governance and Accreditation at the Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI). In this role, she oversees governance operations for the CCI Board of Directors and the CCI Certification Council and is responsible to ensure that CCI’s programs comply with NCCA and ABSNC standards. She has five years-experience in the credentialing industry. Most recently she led the establishment of CCI's new Research Foundation, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to further perioperative nursing science. In addition to her duties for CCI, Lisa also serves as Senior Program Officer for the new foundation. Prior to working at CCI, Lisa spent five years in education program management for AORN, the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses, where she was instrumental in the establishment and administration of the Center for Nurse Leadership to further professional development of nurses managing the business side of the OR. Before working in the non-profit industry, Lisa held a variety of management positions in the for-profit sector. Contact her at lalikhan@cc-institute.org or 720-334-4424.

Lisa is the author of “Partnering to Grow New Perioperative Nurses."

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Tom Granatir

Tom Granatir has worked for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) for the past decade and is currently the senior vice president, policy and external relations. He has been responsible for policy, advocacy and public affairs at ABMS, which represents 24 independent specialty boards certifying over 880,000 physicians in 40 primary specialties and 87 subspecialties. Granatir has devoted his policy career to the regulation and improvement of health care quality, with service in both public and private sectors, in the US and abroad. Tom is the author of “Medical Specialty Boards Chart a New Path for Recertification” and "Court Decisions Reject Challenges to MOC Requirements, Support Standard-Setting."

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Rebecca R. Hastings

Rebecca Hastings has more than two decades of certification program and association management experience, most recently serving as Director of Test Development for the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). Prior to that, she developed and used her expertise in human resource management and diversity and inclusion in a variety of roles at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) including online manager/editor, knowledge center manager, operations manager for a subsidiary association and HR manager. She has a B.S. in Business and an M.S. in Training and HR Management. Rebecca is the author of “Competency Model Used as Staffing Aid During Coronavirus Crisis.”

Hanna Aronovich, CAE

Hanna Aronovich is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Dental Assisting National Board and its affiliate the DALE Foundation. She has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and communications. Previously, she worked at Edelman on public relations and communications campaigns for numerous healthcare clients. She began her career as a writer and editor for several business publications. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and holds the Certified Association Executive certification through the American Society of Association Executives.

Samantha Evans, CAE, MBA

Samantha (Sam) Evans, CAE, MBA, is the Certification Manager at the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), a division of G3ict, where she works with accessibility subject matter experts and professionals around the world to maintain, build and deliver accessibility certification programs. Working within the international standards for certification and credentialing, Sam facilitates the work of IAAP and the accessibility community to establish benchmarks of knowledge, skills and concepts for the accessibility professional. Sam is also an active accessibility and inclusion advocate. She can be reached at sam.evans@accessibilityassociation.org. Author of "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Including Disabled People in Digital Certification, Credentialing and Licensure."

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Tina Riner

Tina Riner is a senior content developer at Pearson VUE. She is responsible for all stages of item development, from initial training of writers on item writing best practices to the facilitation of item development in support of exam program needs. She also manages the maintenance of existing item banks and test forms, and serves as both a technical and best practice subject matter expert in Pearson VUE’s proprietary item banking system. Tina brings more than a decade of content development experience to the testing industry’s professional market. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in international studies from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and a master’s degree in organizational leadership with a focus on training and development from Lewis University – Romeoville. Author of "I.C.E. Virtual Exchange Preview: Converting 4-Option Multiple Choice Questions," "Maintaining Organizational Culture in the Digital Workplace" and "Tips for Keeping SMEs Engaged During Virtual Meetings."

Colin Biddle

Colin Biddle is the director of content and accreditation at the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), where he oversees educational publications and credentialing programs. Biddle has managed credentialing programs in the construction and financial industries. He also has extensive experience with technical writing. Biddle is an active member of the I.C.E. Publications and Editorial Committee and the Certification Network Group (CNG) Washington DC Steering Committee. He holds a Master of Arts degree in international studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Mary Washington. Author of “I.C.E. Virtual Exchange Preview: Security Challenges and Opportunities in the Post-COVID-19 Era” and "Credentialing Management Systems: Key Considerations."

Mary F. Browne, MA

Mary F. Browne, MA, currently serves as the senior director of testing at the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). She has worked in the assessment industry for 20 years, engaging with a broad range of professional organizations and credentialing activities. She has been active in professional organizations, chairing the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) program and conference committees. Her conference presentations have included a broad range of assessment topics, including: retake candidates’ exam performance; group dynamics in exam development committees; item classification and exam validity; and remote testing. From 2016-2017, she served as the public member of the HR Certification Institute Certification Council. Mary earned a master’s degree in organization psychology from Columbia University. Author of "Key Challenges to Remote Proctoring: Communications and Technology, Security, and Privacy."

Steven Garner, PMP, CAE

Steven Garner, PMP, CAE, joined the California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association (CA-NV AWWA) in 2014 as the certification manager. Previously he worked as a program manager for a variety of industries including health care, information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing and youth/adult sports. His entrepreneurial activities include a project management consulting business and an adult volleyball program that served more than 1,000 players across northern California. He also serves in volunteer roles with the California Society of Association Executives (CalSAE). Outside of I.C.E., he has been published in water industry publications such as Journal AWWA (2018 and 2019), Opflow and SOURCE (p. 14). Garner serves on the I.C.E. Publications and Editorial Committee and is the co-author of “Lessons Learned From Virtual Test Development Meetings” and author of "How Attractive Are Your Credentialing Programs to the Markets You Serve?" and “I.C.E. Virtual Exchange Preview: Assessing the Inherent Risks to Your Certification Program.”

Mihaiela R. Gugiu, PhD

Mihaiela R. Gugiu, PhD, serves as a psychometrics manager and a member of the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force at the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. While completing her doctorate in political science at Western Michigan University, she was introduced to the field of psychometrics, which led her to a new and exciting career path in psychometrics and the credentialing world. In the past decade, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and has delivered many presentations, expert lectures and workshops at national conferences on a wide range of psychometric topics such as instrument development and validation, Rasch modeling, linking and equating, and item parameter drift. Gugiu is featured in “Managing Certification renewals in COVID-19: Part 1” and is the author of “A Q&A With Ashley Bradsley: ICE 2019 Next Gen Professional Ward Winner” and “Stronger Together: A Credentialing Organization’s Story of Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”

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Ben Babcock, PhD

Ben Babcock, PhD, is the supervising senior psychometrician for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. His research interests include job analysis, standard setting, small-sample psychometrics and computerized adaptive testing. View his work here. Author of "Spotlight on Jerry Reid: 2019 ICE Innovator Award Winner" and co-author of "Givin’ the People What They Want: Public Exam Statistics Reporting for Your Stakeholders."

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Zachary Siegel, PhD

Zachary Siegel, PhD, is a cognitive scientist at the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. His research interests include exam validity, cognitive modeling, computerized adaptive testing and virtual reality applications. View his work here. Co-author of “Givin’ the People What They Want: Public Exam Statistics Reporting for Your Stakeholders.” 

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Greg Applegate, PhD, MBA

Greg Applegate, PhD, MBA, is the chief science officer for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. He is responsible for the research, examinations and psychometric teams. His professional interests include item and test development, performance assessments, fairness in testing and operations management. Co-author of “Givin’ the People What They Want: Public Exam Statistics Reporting for Your Stakeholders.” 

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Lisa Lutz

Lisa Lutz is president and CEO of SOLID, LLC. She has over 20 years of experience in policy analysis and program evaluation, specializing in education, employment and training issues related to military service members and veterans. Her work has concentrated on the use of occupational credentialing to promote the professional development of service members and ensure their smooth transition from the military to the civilian workforce. Ms. Lutz’s expertise has led to appointments to advisory committees by four secretaries of veterans affairs to provide subject matter expertise on the implementation of education and credentialing benefits for service members and veterans. She has served as vice chair of the American National Standard’s Institute’s (ANSI) National Accreditation Board (ANAB) Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee (PCAC), which is responsible for overseeing the quality of certification programs, and she continues to serve as a member of that committee. She is also a long-term member of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) government affairs committee. Author of "I.C.E. Launches Military and Veterans Credentialing Toolkit."

Timothy Muckle, PhD

Dr. Timothy Muckle is the senior director of psychometrics and testing lead psychometrician at the Board of Pharmacy Specialties. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame, and received his doctorate in educational psychology (measurement, evaluation, statistics and assessment) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research interests include computerized adaptive testing (CAT), alternative item types and performance-based assessments using simulation. Co-author of “Alternate Approach to Developing Consensus for a New Certification: A Case Study.”

Dennis Spence, PhD, MS, CRNA, FAAN, CAPT (ret), NC, USN

Dr. Spence is the chief research officer at the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists, where he is responsible for leading and guiding the NBCRNA’s comprehensive strategic evaluation and research plan for the organization and its credentialing programs. Dr. Spence retired as a captain from the U.S. Navy in August 2020 after 28 years, most recently serving as a staff nurse anesthetist at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, mentoring and teaching clinical didactic anesthesia to nurse anesthesia students while also providing anesthesia to patients of all ages requiring surgery, sedation or labor analgesia. He has held various committee positions with the NBCRNA, including a director on the NBCRNA Board of Directors from 2017-2020, and served on the Evaluation and Research Advisory Committee. In 2019, Dr. Spence was awarded the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Foundation John F. Garde Researcher of the Year award for extensive scientific contributions to the nurse anesthesia profession. From 2012 to 2015, he served as the regional director of nursing research in the Navy Medicine West region where he was responsible for research proposals, grant applications and evidence-based projects for eight naval medical treatment facilities and their associate nursing staff. He received his doctorate from Rush University Medical Center, a master of science from Georgetown University/Navy Nurse Corps Anesthesia Program and a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He serves as the adjunct associate professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS), GSN, Nurse Anesthesia Program and as an adjunct faculty member at Texas Wesleyan University Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program. Co-author of “Survey Results: COVID-19’s Impact on Certifying Organizations.”

Joseph Seegers

Joseph Seegers earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master of business administration from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. During his studies, he completed projects locally and internationally, including work in Italy with Cinecitta Studios as a consultant, recommending strategies to further the brand. Seegers’s current role is human resource representative at Fanatics in Winona, Minnesota. He currently works in many different areas of human resources, including each phase of the recruiting process. He runs new employee orientation and maintains all employee personnel and related data files, including compensation, benefits, tax, attendance, performance reviews, disciplinary actions and terminations. He is also responsible for providing information about FMLA, writing reviews and creating new employee programs. Co-author of  "What’s the Value of My Certification? Inside the Minds of Job Seekers and Hiring Managers."

Sheri Sesay-Tuffour

Dr. Sheri Sesay-Tuffour joined the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board after serving as CEO of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Her leadership and management principles are based on a simple doctrine — do unto others as you would have them do unto you. She has committed over 20 years to the association sector, primarily with healthcare related organizations including the American College of Nurse-Midwives as CEO; the Heart Rhythm Society as vice president of operations and the International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners as executive director. Additionally, she is a board member of the American Society of Association Executives Board of Directors, the West Virginia State University Foundation Board and the District of Columbia Historically Black Colleges and Universities Alumni Alliance Board of Directors. She presents regularly on topics of strategy, leadership, inclusion and talent management. Sheri holds a doctorate degree in organizational leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, a master's in science administration from Trinity Washington University and a bachelor's in communications from West Virginia State University. Author of "Managing the Unforeseen Through Agility and Adaptability: How a Credentialing Organization Achieved Business Continuity During a Global Pandemic."

Amanda A. Wolkowitz, PhD

Amanda A. Wolkowitz, PhD, is a senior psychometrician at Alpine Testing Solutions, Inc, where she works with a wide range of organizations on all aspects of the test development cycle. Amanda also serves as a psychometric assessor for the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), is a member of the board of directors for the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and is a reviewer for Practical Assessment, Research, & Evaluation (PARE). Amanda has presented and published research on a wide range of psychometric topics. Some of her most recent publications include the topics of alternative item types and equating with small sample sizes. She also was a contributing author to the scoring and equating chapter in the third edition of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) Handbook. Author of "An ‘Excitement for Research’: A Q&A With Dennis Spence" and co-author of "Making the Switch From 4-Option to 3-Option Multiple Choice Items Without Pretesting: Case Study and Results."

Isabelle Gonthier, PhD

Isabelle Gonthier, PhD, is the chief assessment officer for Meazure Learning (Yardstick-ProctorU). In this role, she oversees and provides strategic direction for all aspects of the professional credentialing business, including psychometrics, exam development, exam administration, product management, operations, business development and program management. Over the course of her career, Dr. Gonthier has also managed the development and administration of large-scale national licensure and certification examinations and assessment tools for various professions in the health, financial and IT sectors. She brings her unique perspective of being both a test sponsor and a testing services provider to the work she does across the testing industry, including her volunteer work with I.C.E. and other industry associations. Dr. Gonthier earned her doctorate in experimental psychology at the University of Ottawa. Before joining Meazure Learning-Yardstick, she worked at Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC, now FP Canada) and CFP Board as vice president of certification and director of examinations, respectively. She has served as a psychometric commissioner and chair of the NCCA commission and is now involved with the Conference Executive Committee and is the chair of the Program Committee for the Association of Testing Publishers (ATP).  Dr. Gonthier is a high-energy, sought-after speaker at many industry conferences and meetings, including ATP, I.C.E., CLEAR, CNAR and others.  Co-author of “Benchmark Survey in Translating Credentialing Examinations: An Opportunity to Learn, Improve and Explore Language Barriers.”

Shahid A. Choudhry, PhD, MPH

Dr. Shahid Choudhry is the director of evaluation and research at the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). He has been working with the ERAC: ESL Subcommittee as a staff liaison by offering guidance on their overall charge, assisting with research design on the translation benchmarking study and providing support and guidance on planning and evaluating their charge using logic models. Dr. Choudhry’s educational background is in public health with expertise in quantitative and qualitative research as well as program development, management and evaluation. He has worked for the American Medical Association, American Society of Clinical Pathology and American Academy of Dermatology as a senior manager and director, consulted for Cerner as a clinical intelligence researcher and has served as a senior researcher and research project and data manager for several studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Chicago. Co-author of “Benchmark Survey in Translating Credentialing Examinations: An Opportunity to Learn, Improve and Explore Language Barriers.”

Brett P. Foley, PhD

Brett P. Foley, PhD, is the director of professional credentialing and a senior psychometrician at Alpine Testing Solutions. He has worked with many types of testing programs in licensure, certification and education. Dr. Foley received his doctorate in quantitative, qualitative and psychometric methods from the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a past-president of the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association and currently serves as chair of the Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects as a public member. His research interests include standard setting, policy considerations in testing and using visual displays to inform the test development process. Co-author of "Making the Switch From 4-Option to 3-Option Multiple Choice Items Without Pretesting: Case Study and Results."

Jared Zurn, AIA, CAE 

Jared Zurn, AIA, CAE, is the vice president of examination and serves as a member of the senior leadership team at the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Zurn is responsible for the strategic direction of examination related initiatives and professional ethics initiatives, as well as oversight of and participation in research regarding the current and future states of the architectural profession. Zurn is a licensed architect and certified association executive.

Before joining NCARB, Zurn operated a sole proprietorship architectural design firm in northern Minnesota. He also served as faculty of the architectural technology program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College where he served as a division chair and led the architectural technology program in the areas of curriculum development, course assessment and program outcome assessment. Co-author of "Making the Switch From 4-Option to 3-Option Multiple Choice Items Without Pretesting: Case Study and Results."

Corina Owens, PhD

Corina Owens, PhD, is the director of IT credentialing and senior psychometrician at Alpine Testing Solutions. She has a broad background in education, with specific training and expertise in educational measurement/psychometrics and advanced statistical analysis. Prior to joining Alpine Testing Solutions, she worked for RTI International as a research psychometrician where her work focused on providing analytical evaluations of data collection tools measuring educational attainment, adolescent substance abuse and experience of care. In addition, she worked at Professional Testing Inc. as a psychometrician where she provided advanced statistical and psychometric analyses to several certification and licensure organizations. She has published multiple peer reviewed articles and presented over 30 presentations and proceedings at both regional and national conferences. Corina received her doctorate in educational measurement and research from the University of South Florida. Co-author of "Making the Switch From 4-Option to 3-Option Multiple Choice Items Without Pretesting: Case Study and Results."

Edwin N. Aroke, PhD, CRNA

Edwin N. Aroke, PhD, CRNA, is the 2021-2022 chair of the English as a Second Language Subcommittee of the National Board of the Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). He is also a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing. His program of research focuses on the mechanisms that cause and sustain disparities in pain outcomes.  Co-author of “Benchmark Survey in Translating Credentialing Examinations: An Opportunity to Learn, Improve and Explore Language Barriers.”

Julie Patrick

Julie Patrick is a talent development consultant with JP Learning Associates. She has been a trainer, facilitator and instructional designer since 1992. As a former manager of a corporate university, Patrick was responsible for various training programs. She holds numerous certifications and designs and implements learning and development solutions that help clients achieve their desired business results. Patrick also serves as a facilitator of certificate programs and has written infolines and templates and tools for the Association for Talent Development (ATD). She serves as a member of the Assessment-based Certificate Accreditation Council (ACAC) for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.). Patrick has a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in organization development.  Author of “Needs Analysis for Assessment-Based Certificate Programs."

Todd Philbrick, CAE

Todd Philbrick, CAE, is the director of certification for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in Rockville, Maryland, which certifies over 200,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists and their assistants. He is a non-profit certification and association executive with 20 years of experience in creating and managing certification programs for stand-alone and managed associations, and is proudly serving as chair of I.C.E.’s 2021 board of directors. He is a Washington, D.C., area native and a graduate of Salisbury State University with bachelor's degrees in business administration and marketing. He lives in Rockville with his wife and two young children. Author of “Is It Time to Raise Certification Renewal Requirements? A Look at Common Program Methods."