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As WestEd’s Director of Assessment Research and Innovation, Dr. Matthew Gaertner provides overall leadership for assessment research and development efforts across the Agency. He manages a team of researchers focused on advanced topics in measurement, including innovative assessments of career and college readiness. A quantitative methodologist and psychometrician by training, Dr. Gaertner’s methodological expertise includes item response theory, multilevel models, and categorical data analysis; he leverages these tools to study the effects of educational policies on access, persistence, achievement, and labor market outcomes for disadvantaged learners. Dr. Gaertner is a statistical advisor for Magnolia.
Lily has more than two decades of experience leading technology, education, media, and professional services organizations through transformative change while preserving a strong culture and a sense of mission. Lily is licensed to practice law in Colorado, DC, and Virginia, and she is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources. She is a resident of Nelson County, Virginia, where she shares a cottage in the woods with her husband, two boys, three rescue cats, and a Morkie-Poo. Lily consults with Magnolia as a human resource advisor.
Ms. Josette Haddad is a freelance copyeditor who has collaborated with Magnolia Consulting since 2017. Her editorial services help ensure that reports are clear, consistent, and error-free. She holds a B.A. in English literature from Cornell University and has 30 years of experience as a copyeditor for businesses, nonprofit organizations, publishers, and independent authors. When not editing, Josette enjoys taking walks with her family and tending the plants inside and outside her home in New Mexico. Josette serves as an editor for Magnolia Consulting products and deliverables.
Valerie Haff is an editor and project manager with two decades of editorial experience in educational content development and research. She specializes in educational publishing—curriculum, assessment, research, academic journals, and educational technology. She has extensive experience in content development management and editorial project management. In addition to serving as an editor and proof handler for various academic journals, she currently serves as managing editor for The American Biology Teacher. She supports a broad range of clients, including independent authors, educational publishers, and nonprofit organizations and has provided editing services to Magnolia on a wide variety of studies.