Our Team

Charles Fadel

Photo of Charles Fadel, Founder and Chairman of the Center of Curriculum Redesign

Charles is a global education thought leader and futurist, author, and inventor, with several active affiliations. His work spans the education continuum of K-12 schools, higher education, and workforce development/lifelong learning:

Founder and chairman of the Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR) in Boston, MA. CCR focuses on “Making Education More Relevant” and answering the question: “What should students learn for the 21st century? In an age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Chair of the Education Committee of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), nominated by the U.S. Chamber of International Business (USCIB). He works with several teams at the OECD, most notably Education 2030, PISA, CERI, and the AI Expert Group.
Senior Fellow, Human Capital at The Conference Board
Board member at the United States Council Foundation (USCF).

Through his 25-year high-tech career, he personally experienced the disruptive effects of exponential change. This invaluable firsthand knowledge allows him to offer a unique perspective to the world of Education. Among his past affiliations:

Global Education Lead at Cisco Systems for over a decade.
Founder of Neurodyne, an ahead-of-its-time startup focused on Neural Networks/Artificial Intelligence.
Member of the President’s Council of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.
Founder and President of the Fondation Helvetica Educatio in Geneva, Switzerland. Fondation Helvetica Educatio focused on global education matters.
Product marketing and management in semiconductors for broadband and wireless applications at Analog Devices and M/A-COM.
Visiting practitioner at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in the Mind, Brain and Education program. He explored curriculum redesign issues in an age of artificial intelligence and taught the first-ever class on “Human Learning + Machine Learning.”
Former Project Director at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in the Laboratory for the Science of the Individual. There he explored “Machine Learning + Human Learning.”
Visiting lecturer at MIT’s Experimental Study Group (ESG). He taught an innovative “special topics in mathematics” seminar, “Polymathy: The World in 10 Curves.” He then taught the seminar at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education for six years to student acclaim.
Visiting lecturer at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the Chief Learning Officer Program.
Senior Fellow at the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Appointee to the Massachusetts gubernatorial “Commission to Develop an Index of Creative and Innovative Education in Public Schools” and the Governor’s Readiness Project and its 21st Century Skills task force.
Angel investor with Beacon Angels in Boston

Speaker

Charles is a highly sought-after keynoter/presenter at national and international events for organizations as varied as the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, World Bank, OECD, Google TechTalk, Gates Foundation, National Science Foundation, World Future Society, New York Times Schools of Tomorrow, International Baccalaureate (IB), ACT, Learning & the Brain, British Council, and CEA-ACE (Canada).

Expert Contributor

He has contributed to and been featured on and by various media organizations. These include National Public Radio (NPR), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Huffington Post, eSchool News, Education Week, University Business, and Technology & Learning.

Author

His most recent, ground-breaking book Artificial Intelligence in Education was translated into Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and several other languages. His earlier, highly influential book Four-Dimensional Education was translated into ten languages, while its framework was translated into 21. He co-authored the best-selling book 21st Century Skills (Wiley), which became a worldwide moniker. The book has been translated into Mandarin Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, and Russian.

Consultant

Charles consults selectively with high-potential jurisdictions, schools, universities, corporations, and foundations around the globe. He contributed to education projects in more than thirty countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, and the United States.

Inventor

Charles was awarded seven patents. Six as sole inventor: Social Networking #9,582,567,#9,262,640; Video #6,597,736, #6,816,626, #6,970,181; and Content Management #6,904,463; and one as co-inventor: Digital Communications #7,076,556. He has one patent pending: “n-Angulation Assessments.” He holds a B.S. in electronics with course concentration in quantum & solid-state physics and a MBA in international marketing. He attended all required courses in electrical engineering at the master’s level, with electives in neuroscience and statistics. An avid reader, he autodidactically learned emerging disciplines such as evolutionary psychology. He enjoys the lessons of classical history.

Carol Atwood

Photo of Carol Atwood, Managing Director of the Center of Curriculum Redesign Carol’s multi-faceted background and experience has provided her with a unique capacity to develop and implement scaling strategies for paradigm-changing education. Carol started on this pathway at the age of 15 when she found herself struggling with the traditional school approach to student learning. Determined to help herself, and others like her, succeed in their educational paths, she presented a strategic plan to her public high school’s committee which was approved and received a meaningful portion of the town’s educational budget. The plan was based on the student centered on pedagogy of project-based learning and is still active today.

At the age of 25, Carol became President and then majority owner of a 400-employee strong professional learning (PL) course development and PL training company where she grew the firm to 75 major U.S.-wide clients and 4,000 employees. This experience helped her learn successful tactics to developing and delivering PL at a national scale, as well as the skills to build awareness and secure clients throughout the U.S. and Canada.

After selling her firm, Carol went on to co-develop and facilitate innovative strategies utilizing new standards, assessments, and communities of practice to bring social change to society through such sectors as education, not-for-profits, foundations, investing, and business. The outcomes of these efforts were highly successful as can seen in 75% of for-profit public companies now providing socially responsible annual reports to their stakeholders. She also acted as Babson College’s socially-responsible Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

She holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations from Boston University.

Carol now utilizes all of her rich experience to guide CCR’s scaling of their unique frameworks and pedagogy for K-20 education throughout the world.

Core Team

Jeremy Birk

Jeremy is a Senior Research Fellow at CCR. Previously, he was Executive Vice President, Education at Spring Education Group. He earned a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Klingenstein Center, Columbia University; a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from SUNY Buffalo State College; and a B.A. in History and English from the University of Michigan.

Alexis Black

Alexis is a Senior Researcher in Anthropology, Linguistics, and Cognitive Sciences for CCR. Previously, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Fyssen Foundation. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Concordia University, Montréal; an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Oklahoma; a B.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Oklahoma; and B.A. in Literatures and Cultures from the University of Oklahoma.

Ami Boshardt

Ami is a Project Manager for Web Applications. Previously she was the Director of Financial Aid Services at the College Board. She earned her M.A. in International Relations from American University, a B.A. in Political Science from Carson-Newman University, and a B.A. in History from Carson-Newman University.

Claude Cruz

Claude is a Senior Research Fellow at CCR. He earned a M.S. in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Katie Dunn

Katie is an Education Researcher and Project Manager for 21st Century Skills and Competencies. Previously, she was a Science and Mathematics Teacher at Boston Latin School. She earned a M.Ed. from High Meadows Graduate School of Teaching and Learning (in collaboration with MIT) and a B.S. in Physics and Planetary Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Walter Holohan

Walter is a Software Engineer & Web Developer. Currently, he is the owner of Easy Day, LLC. He attended Boston University and Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School.

Eve Howard

Eve is the Project Manager for Introductory College Course Curricula at CCR. Previously, she was Principal at Change the Game Consulting. She earned a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

Jonathan LoPorto

Jonathan is a Curriculum Developer for Computer Science Curricula at CCR. Currently, he is Director of Technology Education at Dearborn Stem Academy in Boston, MA. He earned a M.Ed from University of Masschusetts, Boston and a B.S. in Music Tech from Northeastern University.

Brent McKenzie

Brent is the Director, Product Development & Strategy for CCR. Previously, he was SVP, Product Development & Strategy at GEMS Education (EqualEd, Inc.). He earned an M.A. in Science Writing from Indiana University, an M.S. in Human Physiology from San Diego State University, and a B.S. in Human Physiology from University of Florida.

Tania Mlawer

Tania is a Curriculum Developer for Computer Science Curricula and Professional Development at CCR. Currently, she is Principal at Editorial Matters. She earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University.

Carrie Ott

Carrie is a Curriculum Developer for Mathematics Curricula at CCR. Currently, she is a Mathematics Content Specialist at Chicago Public Schools. She earned an M.S in Curriculum and Instruction from Northeastern Illinois University and a B.S in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Vanderbilt University.

Andy Pethan

Andy leads Assessment System Design for CCR. Currently, he is a Coordinator at Stage One Education (engineering camps), Director of Religious Education at St. Therese Church (youth programs), and a consultant with Schema Education (edX-based consultancy). He earned a B.S. in Engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

Wendy Shane

Wendy is the Director of Finance and Operations, overseeing the financial activities of the organization, including budgeting, project accounting, financial reporting, and the annual audit. In addition, she is responsible for CCR’s administrative activities, such as contract management, compliance, HR, and IT. She earned an MBA from from Suffolk University and a B.S. in Finance from Suffolk University.

Janet Slesinski

Janet is a Curriculum Developer for Mathematics Curricula and a Competency Researcher for CCR. Previously, she was Director of Mathematics at Regional School District 19, in Storrs Mansfield, CT. She earned an M.S. in Curriculum from Saint Michael’s College, a B.S. in Secondary Education, a B.S. in Mathematics, and a B.A. in Physics from the University of Vermont.

Emma Smith Zbarsky

Emma is a Standards Researcher for Mathematics Curricula at CCR. Currently, she is Senior Content Developer at MathWorks. She earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Washington, an S.B. in Mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an S.B. in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Robbie Taylor

Robbie is a Senior Advisor at CCR. Previously they were the Curriculum Coordinator and the Art & Design Teacher at Austin Preparatory School. They earned a M.Ed. in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Communication Studies from Northeastern University.

Paul Thomas

Paul is a Curriculum Developer for Mathematics and Computer Science Curricula at CCR. Currently, he is Chief Learner at Docent Learning. He earned an M.S. in Operations Research/Management Science from George Mason University and a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from George Mason University.

Bernie Trilling

Bernie is a Senior Research Fellow at CCR and the Founder/CEO of 21st Century Learning Advisors.

Dirk Van Damme

Dirk is the Senior Distinguished Research Fellow for CCR. Previously, he was the Senior Counsellor and Head of the Innovation and Measuring Progress Divsion (IMEP), Directorate for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Research from Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; an M.A. in Educational Research from Ghent University; and a B.A. in Psychology from Ghent University.

Contributors

CCR is deeply thankful for our current and former contributors over the years, including: