People
Laura Wright, Director oversees project work, new grant development, and partnerships. She has been an education researcher for over 20 years. Prior to joining UW, she worked on projects related to English Learner education and assessment at the Center for Applied Linguistics. She has served on ONPAR mathematics and ONPAR science grants, researching how teachers and students understand and use the assessments and their outcomes. Laura holds a PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University, specializing in sociolinguistics. Her research focuses on how students express understanding through discourse in complex learning environments and how students make sense of phenomena through spoken and written language. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and their two English Pointer rescues. Laura lives in Northern Virginia and works remotely for UW.
Contact Information: laura.wright@wisc.edu
Linda Malkin, Research Project Coordinator manages operations and development of ONPAR materials. She spent 19 years of her career as an informal educator and science museum administrator. Prior to joining UW, she was a middle school science teacher in Connecticut where spent three years working on a grant-funded effort to transform her K-8 general education school into a STEM magnet school. Linda served as the ONPAR Outreach Specialist for four years, training teachers to use the ONPAR system in science classrooms. She holds a BS in Meteorology from UW– Madison and an MA in Urban Education Studies from Yale University. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, paddling, and naturalist activities as well as cheering on UW sports teams with her husband who is also a UW alum.
Contact Information: lmmalkin@wisc.edu
Gerald (Jerry) Dryer, Researcher investigates how teachers and students use the ONPAR system to support NGSS-based assessment and instruction practices in classrooms. He is a career educator with over 20 years of experience. Prior to joining the ONPAR team, he was an outdoor educator and a key faculty member at Prairie Phoenix Academy, an innovative public high school using experiential, project based and personalized learning. In addition to his role with the ONPAR project, he is completing a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison. His research explores the ways digital technologies can transform PK-12 schooling. He is the lead designer of the CALL for Personalized Learning, a formative feedback tool that helps educators refine their practices to support student agency. In his spare time, Jerry enjoys rock climbing, cooking, and time with his family.
Katrina Pommerening, Outreach Specialistworks with school districts and science teachers using the ONPAR assessment system to improve NGSS-based assessment and instruction practices. She also designs and creates ONPAR support and training materials. Katrina brings more than 15 years of teaching experience to the team in both math and science content areas. Prior to joining UW, she taught middle and high school students in Louisiana, Chicago, and Wisconsin. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics & History from UW-Madison and an M.S. in Education from Northwestern University. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, visiting area museums, and reading.
Jonathan Schluesche, student software application developersupports programming efforts for the ONPAR assessment system including improvements to the user interface and reporting features. He is a sophomore at UW-Madison studying Computer Science and Data Science and has been coding since his junior year of high school. Jonathan enjoys the challenges that software development brings and the creative ways to solve problems. He is especially interested in web development, web automation, and web security.
Rebecca Kopriva, (Retired) served as Principal Investigator on many federally funded projects researching and developing ONPAR. Prior to joining UW, she founded and headed the Center for the Study of Assessment Validity and Evaluation at the University of Maryland, was faculty at California State University Fresno, and served as the Director of Student Assessment in Delaware. A frequent speaker at national conferences and other venues, she has written and published numerous papers, articles and chapters outlining essential considerations for the assessment of populations for whom language and literacy are challenging. Dr. Kopriva holds a BA in Studio Art, an M.S. in Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics. She retired from UW in 2019.
The Rest of Our Team: IT Designers, Developers, and Programmers
Rebekah Novak, Software Product Manager
Jared Mehl, Software Application Developer
Michael Sherry, Software Application Developer
Ishaan Sharma, Student Software Application Developer
Janet Trembley, Graphic Designer
Christine Olson, Web Designer & Accessibility Specialist
Carol Lien, Web Designer
