Who We Are

Jen Foster is an eMINTS Instructional Specialist and has worked for the University of Missouri to provide professional development for educators since 2011. Jen began her journey in education in 2002 as a 4th grade eMINTS classroom teacher. In 2011, Jen became a certified eMINTS Affiliate Trainer and began working for the eMINTS National Center. In 2017, Jen completed her EdS, and began working on her Education Doctoral degree. Jen is a Google Certified Trainer and Administrator, and works to support others in using GSuite Apps to increase productivity, communication and collaboration.  Her recent publication can be found in ISTE's Empowered Learner magazine titled, Spotlight on Standards: Take Steps to Embrace the Learner Standard. Jen enjoys working with educators to embrace research-based instructional strategies in a technology-rich learning environment. 

Sara L. Prewett, PhD, is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Missouri. Her interests focus on high quality teacher-student relationships, as well as socio-emotional and prosocial behaviors for students most at risk for underachievement. Most of her research focuses on the specific factors that assist teachers to achieve and support students’ academic and socio-emotional success.

Christi Bergin, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation for the University of Missouri - College of Education. Dr. Bergin is a professor of research with an expertise in the social-emotional well-being of children and the evaluation of educational and medical programs. Dr. Bergin has conducted multiple studies into the effects of social and emotional learning in students. Her most recent publication is Designing a Prosocial Classroom: Fostering Collaboration in Students from PreK-12 with the Curriculum You Already Use.

Cara Wylie, EdD, is a Program Coordinator and PAL Classroom grant manager for the eMINTS National Center. Cara was a classroom teacher for 11 years in the St. Louis area before becoming an eMINTS Instructional Specialist in 2000. During her time with eMINTS, she has worked with teachers, administrators and technology specialists through professional development and on-site support. Along with her Area Instructional Specialist role, she coordinated the eMINTS National Center annual conference for several years and served as the core program coordinator. 

Ryan Williams, PhD, is a principal researcher at AIR. He leads large-scale evaluations and research syntheses at AIR. He serves as the principal investigator for evaluating the eMINTS prosocial behavior and active learning (PAL) program. He has led several, recent, impact and implementation evaluations of teaching and learning programs throughout the country. He is currently the principal investigator on an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) meta-analysis that explores sources of heterogeneity in mathematics intervention effects. He is also a co-principal investigator of an IES methods training institute for advanced meta-analysis. He has extensive training in quantitative methods focusing on contemporary measurement theory, meta-analysis, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs. His recent publications include articles in Educational Researcher, Research Synthesis Methods, and Review of Research in Education. He received his PhD in quantitative research methodology from Loyola University Chicago.