Staff
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 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.
Jen Foster, EdD is a Sr. Program and Project Coordinator 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. Jen has a MS in Ed. Tech, an EdS and EdD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. Jen is a Google Certified Trainer and Administrator. 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.
Ryan Williams, PhD is a principal researcher at AIR. He leads large-scale evaluations and research syntheses at AIR and 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 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 Ph.D. in quantitative research methodology from Loyola University Chicago.
Lindsay Brockmeier, PhD is a post-doctoral fellow in the nation's premier Prosocial Development and Educational Research Lab at the University of Missouri. She earned her PhD in Educational Psychology from Mizzou. She also has a master’s degree in School Counseling and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She has worked as a middle school counselor in the St. Louis area, a psychological examiner and school counselor in Columbia, Missouri, and as an education researcher throughout her career.
Haylee Anderson is an Educational Program Coordinator for the eMINTS National Center. She has nearly 10 years of experience in the education field and joined eMINTS in August 2022. Prosocial education is her focus because the concept identifies her philosophy of teaching. Before joining eMINTS, Haylee was a classroom teacher in 6-12 English and Secondary Spanish. She has received a master's in education from the University of Missouri and a specialist in education from Missouri State University.
Amber Ernst is an Educational Program Coordinator for the eMINTS National Center. She draws on over 10 years of experience in the education field in both elementary classrooms and at the state level. She has been in education training and program management for over five years. In 2022, she joined eMINTS and continues to support multiple grant initiatives. With a background in STEM education and technology integration, she provides professional development to educators and schools.
Nicholas Linke has been an Educational Program Coordinator for the eMINTS National Center since August 2022. Alongside a master's in education from the University of Missouri and the pursuit of a doctorate, he draws on 11 years of experience as a high school science teacher in rural districts. As a married father of three middle school and elementary-aged children, he is continuously inspired to build more prosocial classrooms and promote social-emotional growth.
Crystal Aguilera is a research assistant at AIR, serving as a site coordinator for the (PAL) program, facilitating efficient communication and data transfer between participating schools and the research teams. She began her research career as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California in 2018, working on both qualitative and quantitative methods investigating adolescent motivation and education. Currently, within AIR, her focus is on meta-analyses examining the sources of heterogeneity and efficacy of K-12 and undergraduate classroom interventions.
Bo Zhu is a senior researcher at AIR, with extensive experience with educator effectiveness projects and student outcome analysis at both state and district levels. At AIR, she contributes to the design and implementation of program evaluations and research studies and develops quantitative data-collection instruments such as surveys. Prior to her work at AIR, Zhu earned her Master’s degree in International Education Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she gained experience in quantitative methodologies in statistics and program evaluation.