Professor
University of Missouri – Columbia
Department of Economics

As an undergraduate at Harvard University, Peter Mueser worked with Christopher Jencks in his study of the effect of schooling on future income.

His current research focuses on poverty, welfare, job training programs and migration. His work is published in The Review of Economics and Statistics , The Journal of Urban Economics, Demography, and other social science journals. His book, Welfare and Work: Experiences in Six Cities, coauthored with Christopher King (Upjohn Institute, 2005), examines the employment experiences of welfare recipients during the period of welfare reform.

He has held positions at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and the Johns Hopkins University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1983.

“I’ve been on the Board of the Modern Red Schoolhouse Institute since its inception. The Institute’s goal has been to implement modern educational research to help schools address the concrete problems they face. It’s been exciting to see the strides that have been made in our client schools toward enhancing children’s educational experience. I am proud to be part of an organization contributing to the revitalization of schooling in America.”

Former President, Division of Youth Services, ResCare
Former Chairman and CEO of Children’s Comprehensive Services
Former member, National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS)
Youth Services Committee

Mr. Ballard has led companies that provided therapeutic and educational systems in residential and non-residential settings for troubled and at-risk youth. He is an accomplished executive who has successfully started, turned around and grown companies, public and private, in both service and manufacturing sectors, for more than twenty-five years. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago.

“MRSH is a vital agent of change in the crucial cause of improving the embattled U.S. educational system. Their skills and approach have produced compelling, verifiable results in even the most challenging of educational settings. It is an honor to be associated with this praiseworthy organization.”

Professor of Anthropology
Alliance for Applied Research in Education and Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
University of South Florida
Tampa , Florida

Kathryn Borman’s seminal research provided educators with critical understanding of the transitions from school to work.  In the past ten years her work has focused on the effects of the National Science Foundation’s Urban Systemic Initiative and the effectiveness of various programmatic reforms in science and mathematics.  Recently she worked as a consultant to the U. S. Department of Education and National School to Work Office for the project "Preparing Teachers to Use Contextual Teaching and Learning Strategies to Enhance Student Success in and beyond School." Currently she directs a $1.2 million evaluation study for the National Science Foundation entitled "Assessing the Impact of the NSF's Urban Systemic Initiative."

As Co-Principal Investigator of the NSF project, "Addressing National Addressing National Needs for Skilled Technical Graduates," Dr. Borman investigated policy issues related to national standards and the training of skilled technical workers. In 1992-93, she worked on the Evaluation Projects for Cincinnati Public Schools utilizing funds from the Cincinnati Public Schools to carry out eight projects with College of Education faculty. Dr. Borman also participated in the Evaluation of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (1992), assessing ongoing school-based support activities for youth. Additionally, she has been involved in training graduate students for research and teaches a variety of courses including anthropology and education, and methods in qualitative analysis.

Dr. Borman received her Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from the University of Minnesota in 1976.

“MRSH's approach to working with school, districts, teachers, and students includes the very best tools for assessing student needs and working with teachers and principals to address those needs in reading, mathematics and science at all levels.  Their results are truly outstanding! By putting people first, MRSH always puts service to their clients first.”

Chair, Dept. of Leadership & Organizations
Director, Peabody Center for Education Policy
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee

James W. Guthrie is a professor of public policy and education, chair of the Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, and director of the Peabody Center for Education Policy at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He instructs both undergraduate and graduate courses, and conducts research on education policy and finance.

He is founder and chairman of the board of Management Analysis & Planning, Inc. (MAP), a private sector management consulting firm specializing in public finance and litigation support. MAP offices are located in Davis, California.

Previously a professor at the University of California, Berkeley for 27 years, he holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Stanford University, and undertook postdoctoral study in public finance at Harvard. He also was a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford Brookes College, Oxford, England, and the Irving R. Melbo Visiting Professor at the University of Southern California.

Professor Guthrie has been a consultant to the governments of Armenia, Australia, Chile, Guyana, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Romania, and South Africa, and has had extensive experience in consulting for The World Bank, UNESCO, and the Organization of American States. He is past-president of the American Education Finance Association, and frequently serves on National Academy of Sciences panels.

He is the author or co-author of ten books, and more than 200 professional and scholarly articles. He is past president of the American Education Finance Association, served as editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of American Education, published in 2002, and is series editor of the ten-volume Peabody Education Leadership Series. He is principal investigator for the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University, a federally funded research center concentrating on educator performance incentives.

Former Director
Enterprise Foundation
Atlanta, Georgia

A nationally recognized urban educator and leader in the Chicago School Reform Movement. Peters was principal of the Alexandre Dumas School that was located in a neighborhood known for its high poverty rates, violent gangs, and low student achievement. She led the turn around of the pre-kg/8 elementary through a series of innovative programs for staff, parents and students. She was a founding partner of the Edison Project in Knoxville, Tennessee and a member of the design team that collaboratively created educational program for the Edison Schools.

Peters served as the Director of Education for the Enterprise Foundation and her leadership led to the organization receiving grants of more than 30 million dollars from the Annenberg Foundation. The funds were given to replicate her Baltimore education initiatives in Atlanta and Los Angeles. They were the largest grants ever received by the organization for any of its comprehensive urban projects. She served as the executive director of these projects and her efforts made it possible for many to become successful students, teachers and parents.

Mrs. Peters was one of the founders of the Washington-based Character Education Partnership and helped to write federal legislation that funded staff development and educational programs for teachers, students and communities in more than forty-seven states.

She speaks, consults and presents workshops to institutions and organizations around the country. She continues to serve children through consulting with the Knox County Schools in Tennessee and serves on the boards of organizations that are committed to providing access to educational opportunities for of the nation’s children.

“MRSH is an outstanding organization that has developed excellent curriculum materials for students and teachers; staff development programs for schools; and consistently been an integral part of the education reform movement in the nation. The company's commitment to designing, launching and evaluating its products with care and integrity is a distinctive characteristic and places it well above many competitors.”

Senior Research Consultant
Research for Action
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Elizabeth Useem is currently part of a research team at Research for Action in Philadelphia that is investigating the current wave of education reform in the School District of Philadelphia. From 1993-2004 she was the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Philadelphia Education Fund where she conducted studies in teacher quality and supply, comprehensive secondary school reform, and teacher professional development. She was formerly the Director of Teacher Education at Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College. She spent more than two decades as a faculty member in the Sociology Departments of Boston State College and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and chaired the Youth Policy Council for the state of Massachusetts during the administration of Gov. Michael Dukakis. She recently served as a member of the Pennsylvania Governor's Commission on the Preparation of America's Teachers and sits on the board of the Pennsylvania Education Policy Leadership Center.

Dr. Useem received her Ed.D. in the Sociology of Education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, her M.A.T. in History from Harvard University; and her B.A. in History from Northwestern University.

“In my view, Modern Red Schoolhouse is a particularly effective change agent because of the quality of its consultants and its focus on both core academic content and pedagogical methods that engage students.”