Everett William Barnes Jr., Ph.D.,  is the principal investigator at the Region 7 Comprehensive Center. He began his career in education in 1965 as a high school history and civics teacher in rural New Hampshire. Dr. Barnes was a school... Learn more

Sheryl Turner, director of the Region 7 Comprehensive Center, is a senior research associate and director of the RMC Research Tampa office. She has more than 32 years of experience in education as a leader and director of educational programs,... Learn more

Heidi Goertzen, Ph.D., is a research associate at RMC Research Corporation’s Tampa Office. Dr. Goertzen focuses her work on providing evaluation, professional learning, and technical assistance at state, district, and school levels. In her role at RMC, Dr. Goertzen serves... Learn more

Sarah Hughes provides support to the Region 7 Comprehensive Center’s Florida Standards Implementation project. She is a senior research associate at RMC Research Corporation with over 20 years of experience in working with state leaders to strengthen early childhood education,... Learn more

Shannon Lasserre-Cortez, Ph.D. specializes in the technical support, research, and evaluation of education programs. At RMC, Shannon leads the Alabama Improving Student Excellence in Math project and provides research and evaluation support for the Region 7 Comprehensive Center (R7CC) and... Learn more

Patricia Cox is a research associate with RMC Research Corporation and works with the Region 7 Comprehensive Center. She serves as the state liaison for Alabama. Her work in Alabama includes managing the Improving Student Excellence in Math project and... Learn more

Kimilee Norman-Goins provides technical writing assistance in areas such as editing, digital content creation, social media management, and graphic design. At RMC, Kimilee directs Quality Assurance procedures and ensures that deliverables are error-free and highly shareable. She provides technical writing... Learn more

Ruth Gumm is a research associate at RMC Research Corporation and serves on the literacy team at the Region 7 Comprehensive Center to assist Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi with evidence-based literacy implementation. She is project lead for the Florida Grades... Learn more

As the office manager, Clarissa Hernandez supports the Region 7 Comprehensive Center staff to deliver high quality services. Ms. Hernandez has more than 30 years experience in different areas and industries including healthcare, banking, real estate, international travel, and freight.... Learn more

Archie E. Hill, Ph.D., is a Regional 7 Comprehensive Center staff member and the Mississippi state liaison, supporting district and state staff in implementing and evaluating educational initiatives. He also supports the implementation of Florida’s new school standards and the... Learn more

Robin G. Jarvis, Ph.D.,  provides management support to the Region 7 Comprehensive Center and leads the Florida Standards Implementation and Alabama Improving English Learner Achievement projects. She is a senior research associate at RMC Research Corporation with more than 10... Learn more

Carol Keirstead, Ed.D., senior research associate at RMC Research Corporation, coleads the Region 7 Comprehensive Center project to build capacity of the Mississippi Department of Education to improve teacher effectiveness, recruitment, and retention. She also is a member of a... Learn more

Tracey Martin, Ph.D., serves on the Region 7 Comprehensive Center internal evaluation team. She has conducted evaluation research for RMC Research Corporation for more than 15 years, providing her experience in a wide range of projects. Her approach to evaluation... Learn more

Kimberli McWhirter is a member of the Region 7 Comprehensive Center staff where she leads the Mississippi Grades 4–8 literacy project, providing support for sustainable innovations in evidence-based literacy instruction. She is also a member of the Florida Grades PK–3... Learn more

Joshua A. Melton, Ph.D., is the lead evaluator for the Region 7 Comprehensive Center and the lead quantitative methodologist at RMC Research Tampa. As lead evaluator, Dr. Melton helps project leadership obtain data to support project milestones/outcomes, Comprehensive Center (CC)... Learn more

Erika Patterson is a web content editor for the Region 7 Comprehensive Center (R7CC). Mrs. Patterson edits and posts photos, articles, media, and information on the R7CC website. At RMC Research Corporation, Mrs. Patterson has provided technical and secretarial support... Learn more

Jack Schwarz is a project lead for the Region 7 Comprehensive Center. He assists the state of Florida in supporting school leadership teams to improve instruction for struggling students. Mr. Schwarz is a research associate at RMC Research and brings... Learn more

As an administrative assistant, Darlyne Truitt, supports Region 7 Comprehensive Center staff with document and material production, web management, editorial assistance, and general office duties. Ms. Truitt has more than 15 years experience in office administration, staff development, instructional design,... Learn more