Friday Institute Leadership Team

Dr Hiller A. Spires

Executive Director and Associate Dean

Dr. Spires, who has been on the NC State faculty since 1986, serves as associate dean of NC State’s College of Education and executive director of the Friday Institute. She is also a Professor of Literacy and Technology in the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in literacy education with a cognate in English from the University of South Carolina. She served as the founding director of The William and…

Arnita T Adams

Sr. Director of Finance and Human Resources

Arnita is responsible for the management and oversight of the fiscal operations. She serves as the chief financial advisor to the executive director and works closely with all directors, principal investigators and coordinators on all fiscal matters. Specific responsibilities include the supervision of the Friday Institute business office staff; preparation of all financial reports and statements, budget reports, sponsor reports, spending plans, effort projections and budget revisions; account setups, project closeouts, the fiscal year closeout,…

Heather Puamohala Bronson

Senior Communications Manager

In her role as senior communications manager, Heather builds nationwide awareness of the Friday Institute’s work, programming and initiatives among key stakeholders and the general public in order to establish the organization as the center for collaboration and innovation of education research, practice and policy. She previously led communications, marketing and public and media relations efforts for the Chicago Literacy Alliance, a nonprofit association of literacy programs and organizations. Heather has worked as a marketer, editor…

Emmy L Coleman

Senior Research Scholar

Emmy is a Senior Research Scholar and Design Strategist with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. With 27+ years of experience as an educator, administrator and coach, Emmy is dedicated in supporting leaders and educators in designing and building successful and innovative teaching and learning programs. She is currently lead of district and school-based professional learning supports across North Carolina.

Alex M. Dreier

Associate Director of Online Learning

Alex Dreier is the Associate Director of Online Learning at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. He has over 15 years of experience in building organizational capacity of online learning programs and designing learning environments that meet the needs of all students, including initiatives around social and emotional learning, learning differences, statistics, competency-based learning for educators, digital learning, and more. Prior to coming to the Friday Institute, Alex managed online courses for EdTech Leaders Online…

Dr Callie Womble Edwards

Associate Director, Program Evaluation and Education Research

Dr. Callie Edwards is an experienced educational researcher and program evaluator. For nearly a decade, she has studied, partnered with, and advocated for historically underrepresented and underserved populations in health, education, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, such as women, communities of color, individuals who experience low-income backgrounds, and those who are the first in their family to graduate from college. She has also served in the areas of college assessment, academic coaching,…

Dr Patricia Hilliard

Research Scholar

Patricia serves as a digital innovation coach on the Professional Leading and Learning Collaborative team. She works with school districts to design, develop and deliver professional learning to teachers, administrators and instructional support staff. Patricia began her career as a university instructor and most recently was the lead instructor and curriculum developer for an an alternative teacher licensure program.

Jennifer K. Houchins

Director of Technology Programs

Jennifer Houchins has a combined 15 years of professional experience as both an informal STEM educator and a developer of educational technology software. As the director of technology programs, Houchins contributes to research, development and outreach efforts of emerging technologies and their use in K-12 and higher education settings. She is also responsible for the overall management of the Friday Institute’s IT services and resources and provides leadership in IT operations, project IT support and…

Dr Gail Jones

Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor

Dr. Jones is a professor of science education. Her teaching focuses on science teacher preparation and research in teaching and learning science. Dr. Jones’ research focuses on learning science in a variety of sociocultural contexts. Her research examines how a number of subgroups learn, including gender, minorities and students with visual impairments. Recently Dr. Jones has conducted a series of studies that examine nanoscale science education. She directs the Innovations in STEM Education Research Group…

Dr Shaun Kellogg

Senior Director of Program Evaluation and Education Research

Dr. Shaun Kellogg is the Director of the Friday Institute Research and Evaluation (FIRE) Team and Teaching Assistant Professor in the College of Education. Dr. Shaun Kellogg has over 20 years of experience in education as both a public school teacher and educational researcher. Since 2011, Dr. Kellogg has led comprehensive research, evaluation, and capacity-building projects centered on the use of technology to make learning more equitable, engaging, and effective for students and educators. He…

Dr Hollylynne S. Lee

Professor, Mathematics Education

Hollylynne’s work focused on statistics education began with developing the Probability Explorer software and conducting research on learners’ ability to reason about probabilistic phenomena through a simulation approach. Her current work focuses on preparing teachers of statistics to use innovative approaches and powerful technology tools to engage learners in building statistical understandings, particularly through the design and implementation of online professional learning environments. Her work has led to numerous books, research publications, and awards. In…

Sam Morris

Program Manager

Dr Jose A Picart

Deputy Director, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation

Dr. Jose Picart serves as Professor of Education and Senior Faculty Fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. In this capacity, he leads several programs that seek to facilitate increased and focused community outreach and engagement by faculty, students and staff at North Carolina State University. He also serves as the Executive Director of The Wake Promise. The Wake Promise is a cross-sector community collaborative with the mission to increase the number of low-income youth…

Dr Melissa A Rasberry

Director of the Professional Learning and Leading Collaborative

Dr. Melissa Rasberry is an accomplished education professional with proven visionary leadership and strategic communication skills, honed through 22 years of experience in public K-16 classrooms and education nonprofits. Before joining the Friday Institute, Rasberry served as principal technical assistance consultant for education at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). In addition to her NSF work at AIR, Rasberry served as the community of practice manager for the U.S. Department of Education’s State Support Network, supporting over two…

Dr Eric N Wiebe

Professor

Dr. Wiebe is a professor in the Department of STEM Education at NC State University and Senior Research Fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Dr. Wiebe works on many different facets of STEM education, including the design and evaluation of innovative uses of computing technologies in STEM instructional settings, the use of multimedia tools for teaching and learning, and student engagement and persistence in STEM career pathways. Specific research programs include the use…

Mr Braska Williams Jr

Director, NC-MSEN Pre-College Program

Braska Williams serves as the coordinator for the North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network Pre-College Program (NC-MSEN PCP). He has spent 13 years in K-12 working for Newport News Public Schools in Virginia where he served as a high school mathematics teacher, a teacher coach, the coordinator of a district wide STEM program for underserved populations, and director of two NSF funded projects. At NC State, his work involves working with underserved middle and…

Ray Zeisz

Senior Director, Technology Infrastructure Lab

Ray Zeisz is the Director of the Technology Infrastructure Lab at the Friday Institute. In this role he leads a team that researches, analyzes, and builds tools that enable policymakers to make informed decisions about the use of technology in public sector applications. While most work is focused on K-20 education, the TIL team often works on cross cutting topics that impact the overall wellbeing of students, such as healthcare, access to broadband and economic…