Creating Technology to Promote Learning    

John R. Bergan, Ph.D.

President

John Bergan received his Ph.D. in psychology and education from the University of Michigan. He has over 30 years of research experience in the area of children’s development. Dr. Bergan is the author of several books and over 70 articles in scientific journals in education and psychology. Dr. Bergan's research contributions include studies of children's cognitive and social development and policy research studies on the development of Head Start children and the transition of Head Start children into the elementary school. He is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and the recipient of the Palmer O. Johnson Award from the American Educational Research Association, the Distinguished Psychologist Award from the Arizona State Psychological Association and the Presidential Citation from the National Child Care Association. As founder and president of Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI), Dr. Bergan establishes and refines the vision of ATI and, with the Research and Development team, designs new technology to assist educators in public schools, Head Start programs and private childcare settings, to accomplish the goals of enhancing students’ learning and children’s development.

Kathryn S. Bergan, Ph.D

Executive Vice President

Kathryn Bergan received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona. Dr. Bergan has extensive clinical experience related to the management of learning and development, parenting skills, and family interactions. She is a member of the American Psychological Association. She directs the daily operations of Assessment Technology.

Jason Feld, Ph.D.

Vice President Corporate Projects

Jason Feld received a M.A. in psychology from New York University and his Ph.D., in educational psychology at the University of Arizona. His research and professional activities in child development, Pre-K and K-12 education, assessment, policy and practice span 25 years. He co-authored the National Head Start Association position paper on Reading Readiness and has authored multiple reports and articles on children’s learning. He is the recipient of the Presidential Citation of Achievement Award from the National Child Care Association and the National Head Start Association Award of Contribution to Education.

Dr. Feld is a published author in books, scholarly journals, technical reports and early childhood journals and serves on the Editorial Board for the National Head Start Research to Practice Dialogue. He has been a speaker at many state and national conferences, including the Arizona Teaching in Education Alliance and Arizona Department of Education State Series, Arizona School Board Association and Arizona School Administrators Conference, the Council for Chief State School Officers, the National Child Care Association, and the National Head Start Association. Dr. Feld has presented the research findings of Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI) at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and his work on child outcomes in Head Start has been utilized on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

In his position as ATI Vice President Corporate Projects, Dr. Feld is responsible for assisting client partnerships as they create systemic change designed to enhance student achievement, for formulating and monitoring ATI responses to changes in governmental policies and societal positions related to education, and for formulating projects with K-12 and Pre-K policy implications. Dr. Feld coordinates partnership activities between ATI and WestEd for No Child Left Behind related school improvement activities. He establishes and maintains relationships with State Departments of Education, and with federal and corporate organizations responsible for education policy and practice.

John Bergan, Ph.D.

Vice President

Director of Research and Development

John Bergan received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Arizona. His research experience extends nearly 20 years and covers a wide variety of topics within psychology and education. Since 1996, Dr. Bergan has been directing research and developing technology to create electronic assessment tools for children from birth through the 12th grade. Dr. Bergan is the author of several articles in scientific journals, and has delivered several presentations to educational professionals locally and nationally. He is a member of the National Council on Measurement in Education. As Vice President Research and Development, Dr. Bergan is instrumental in designing and developing Assessment Technology Incorporated innovations focusing on assessment, accountability, and student learning. He also oversees the design and implementation of quality assurance testing procedures relevant to all development efforts and data importation.

Scott Cunningham, B.S.

Assessment and Instructional Design Director

Scott Cunningham received his B.S. in education from the University of Nebraska and has held teaching certifications in Nebraska, Minnesota, and Arizona. Mr. Cunningham draws on his years of experience in the classroom developing interactive, academically challenging lessons and assessments in his current role of supervising development of Item Specifications for consistent measurement of standards-based learning standards.  Mr. Cunningham also trains and supervises a team of content specialists in the creation of item types, items, and test construction for the online and offline measurement of standards mastery.  Additionally, he is leading the team that is developing Assessment Technology Incorporated’s innovative Instructional Dialogs, a model of interactive, technology-based instruction, which involves educators in developing and sharing proven educational strategies through lessons designed to increase student achievement. 

Craig Mayhew, B.S.

Field Services Director

Craig Mayhew graduated from the University of Arizona in 1996 with a B.S. in regional development with a minor in business and public administration/accounting. He began his career in 1997 with CEO Software, Incorporated as an account manager servicing and assisting clientele within his territory and eventually moving on to supporting larger strategic enterprise accounts which included first level technical support. A member of the Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI) team since 2000, Mr. Mayhew is currently Director of Field Services at ATI. In this capacity, he oversees services to current and prospective clients. He manages the Field Services component of the educational management system to insure timely and responsive service to client needs. In addition, he plays an important role in assisting large client groups with child outcome research initiatives.

Karyn White, M.A.

Educational Management Services Director

Karyn White earned her Masters of Arts in Curriculum and Technology from the University of Phoenix and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Arizona. A member of the Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI) team since 2005, Ms. White is Director of the Educational Management Services Department and draws from her various experiences in the classroom and in curriculum development when assisting in the development of ATI’s integrated instructional improvement system. Ms. White’s department assists school districts to utilize ATI’s full range of assessments, curriculum, and interventions to meet district educational goals. She serves as a liaison between district administrators and ATI’s Assessment and Instructional Design Department facilitating the development and delivery of district-specific assessments and Instructional Dialogs appropriate to use with students of varying academic levels, special needs, and diverse cultural backgrounds.

Brandon Smith, MCSE

Information Technology Director

Brandon Smith earned a B.A. from the University of Arizona. After graduating from college, he served as an Officer in the United States Air Force and worked as a physical scientist for both the Air Force and the US Army Corps of Engineers.  During this time he worked with large-scale databases, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and developed an electronic tracking system for chemicals used at a government shipyard. Mr. Smith is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Microsoft Certified Professional. He has over a decade of experience handling various information technology and multimedia services. As Director of the Information Technology Department at Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI), Mr. Smith oversees the development and maintenance of the entire ATI technology infrastructure. His department is responsible for the maintenance of ATI’s internal network as well as the web infrastructure which enables ATI to offer online services.  Additionally, he is responsible for designing and supervising the maintenance of ATI databases. Mr. Smith oversees the provision of timely and responsive staff and client technical support services.

Kerridan Smith, B.A.

Professional Development Director

Kerridan Smith graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in secondary education. She is past Chairman of the Canyon del Oro Technology Subcommittee for the North Central Accreditation Team. A member of the Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI) team since 2001, Ms. Smith is well versed in educational theory and practice. She is sensitive to the everyday challenges facing educators and includes innovative and practical solutions in the creation of professional development content. Ms. Smith is also very sensitive to the importance of using assessment data to inform instruction and provides extensive information for clients on using the information provided in ATI reports to enhance student achievement. She has designed online distance learning courses on Galileo technology and directs the delivery of on-site and online professional development for both administrators and teachers. Ms. Smith has personally delivered hundreds of professional development sessions for ATI clients. In addition, Ms. Smith is involved in evaluating the impact of the Galileo instructional improvement system on learning. Recently, she managed a research project involving ATI’s computer-based literacy curriculum in Head Start programs.