Marvin W. Berkowitz, Ph.D.

Dr. Marvin Berkowitz is the inaugural Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education and co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Before arriving at UMSL, he was the inaugural Ambassador Holland H. Coors Professor of Character Development at the United States Air Force Academy and Professor of Psychology at Marquette University. His research interests are character education, moral development, adolescent development, and risk-taking. He is the editor of Moral Education: Theory and Application (1985) and Peer conflict and psychological growth (1985), and the author of more than 80 book chapters, monographs, and journal articles. He is co-editor of the Journal of Research in Character Education. In 2006, he received the Sanford N. McDonnell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Character Education Partnership.

Doug Bird

Doug Bird brings a wealth of business experience and advice to the Project Wisdom team, as well as a strong entrepreneurial spirit. His experience as a Certified Public Accountant ranges from tax consulting to strategic business planning to mergers and acquisitions. As an entrepreneur, Doug has founded two companies committed to finding practical applications for recycled materials, one of which has a patented product on the market today. Doug has been serving as a Project Wisdom financial advisor for more than ten years.

Pansy Gee

Pansy Gee has been part of the Project Wisdom team for more than six years working as a consultant, editor, and now content developer. She is an award-winning teacher at Mark Twain Elementary in the Houston Independent School District, where she works as a Language Arts Specialist. Pansy teaches grades three through five in the Literary Development Center, a program she founded in 1990. She is also a mentor for Rice University's Center of Education's Classroom Storytelling and School Literacy Project. Pansy is one of those special educators who is beloved by both parents and students. She has also been a Project Wisdom narrator for more than ten years.

Cheryl Gholar, Ph.D.

Cheryl Gholar recently retired as the Community and Economic Development Educator with University of Illinois Extension, although she continues to work with teachers and educational leaders who seek to achieve and sustain academic excellence. She has expertise in building networks and partnerships, bringing urban, suburban, and rural school communities together to collaborate and share "what works" as they strive to build lives and mold futures. She has a B.S. in Education, an M.S. in Counseling from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Loyola University. Cheryl has more than twenty years of experience with the Chicago Public Schools as a teacher, counselor, guidance coordinator, and administrator.

Alicia L. Goodrow

Alicia Goodrow is an attorney with Phillips and Reiter PLLC. She is a former associate with Locke, Liddell & Sapp, LLP in the Houston office working with closely held and family-owned mid-cap businesses in tax, partnership, and general business planning. Alicia has over fifteen years of both in-house and private-practice experience in counseling management and investors in various corporate matters, including optimizing organizational structures for tax, liability, and intellectual property management purposes; private placements, succession planning for business sales; and mergers and acquisitions. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas and bachelor's degrees in economics and history from the College of William and Mary.

Beth Manke, Ph.D.

Beth Manke received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies in 1995 from Pennsylvania State University and is currently a professor in the Department of Human Development at California State University, Long Beach. She is a current member of the American Psychological Association, the National Council of Family Relations, The International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, and the Society for Research in Child Development. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Marriage and Family and has served as a reviewer for major publishing companies such as McGraw Hill. Dr. Manke has over 12 years of program evaluation experience.

Zachary Matula

Zachary Matula is a commodities trader with the world's third largest chemical company and is responsible for the procurement and management of NGL and naphtha products. As the son of founder Leslie Matula, Zachary grew up with this character education company. In 1992, he was a middle school student at the school that piloted the program. Zachary is a graduate of Texas A&M University. His experience in business, marketing, economics, and statistics has helped shape company policies and procedures, including the development of the Educator Resource Site.

Lisa Savage, M.Ed.

Lisa Savage has taught fine arts for fourteen years in both K-12 and post-secondary settings, including the University of Houston. 1n 1998, she was granted a commission to develop a nationally distributed curriculum in compliance with the National Endowment of the Arts. This curriculum was subsequently published in Texas Monthly magazine. Most recently she was awarded a grant through Fund for Teachers which provided her with the opportunity to tour Rome, Florence and Venice for intense study of art and architecture. She is currently working with her own community's historical society to locate grant monies to restore a W.P.A. mural. Lisa is the Fine Arts Department Chair, operational budget manager, and lead visual arts teacher at Manvel High School in Alvin, Texas.

Stuart Stevenson, CPA, MCP

Stuart is President and CEO of Tracent Technologies. He has been providing Project Wisdom with technical advice for over four years. A certified public accountant, he has extensive experience in the areas of computer auditing, financial modeling, software engineering, infrastructure planning and strategic business analysis. In 1990 he founded Tracent Technologies to assist clients who were installing new accounting systems, however due to requests TSI began offering custom programming services.

Frank Trevino, M.Ed.

Frank Trevino is a veteran educator with more than twenty-five years experience in secondary counseling and guidance. He has extensive experience working with at-risk youth through various programs and organizations that address issues such as chemical dependency, drop-out prevention, conflict resolution, decision-making skills, and parental involvement. Frank is a former adjunct professor at the University of Texas, Brownsville School of Education; teacher trainer, seminar leader; and educational consultant to the Department of Education. He is currently a middle school academic counselor, crisis intervention counselor for Brownsville ISD, choir director, accomplished musician, and CEO and Founder of Texas Foundation for Safer Children.

Elizabeth Van Auken

Elizabeth Van Auken is an educational consultant and writer with thirteen years of experience in education as an award-winning ESL teacher, adjunct professor, grant director, and consultant to schools, foundations, and businesses. Elizabeth has taught every grade from Pre-K through college. Elizabeth's short stories and articles have appeared in the Houston Chronicle and Texas Magazine. Her unique background as an educator, writer, and consultant provides her with the expertise to envision new ways to connect with children, and to put them in action.