Work Experience
2008-present CEO; Exemplar Strategic Communications (Falls Church, VA)
2010-present Executive Director, Communications and Public Affairs; American Institutes for Research (Washington, DC)
2006-2008 Senior Vice President; Lipman Hearne, Inc. (Washington, DC)
2005-2006 Vice President; Higher Ed Holdings, LLC (Dallas, TX)
1998-2005 Vice President; Widmeyer Communications (Washington, DC)
1996-1998 Communications Director; U.S. Rep. John W. Olver (Washington, DC)
1995-1996 Deputy Press Secretary; U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley (Washington, DC)
1993-1995 Acting Press Secretary and Press Assistant; U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (Washington, DC)
1992 Legislative Intern; U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (Washington, DC)
Community Service
2010-present Vice Chairman and Board Member, Falls Church (VA) City School Board
2010-present Board Member, Parents for Public Schools - National
2010-2010 Board Member, Falls Church (VA) Education Foundation
2008-2010 Executive Director, Pennsylvania STEM Initiative
2008-2010 Board Member, Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia
2007-2008 Board Member, International Association of Business Communicators Research Foundation
2007-2008 Advisor, West Virginia University School of Journalism Online Program
2005-2007 Board Member, IABC-Dallas
2006-2006 Board Member, SER Child Development Center
1995-2005 Executive Director, Coalition to Protect Community Not-for-Profit Hospitals
1999-2000 Communications Chair, Inova Health System Year of the Child Initiative
1997-1998 Program Director, Cavalier Daily Alumni Association
Publications
Books and book chapters
Riccards, P.R. (2008). PR News’ Media Training Guidebook: Volume 2.
Bethesda, MD. Access Intelligence.
Lyon, G.R., Blaunstein, P. et al.
(2006). Why Kids Can’t Read: Challenging
the Status Quo in Education. Lanham, MD. Rowman & Littlefield.
Technical reports
Team Pennsylvania Foundation.
(2009). Pennsylvania Pathways to
Educational and Economic Success: The Pennsylvania STEM Initiative’s Long-Term
Strategic Plan. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Department of Education.
KnowledgeWorks Foundation. (2009). Success to Ohio’s High Schools: The
KnowledgeWorks School Improvement Efforts, Building High-Performing High
Schools, and Impact on Student Achievement. Cincinnati, OH: KnowledgeWorks
Foundation.
National Governors Association.
(2008). NGA STEM Education Communications
Toolkit. Washington, DC: National Governors Association.
National Governors Association.
(2008). NGA Graduation Counts
Communications Toolkit. Washington, DC: National Governors Association.
U.S. Department of Treasury. (2006).
Taking Ownership of the Future: The
National Strategy for Financial Literacy. Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Treasury.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based
Assessment to Scientific Research Literacy on Reading and the Implications for
Reading Instruction, Executive Report. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development.
National Commission on Teaching and
America’s Future. (2000). Communications
and Advocacy Handbook. New York, NY: National Commission on Teaching and
America’s Future.
Professional Organizations
American Educational Research Association
ASCD
Education Writers Association
International Association of Business Communicators
International Society for Technology in Education
Knowledge Alliance
National School Boards Association
Virginia School Boards Association
