Trinity Education Group

Hugh Norwood

Hugh backed into his career in marketing and business strategy from his intended career of . . . well, let’s be honest, Hugh never intended to have a “career”. He wanted to be a writer, but he also wanted to eat, dress warmly and keep his marriage intact—all things many writers have trouble with. So after receiving his MFA, he began teaching at Emerson College in Boston, MA. When he needed more money (to support his responsible-married- adult-life addiction) he took on some work in Emerson’s Continuing Education Division, where he quickly became Director of Academic Programs and led the Continuing Ed Division’s revenue growth of 350% in three years.

Seeing as he had become a sell-out, Hugh figured he might as well go make some real money in the real world. Over many years, Hugh worked for a financial services enterprise (aka “bank”), a federal government contract-training company, and Lesley University, where he served as VP of Marketing & Strategic Initiatives until 2005. In those years, he learned many valuable lessons, including:

How a job in “marketing” could become a job in “sales” in less than a day.
How even one whiff of paranoia can take an entire organization’s focus off the customer, and thereby bring every imagined fear to reality.
How working longer hours and e-mailing more people is often mistaken for evidence of talent or results.
How almost everyone really does care about doing a good job, even when they talk like they don’t.
Hugh learned other lessons, including how to develop and execute business strategy, communicate with customers, create meaningful partnerships and acquisitions, lead large teams and improve profitability, blah, blah, blah.
Perhaps most germane to TEG, Lesley University gave Hugh a chance to interact with hundreds if not thousands of K-12 teachers, principals and administrators throughout the U.S. He developed a deep appreciation for the unique challenges of teaching in a public K-12 classroom, while also having a chance to see how best practices in teacher preparation, school leadership and curriculum development could truly transform the learning environment for students.

In 2005, Hugh left Lesley to become the Vice President of Business Development and External Relations for Laureate Education, Inc., former Sylvan Learning Systems, one of the largest world-wide providers of higher education. Later that same year, Hugh and his wife had their first child. After more than 70 round-trip plane rides in only 18 months, Hugh knew that the time had come to make a change in his career so as not to miss the changes in his family (cue Harry Chapin!). With his wife pregnant with their second child, Hugh left Laureate in 2007.

Today, Hugh describes himself as “allergic” to large organizations (to be fair, they are probably allergic to him as well). Through projects like NOTA, iPASOS and Parents K-12, Hugh is more convinced than ever of the potential to disruptively innovate within the K-12 system in order to improve how kids learn. He enjoys working very near his family on a daily basis, having less than 100 e-mails a day, and working in a focused and productive way on Projects-That-Can-No-Will-Change-The-World.

Clyde Boyer

Clyde suffers from an acute form of professional attention deficit, otherwise known as iPAD. This is due, primarily, to his love for wildly divergent ideas and fields of studies. First and foremost is his love for his family. After that, and in no particular order – architecture, design, physical computing, art + code, burned cheese, the Marx Brothers, Will Rogers and Leadbelly, play, the future, science books, the smell of solder and fresh dug up soil.

Good luck in trying to detect a pattern. If there is one, it is simply this – Clyde loves to learn and to make things and has a knack for knowing what lies just around the corner.

After several fits and starts, Clyde’s career finally kicked into gear after an interview he gave with the founder of Global Schoolhouse for a cable technology show (think CNET with a quarter of the budget). Halfway through the interview, Clyde had made up his mind. He knew this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He quit his day job teaching design at a local college, quit the TV show and went to work for Global SchoolHouse. Within months, Clyde was building learning communities in Uganda, Ghana and South Africa.

Within several years, he helped develop some of the most influential projects in ed tech including CyberFair, World Links for Development with the World Bank, and ThinkQuest. It was here that Clyde learned what kids could actually accomplish given the right platform, the right tools and the freedom to create. Those principles for collaborative design became the foundation for the “Harnessing the Power of the Web” which he co-authored with Al Rogers and was distributed to over a quarter of a million students worldwide.

The grant money came to an end and the promise of fame and fortune drew Clyde to Silicon Valley. As Vice President of Product Design at ezBoard, Clyde helped grow the online community from 1 million to 7 million members within a year using the same strategies he used working with learning communities in Africa. As Senior Art Director for Lightspan, Clyde helped pioneer the development of educational online games with Sony and Disney. But for all the energy and enthusiasm, expense budgets out of control and business plans written on the back of matchbooks, Clyde grew restless and began to miss the simpler days of working on projects with meaning.

In 2001, as the dot.com bubble popped, Clyde headed back to the classroom. Taking all that he had learned as a product designer, tech leader and community builder, Clyde set out to change how students learned online. As VP of Business Architecture at Laureate Education, Clyde was responsible for defining the overall student experience. For six years, Clyde helped reorganize all student-facing agencies around the needs of the students, designed and implemented systems that supported the entire student lifecycle, and helped integrate Universities from around the world into a unified platform. But, once again, Clyde grew restless. In the process of defining enterprise level systems and processes, he felt disconnected from those he set out to serve.

So in 2007, after a conversation with his friend and future business partner, Hugh Norwood, Clyde thankfully said goodbye to the corporate world and set out on a new adventure; one that he believes can help change the way kids learn.

Christine Case

Christine loves a good challenge. An avid rock climber, Christine constantly seeks to push herself and those around her to new heights. Her desire to ascend the most challenging crags, takes form in both her personal and professional life. Serving as Student Body President in high school and at the University of Colorado, Christine saw an opportunity to make a difference for her fellow peers and their educational journeys. She thrives from finding the crux of a problem, and identifying new routes with the tools available.

Christine earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She then went on to earn her Master of Business Administration in Knowledge and Learning Management from Walden University, Minneapolis.

She started her career working with the Governor of Colorado as the Deputy Director of Boards and Commissions. She soon set her sights on a new horizon and left Colorado to pursue new opportunities in Maryland. Christine worked with Fairfield Residential and Archon Group then joined Laureate Education. Within Laureate Education, Christine worked as Enrollment Advisor, External Sales and Business Development Operations Manager, and Senior Data Analyst. She was responsible for helping grow enrollments, support the operations of the External Sales and Business Development team, and provide detailed views into the organization’s data for making budget and business strategy decisions.

In 2008, Christine joined the adventure known as Trinity Education Group. TEG has given Christine the opportunity to be a part of an amazing group of people working to make a difference in the world of K-12 education. Being involved in all aspects of the business results in a never-ending supply of challenges to conquer. As a mother and a professional, Christine is able to make a difference in her children’s lives and the lives of other children by helping develop, implement, and maintain ongoing TEG projects.

Lauren Little

Lauren began her career in sales after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with degrees in Health and Education. She did well selling payroll and business solutions, constantly winning trips and Presidents Clubs, but felt something was missing. Soon after marrying her college sweetheart, Lauren and her husband moved to Jacksonville Florida in search of new adventures, some sun and a career change.

Lauren found that adventure and much more when she began her new career at a small but growing Ed-Tech Company. This start-up led Lauren to meet with thousands of school districts across the country and ultimately lead a national sales team and company to explosive growth and acquisition. In her role as Senior Vice President for Educational Tools (ETI), she both developed and delivered game-changing customized digital learning tools for the classroom. Under Lauren’s sales leadership, ETI grew from a small technology start-up to a leader in the K12 space in just a few short years. In 2010 Triumph Learning acquired ETI and appointed Lauren as their Vice President of Digital sales to help lead their digital strategy and overall growth efforts.

After countless weekly flights and earning elite status on nearly every airline, Lauren decided it was time to make a change. In 2012 she left Triumph Learning to become the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Six Red Marbles, the largest US based development house for learning materials. Here she acquired numerous new clients and led their strategic partnerships including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Microsoft and The Gates Foundation.

Today, Lauren resides in the Florida area with her husband and baby girl and is thrilled to be the CEO for the Education Division. She has found that missing piece, having a passion for what she does and making a small difference in peoples lives. TEG’s ambitions are to join teachers, parents and the community in a collaboration to support the academic success of our children. Lauren shares the company’s belief that there is no work greater, and no stakes higher, than the preparation of the next generation. Lauren has found a whole new meaning to work-life balance and having an unbelievable spouse and daughter by her side definitely helps.

Terri Norwood

Terri earned her B.A. in French Literature and Education. Why, you ask? “Why not?” is her reply (usually in English). Due to the fact that her husband was a lay-about graduate student when they first married (he has since recovered nicely), Terri laid aside her Baudelaire and picked up her business suits, beginning a 15-year career in the financial services industry. From branch manager to Director of Retail Operations to Corporate Compliance Manager, Terri gained increasing scopes of responsibility and specialization in interstate banking and federal compliance. So much responsibility and specialization that one day she looked around her and thought, “what on earth am I doing working for a bank?” These days Terri can be found relishing in her second, much loved career as a Mom and part-time Office Administrator. In her spare time, she likes to bird watch and read—what else—science fiction. Pouvez-vous croire?

Molly Markey

Molly knew from an early age that she wanted to work in education. She started ‘school’ at the age of 2 when she would go with her mother to her job as a School Nurse, and she has yet to give up her love for learning, nearly 30 years later.

After graduating from Salem College with a double major in Communication and Psychology, she spent time working at Wake Forest University before continuing her education at Elon University, where she obtained a Masters of Arts in Interactive Media.

Since then, Molly has worked in the world of advertising, marketing and communication, and, at Trinity, has come back to her first love: education.

When she’s not working Molly can be found tending to her bees or garden, exploring the mountains of North Carolina, or hanging out with her partner Will and their cat Pants.

Becca Freedholm

Becca loves doing good work for causes she believes in. Through her work with nonprofit organizations, education agencies, and now TEG, Becca has always focused on advancing programs geared towards making a difference.

Becca received her B.A. in English from Kenyon College and decided to enter the nonprofit realm upon graduating. She started her career at the Women’s Campaign Fund, where she led one of the organization’s grant-funded programs. After relocating to Austin, TX, she served as the interim Director of Operations at Breakthrough Austin, an organization that provides a path to college for low-income students who will be first-generation college graduates. As she developed a deeper understanding of the challenges present in K-12 education, Becca became interested in finding innovative ways to improve how kids learn. In 2012, she joined the Texas Education Agency, where she worked to expand online learning opportunities for teachers and students.

Becca joined TEG in 2014 for the opportunity to develop and grow innovative educational programs and services. She gets to work on projects she cares about, and loves collaborating with educational leaders and organizations trying to produce meaningful change through creative, responsive solutions.

When she’s not working on one of TEG’s programs, Becca enjoys diving into Austin’s live music scene and helping her mini poodle, Lil, become the next big internet celebrity (move over, Grumpy Cat!).

Bonnie Nordvedt

Bonnie is an old soul with a nerd’s brain. As a junior in high school, she began tutoring math to struggling students in her high school (and she continues to this day – algebra is so useful!). In college she worked in the Math Lab, helping adult learners and college-aged students alike to find enjoyment in learning again. She also earned her “Major Nerd” stars by becoming Math Student of the Year, something she never lets her family forget.

But it wasn’t her love of math and experience working for her college that has most directed Bonnie’s career. As a junior at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, she became increasingly frustrated with the economic disparity she saw every day. At age 21 she became Director of the Baltimore Free Store, an all volunteer-run organization working to promote reuse and alleviate poverty through mutual cooperation. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, putting what she learned to immediate use helping to reorganize the struggling non-profit and bring it back from the brink of extinction.

Her love of all things “organized” (she has an affinity for paperclips and white boards) led her to help manage a health care office upon graduation, as she continued to build the Free Store. Soon thereafter, she realized that in order to make the difference she wanted to make in the world, she would need to continue her own education. She then earned her Masters in Sustainable Business Administration (“Green” MBA) through the distance learning program at Anaheim University. In 2012 Bonnie joined the Trinity team, ready to find new areas to help people connect, grow, and find enjoyment in learning!

Elena Fournier

Elena likes to find out how things work and then figure out how to make it even better. As such, she’d accidentally destroyed toys and little electronics stuff when she was young. Afraid of being found out, she tried hard to fixed most of them. As an IT professional, she is always focused on continuous process improvement. She likes to think that technology should make our lives better, not harder.

Elena started her long college adventure at the University of the Philippines, majoring in metallurgical engineering. She ended up coming to the US and pursuing a career in IT. Starting over in a new country was just like a hard reboot on a Windows computer that had very limited resources, a very slow process. Elena had to work as a full-time nanny while taking technical courses at Montgomery College on evenings and weekends. After obtaining her A+ and MCSE certifications, she got her first IT job as Technical Support Specialist at Norwood School in Bethesda, Maryland. She was later given more responsibilities and got promoted as Network and Technical Specialist.

After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland, University College, Elena moved on and accepted a Network and Systems Administrator position for the City of Rockville, in Maryland. Faced with many challenging IT projects, she decided to specialize in IT Project Management in her graduate studies. After 3.5 years at the City of Rockville, Elena was offered an opportunity to work for Professional Accounting Solutions in Gaithersburg, Maryland, as Integration Specialist and Project Manager. In the summer of 2014, she passed her Project Management Professional certification. Right after that, she got hired as the Director of Help Desk Services at McDaniel College, in Westminster, Maryland. When the College decided to outsourced their entire IT services in July of 2017, Elena reached out to her professional network and that is how she got connected with TEG.

When Elena is not in front of her computer with her two cats next to her, she enjoys gardening, and occasionally, some art work (sketching and painting). She also like to watch football with her husband and sometimes help him with his hobby of restoring classic American cars – or say upgrading them to have modern mechanical and electronic features inside an old style car frame.

Cristina Baires

Being born in Portugal and immigrating to the United States as a young child, English was Cristina’s second language. At a young age she had to be the translator for her mother, and mediator in parent teacher conferences. Later in her academic years, Cristina was drawn to the Spanish language. She took classes to perfect it, and used it often with Spanish speaking friends.

After high school, Cristina married her high school sweetheart and went on to start their family. Her husband joined the armed forces and they moved to Hawaii. Cristina kept busy volunteering in her daughter’s school and for her husband’s troop family readiness group. In 2015 Cristina decided to go back to school and get her finance professional certificate. She was then hired at a local bank where her Spanish speaking skills would be of essence. She created a strong bond with her Spanish speaking customers, and found great satisfaction in helping them.

In 2016, Cristina used her bilingual skills and love of detailed projects to work on content within TEG’s InSync Education product. That opened a new door for Cristina. She realized that helping bilingual families was her calling, as she had much experience with it growing up. Little did she know that later she would be joining TEG full time to further her ambitions.

In her free time Cristina enjoys spending quality time with her family, spending days laid out on the sandy beach with a good book, going to the movies, being her kids #1 fan at their soccer games, and taking long drives in the country.

Laura Nicholson

Laura has always had a passion for history and learning. As a child, she relished traveling in the U.S. and abroad with her family to visit stops of historical significance, while also exploring the rich history of her native New England, where she was born and raised. Laura continued this love of history while earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Canadian Studies from the University of Vermont.

Utilizing her unique degree, Laura began her career in Washington, DC, working at the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an international affairs think tank that serves as the living memorial to President Wilson. After being bit by the political bug, Laura jumped at an opportunity to work on Capitol Hill for her home state senator, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). She served for three years as Scheduler for Senator Whitehouse in a role that combined her political interests and love of all things organization and efficiency. From there she transitioned to the office of the Majority Leader Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), where she directed the daily operations of the Senator’s leadership office through his retirement in 2016.

Following the 2016 election, Laura decided a break from the Hill was needed and moved to a role on the advocacy team at the National Association of REALTORS®. In this position, she oversaw the project management system for more than 70 REALTOR® Party programs that provide advocacy services and resources to their state and local associations.

Today, Laura resides in Alexandria, VA, with her husband and their miniature Goldendoodle puppy, Tucker. She recently earned a Certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. As a project manager for TEG, Laura is excited to begin a journey that utilizes her political experience and PM skills in a new industry with a renewed passion for education and learning.

Yalitza Vasquez

Yalitza Vasquez has committed the last 16 years to working on behalf of English Language Learners students to ensure they graduate with a high-quality education that is equitable, rigorous, and that values their cultural and linguistic assets. She has worked with students and families in diverse roles and settings. Most recently served as the Senior Executive Director for the New York City Department of Education’s (NYCDOE) Division of English Language Learners and Student Support, which sets policies and implements programs that have an impact on more than 150,000 English Language Learners. Under her leadership, the NYCDOE opened over 100 dual language programs, developed policies to support unaccompanied minors, translation and interpretation, and developed a nationally recognized bilingual summer enrichment program.

Previously, she served as Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives for the Office of English Language Learners. Prior to NYCDOE, Yalitza was Senior Director of Education and Programs at Learning Leaders, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Programs for Every Person Influences Children, and a bilingual special education teacher. Yalitza has presented at numerous conferences on English Language Learners, dual language programs, social determinants of health and education, immigration advocacy, unaccompanied minors, and family literacy.

Yalitza received her master’s degree in Education Leadership and Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. Yalitza participated in the NYCDOE Chancellor Fellowship program, a leadership development program geared for senior leaders within the DOE and American University WeLead, a non-partisan leadership-training program run by the Women & Politics Institute. Yalitza is a proud product of the New York City public school system and was formerly an English Language Learner in one of its first Spanish bilingual programs in Queens, NY.

When Yalitza is not working she enjoys traveling the world and playing with her two rambunctious rescue dogs Alvin and Simon.

Vincent Lin

Vincent has always had a love for problem solving and helping others, spending time solving sudoku puzzles and playing strategy games, tutoring other students, and volunteering at the local library while growing up in Yonkers, NY. These have served to drive Vincent in his professional career, supporting educators, multilingual learners and at-risk students with educational organizations and most recently with Trinity Education Group.

After graduating with degrees in Mathematics and Computer Engineering from New York University’s Dual Degree program, Vincent returned to his hometown to manage the on-site operations and provide tutoring with Math and SAT Prep for a branch of the New York State Education Department’s Liberty Partnerships Program at Iona College which aims to provide support for at-risk students in districts across New York State. He also volunteered for the city’s PTA and at the Yonkers Board of Education, which eventually led him to a full-time position in the Language Acquisition Department in the Yonkers BOE.

After getting a crash course in Title III regulations and NYS Commissioner’s Regulations-Part 154, Vincent helped to create new systems and reorganize the processes for the Language Acquisition Department to better manage and assist Multilingual and World Language learners and staff across the district. He then continued this work with the New York City Department of Education in the Division of English Language Learners and Student Support before joining Trinity Education Group in May 2019.

Vincent’s experience in a variety of district implementations including project management for school turnaround grants and bilingual summer programs have allowed Vincent to become familiar with all aspects of district administration, particularly in the field of English Learners and bilingual programming. It is this experience and his desire to see that all students, regardless of age, receive equitable education and opportunities that lets him better collaborate on projects with education leaders and administrators to allow them to provide meaningful solutions.

Debbie Kilby

Debbie Kilby joined TEG June of 2019 as our Internal Operation Manager. Debbie has her Bachelors in Health Care Administration and spent more than 20 years of her career working in that field. She has had an exciting career path working in K-12 education, banking, and most recently she was the Director of Guest Services at Sugar Pine Christian Camps and Conference Center, located just outside the southern gate to Yosemite National Park.

Debbie is passionate about helping people become the best version of themselves. She is a certified trainer for Marcus Buckingham’s StandOut: her personal strengths are Advisor and Stimulator.

She and her husband recently relocated back to Southern Oregon to enjoy the outdoors activities that Oregon provides. When she is not working remotely, she can usually be found fishing, riding quads, hiking with her four-legged best friend Molly, at a Yoga class or gardening with her hubby. She has two adult sons, two daughter-in-laws and four grandchildren. (Who are the most amazing grandkids ever).