Our Team
Jill Wertheim
Director of SCALE Science at WestEd
Jill Wertheim’s work at WestEd is focused on building school, district, and statewide capacity to advance all students’ science learning through the use of student-centered, asset-based assessment practices. Her capacity-building activities build on work initially conducted in her role as the Director of Science at the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), where Dr. Wertheim led the development of exemplar performance assessments, rubrics, development tools, and professional learning as part of the Stanford NGSS Assessment Project (SNAP). Prior to moving to Stanford, Dr. Wertheim conducted research on using high-quality assessment to support teaching and learning in earth science education at AAAS Project 2061, and in geography education at National Geographic. She holds a PhD in the Geological Sciences from University of California, Santa Barbara and a BA in Geology from Middlebury College.
Pai-rou Chen
Research Associate
Pai-rou Chen’s work focuses on project management and research and evaluation of science teaching and learning, as well as developing professional learning through online platforms. Prior to joining WestEd, she managed multi-year research evaluations on school reform initiatives at Center for Research on the Context of Teaching at Stanford University and worked at Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) on the design and development of online courses as well as in-person professional development workshops/institutes. She analyzed the course data and managed the communication and marketing for SNAP. She was part of the team that designed and developed Performance Assessment Resource Bank (PARB) to promote performance assessment nationally and globally. She has an M.A. in Education from Stanford University and a B.A. in Chinese Literature with a minor in Teacher Education from National Taiwan University.
Lauren Stoll
Research Associate
Lauren Stoll’s work focuses on the research and development of NGSS-aligned curriculum, assessment, and professional learning. She began her career in education teaching science in large and diverse urban public school districts in California. Prior to WestEd, she worked as an education consultant for organizations like Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) and English Learners Success Forum (ELSF), blending her classroom experience, an expertise in the Next Generation Science Standards, and a grounding in equitable instruction to design materials that support all teachers and all students. She is passionate about using research-informed practices to improve teaching and learning for the broader goal of educational equity.
Cathy Zozakiewicz
Senior Research Associate
Cathy Zozakiewcz is the Project Manager for SNAP. Dr. Zozakiewicz spent 12 years on the faculty at San Diego State University, where her research spanned issues of multicultural education, gender equity and closing the achievement gap in science and math in elementary and middle school classrooms. She also collaborated with faculty, elementary teachers, and student teachers to create gender, culturally and linguistically inclusive practices to increase the number of underserved groups in STEM fields. Dr. Zozakiewicz became a Research Associate at SCALE in 2014. At SCALE, her work as focused on the development and implementation of teacher and student performance assessments including edTPA, a performance assessment for teacher education programs that is currently used for initial licensure of teachers in California, New York and a number of other states. She has also led numerous professional development workshops for teachers, teacher leaders and faculty on a variety of topics including effective mentoring, effective science teaching for culturally and linguistically diverse populations, academic language, designing performance assessments and implementing English Language and Literacy Integration into Science practices.