Curriculum Team | Discovery Education

Meet the Discovery Education Curriculum Team

Marty Creel

Chief Academic Officer / Vice President, Curriculum & Instruction

With over 26 years experience as an educator, Marty Creel leads Discovery Education’s innovative curriculum and instruction team. Marty began his career as an engaging social studies teacher known for creative use of technology to deepen learning. As a district-wide curriculum, instruction, and professional development leader in a large urban/suburban school system he was the architect for a thoughtful transition to instructional standards that empower teachers and principals as instructional leaders.

Dr. Erick Lang

Sr. Director, Digital Learning

Dr. Erick Lang has more than 30 years of educational experience serving as a teacher, school-based administrator, central office director, and associate superintendent. As an executive leader in a large suburban/urban district, he facilitated the design and implementation of numerous large-scale teaching and learning initiatives. Erick also taught graduate courses in education leadership at American University in Washington, D.C. and has served as a mentor to numerous teachers, school-based administrators, and central office leaders.

Camsie McAdams

Director, STEM Curriculum

An experienced STEM education leader with close to 20 years in urban, public K-12 education, Camsie McAdams brings vast experience to her role at Discovery Education. Camsie is a former classroom teacher, coach, and curriculum/instructional leader at school, district, and national levels. McAdams served in the Obama Administration as the Deputy Director for STEM at the U.S. Department of Education. She has also worked as the Director of STEM for District of Columbia Public Schools. With over a decade of experience teaching math, science, and literacy in New York City Public Schools and in California’s Oakland Unified School District, she is a recipient of several teaching awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching for the state of New York. McAdams received a degree in general engineering and political science from the University of Denver, and a Master of Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Mark J. Stout

Global Curriculum Director

Dr. Mark J. Stout currently serves as Global Curriculum Director for Discovery Education. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Maryland College Park, with a BA in Geography from UMBC. He began his career as a middle school social studies teacher, and has worked as a curriculum specialist, facilitator in professional development, and curriculum coordinator for multiple programs in a large, high performing school system. He also served as an educational consultant in college and career readiness, an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins and Towson Universities, board member for the National Social Studies Supervisors Association, and a coordinator for two Teaching American History Grant projects.

Robin Porter

Vice President, Digital Content

With more than 30 years in education, starting in a middle school classroom, Robin Porter leads curriculum development for Discovery Education’s marquee partnerships and the production, acquisition, curation, and publishing of digital content resources across our services. She is passionate about the power of digital as a way to engage students and meaningfully influence instruction.

Nikki Snyder

Content Specialist, K-12 Science Instruction

Nikki has over 12 years of experience in science education as a middle school and high school science classroom teacher, district curriculum writer, and professional development trainer in the largest school system in Maryland. In addition, she worked at the American Association for the Advancement of Science on their after-school standards-based science program, Kinetic City: Mission to Vearth. She holds a master’s degree in Chemical and Life Sciences.

Jamie Jenkins

Director, Instructional Design

Jamie has more than 15 years of educational experience—spanning teaching, instructional design, standards development, and district leadership in curriculum and professional development. She is the recipient of several state and national teaching awards and participates in field-based conservation studies all over the world. Jamie currently develops curriculum and content to support our corporate partnerships bringing digital media and emerging technology into the classroom. She holds three master’s degrees.

Lisa Katz

Vice President, Research and Analysis

With over 22 years experience as an educator, program leader and researcher, Lisa began her career as a high school teacher, led state-wide assessment and curriculum program development at the Maryland State Department of Education and led digital curriculum development as a district leader in a school system in Maryland. The Discovery Education Research team supports product development, program measurement and implementation evaluations. Lisa holds a B.A. in History Education from the University of Delaware and a M.L.S. from University of Maryland, College Park.

Amy Gensemer

Director, Science Instruction

Amy has 18 years of educational experience in Science, Technology, and Engineering as a high school classroom teacher, department chair, district curriculum specialist and most recently supervisor for Science, Technology, and Engineering for the largest school system in Maryland. Prior to her supervisor position, she designed and delivered Professional Development at that national level and has authored national STEM curriculum products.

Peg Hartwig

Subject Matter Expert, Mathematics

Peg was a National Board Certified classroom teacher, spending 23 years teaching middle and high school mathematics in Wisconsin. She developed mathematics curriculum and led district professional development initiatives including effective technology integration in the classroom, progression alignment between math and science courses, and project-based STEM integration. Peg continues to develop mathematics content for grades 6 through 11, leveraging guided inquiry techniques and integrating STEM opportunities.

Hailey Adams

Content Specialist, K-12 Science Instruction

After graduating from North Carolina State University, with a degree in secondary science education, Hailey transitioned into the education instructional space, most recently, with experience in delivering professional development and developing NGSS science core instructional resources.

Roger Harris

Subject Matter Expert, Science

Roger graduated from the University of Oregon with a Master of Science degree. He served as a natural history expert and lecturer on international ecotours in South America and Africa for 10 years. Since then, he has served as a science educator in private and public schools in Oregon and North Carolina. Building on his teaching experience, he has been developing online curriculum and digital instructional tools since 2009.

Melissa Waggoner

Subject Matter Expert, Mathematics

Melissa has more than 15 years of experience in mathematics education as a middle school mathematics teacher, instructional coach, curriculum developer and professional development facilitator. She was a National Board Certified teacher in Early Adolescence Mathematics and received the Excellence in Teaching Mathematics Award in the Teacher Leader Category from the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She holds a master’s degree in Mathematics Instructional Leadership Grades K-8 and certification in English as a Second Language from the University of Maryland. Melissa is passionate about developing engaging mathematics content that is accessible for all students.

Ted Willard

Senior Subject Matter Expert, Science

Before joining Discovery Education, Ted spent eight years as the in-house standards expert for the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). In this role, he supported implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), other standards based on A Framework for K–12 Science Education, and three-dimensional learning. He is the author of The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions and editor of The NSTA Quick-Reference Guide to the NGSS (NSTA Press, 2014). Before joining NSTA, Ted spent twelve years at Project 2061 for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where he was responsible for the development of the Atlas of Science Literacy, Volume 2 (AAAS, 2007). Earlier in his career, Ted was a high school physics teacher. He has a degree in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.