Technical Assistance
Overview
Map of Regional Comprehensive Centers
Technical Assistance Liaisons
The following technical assistance liaisons are dedicated to serving specific regions. Regional comprehensive center personnel are welcome to directly contact the appropriate liaison assigned to their region.
Helen Duffy
Technical Assistance Liaison
Regional Comprehensive Centers Served: California Comprehensive Center, Florida and Islands Region Comprehensive Center, Mid-Continent Region Comprehensive Center, New England Region Comprehensive Center, New York Comprehensive Center, Northwest Region Comprehensive Center, Pacific Region Comprehensive Center, and West/Southwest Region Comprehensive Center
Helen Duffy, a Research Analyst for AIR, serves as a Technical Assistance Liaison for the National High School Center and is a member of the Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study team. She has 20 years of experience in urban schools as a teacher, curriculum developer, coach, and teacher educator. Before joining AIR, she was Project Director for the National Academy of Education's Committee on Teacher Education where she designed a Web site that provides curricular resources for teacher educators across the country. She has particular interests in school reforms that promote equitable access to higher education, teacher learning and professional development, working conditions that promote teacher leadership, K-adult writing instruction and assessment, transitions into and out of high school, adolescent literacies, and instructional practices that support English language learners.
Dr. Duffy has a B.A. from College of the Holy Cross, an M.A. in English Literature from U.C. Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Education from the Language, Literacy, and Culture division of U.C. Berkeley's School of Education. She is a teacher consultant for the Bay Area Writing Project and has served as adjunct faculty at U.C. Berkeley and Stanford University where she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in composition and education. She is author and editor of several research reports, books, and articles and has made presentations at local and national conferences.
Mindee O'Cummings
Technical Assistance Liaison
Regional Comprehensive Centers Served: Alaska Comprehensive Center, Appalachia Region Comprehensive Center, Great Lakes East Region Comprehensive Center, North Central Region Comprehensive Center, and Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center
Mindee O'Cummings, a Research Analyst at AIR, has worked in the field of education for over ten years. Her experiences include teaching in special and general education settings; working as a school-based technology coordinator; serving as an elementary and middle school vice-principal; conducting research and program evaluations; providing technical assistance to educators, researchers, and developers; and working with families whose children have disabilities. Dr. O'Cummings currently serves as the Deputy Director for the Linking Assessment, Policy, and Practice in Children's Mental Health, for the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services; the Project Director for the National Educational Technology Trends Study (NETTS), for the Policy and Program Studies Service at the U.S. Department of Education; and Advisor for the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI), a contract with the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education.
As a Technical Assistance Liaison for the Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center (EMSTAC), she assisted with the implementation of research-based practices to improve educational outcomes for children with disabilities. Additionally, she was responsible for synthesizing and disseminating information regarding instructional and assessment strategies. Additionally, she was instrumental in developing a community of technology practice that supported improved learning and high achievement among children with disabilities for NCTI. Dr. O'Cummings has also overseen and participated in conducting program evaluations, such as the Alaska-based Technology in Action Project and Parent 2 Project, which were both projects intended to promote student success through increased effective parent involvement in the education system. Dr. O'Cummings holds a B.S. and M.S. in Special Education from the University of New Mexico and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. She has also served as adjunct faculty at both Arizona State University and George Mason University where she has taught classes in the areas of education and research methodologies.
Becky Powell
Technical Assistance Liaison
Regional Comprehensive Center Served: Mid-Atlantic Region Comprehensive Center
Becky Powell is a Communications and Outreach Specialist at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). In this capacity, Ms. Powell works with educators, researchers, and families to identify research-based practices and strategies. She is experienced in managing strategic outreach campaigns, including overseeing constituency relations, designing and managing Web sites, and coordinating and presenting at national education conferences. At AIR, she serves as the Communications and Outreach Task Leader and Technical Assistance Liaison for the Mid-Atlantic Region Comprehensive Center for the National High School Center and manages the day-to-day outreach and communications efforts for the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide evidence of effectiveness of educational interventions to educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public.
Prior to joining AIR, Ms. Powell was the Director of Outreach for New American Schools, a national non-profit education organization that provides support to state departments of education, school districts, charter authorizers, and networks of schools, and offers key stakeholders the tools and external assistance needed to facilitate and sustain student learning. In this role, Ms. Powell worked with educators to identify solutions to increase student learning, led the organization's strategic plan for constituency outreach, coordinated and directed the organization's participation in national education conferences and comprehensive school reform design fairs, and managed overall outreach activities. Ms. Powell holds early childhood teaching credentials and has experience working with college applicants through the admissions process at Boston University. She received her master's degree in Policy, Planning, and Administration from the School of Education at Boston University.
