About Us: Staff

Pascal (Pat) D. Forgione Jr. Ph.D.

Distinguished Presidential Scholar and Executive Director

Dr. Pascal (Pat) D. Forgione Jr. was appointed Distinguished Presidential Scholar and Executive Director for the K–12 Center at ETS in July 2009. His career as an educator and educational administrator is extensive.

From 1999–2009, Forgione served with distinction as Superintendent of the Austin Independent School District (Texas). Previously, from 1996–1999, he was U.S. Commissioner of Education Statistics for the National Center for Education Statistics, a federal agency. From 1991–1996, he was Delaware State Superintendent for Public Instruction. In 1991, he served as the first Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Education's National Education Goals Panel.

Forgione has a solid background in educational research and assessment, having held positions with the Connecticut State Department of Education, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education at Ohio State University, the Syracuse Research Corporation, the Maryland State Department of Education and Stanford University.

Forgione has also served as a consultant to, or member of, numerous educational organizations and initiatives, including: the Council of Chief State School Officers; the Council of the Great City Schools; the National Governors Association; U.S. Department of Education; U.S. Department of Defense; National Science Foundation; the College Board; RAND Corporation; American Education Research Association; and the National Council for Measurement in Education.

In 2008, Forgione received the Richard R. Green Award as the National Urban Educator of the Year from the Council of the Great City Schools. In 2009, he was selected as the Austinite of the Year by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Forgione earned a Doctorate in Administration and Policy Analysis (1977) and a master's degree in urban history (1973) from Stanford University; a master's degree in educational administration (1969) from Loyola College; a bachelor's degree in theology (1968) and a bachelor's degree in philosophy (1966) from St. Mary's Seminary and University. His wife, Dr. Kaye Forgione, is employed as Senior Associate for Mathematics with Achieve, Inc., Washington, D.C. They currently reside in Austin, TX.

Nancy A. Doorey

Director of Programs

Nancy Doorey worked with Dr. Pat Forgione in launching the K–12 Center at ETS in the summer of 2009, and serves as the Director of Programs. She has roots as a classroom teacher and has spent the past 17 years in educational policy and reform at the state and local levels.

In her current role as Director of Programs, Doorey is responsible for implementation of a strategic work plan that allows the K–12 Center to:

• anticipate critical measurement issues that are at the heart of the current education reform agenda
• organize the best thinking on these topics to provide timely and useful guidance to state and large district policymakers and assessment professionals
• engage national and state constituents in order to provoke their thinking in a positive and constructive manner

Doorey has been deeply involved in educational reform, serving as a member of the Delaware State Board of Education in the 1990s during development of the state's standards-based reform agenda, and subsequently as a local school board member to support implementation through to the school and classroom levels. She served on the Delaware Vision 2015 Steering Committee, a broad-based group that studied best practices internationally and developed a blueprint for transformational change of the P-20 education system. That plan served as the foundation for the state's successful Race to the Top application. In 2007–2008, she served as the co-chair of the education transition team of Delaware's Governor Markell.

Doorey also has done consulting work nationally in the areas of teacher quality, leadership, data systems and assessment. She has provided support and development assistance to local and state school boards, urban school districts and educational organizations. Her prior classroom experience spans elementary through graduate levels, as well as urban, suburban and rural schools.

Doorey holds a bachelor's degree in geology from The Colorado College (1976), a Master of Arts in Teaching in elementary education from Simmons College (1978), a Certificate of Advanced Studies in computer science from Harvard University Extension (1985), and is a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. She resides in Wilmington, Delaware with her family.

Charlene G. Tucker, Ed. D.

Measurement Consultant

Charlene Tucker joined the K–12 Center at ETS in the summer of 2013 as a consultant. She works on special projects focused on the measurement challenges facing states. Her current project for the K–12 Center is focused on the timely psychometric challenges of performance assessment facing states and the Race to the Top consortia as they prepare to implement the next generation of student assessments.

Tucker comes to us with broad experience in the field of education, most prominently in the areas of assessment, evaluation and research. She began her career as a classroom teacher in Maine, and then completed graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts. She subsequently worked for 15 years at the Connecticut State Department of Education in the areas of evaluation, accountability and assessment, most notably as Connecticut's State Assessment Director and ultimately as the Bureau Chief of Student Assessment. Tucker has also worked as a consultant specializing in assessment and evaluation for multiple organizations. One of her most recent assignments was to lead the work of two different State Collaboratives for the Council of Chief State School Officers: Technical Issues in Large-Scale Assessment and Accountability Systems & Reporting.

Tucker has served on several notable committees including: NCME Standards and Test Use Committee, Massachusetts Technical Advisory Committee, NRC Committee on Title I Assessment and Testing, and CCSSO Education Information Advisory Committee. She has also authored, or contributed to, several professional publications and presentations.

Tucker holds a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Maine (1978), as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in research and evaluation methods from the University of Massachusetts (1991). She resides in Brunswick, Maine, with her family.

Nina Rinaldi

Administrative Professional

Nina Rinaldi joined the K–12 Center at ETS in the summer of 2014 and provides administrative support to the K–12 Center.

Rinaldi holds a bachelor's degree in linguistics from the University of Oregon, where she completed an award-winning honors thesis on Arabic and English speakers' perception and imitation of consonant duration. Prior to joining the K–12 Center, Rinaldi served as a grant writer and Arabic-English translator at the Egyptian Center for Public Policy Studies in Cairo, Egypt.

Donna Benson-Chan

Project Manager

Donna Benson-Chan joined the K–12 Center at ETS in 2013 and serves as a Project Manager of special projects to support the K–12 Center's strategic work plan.

Benson-Chan has also done management consulting work in the areas of human resources and operations in the nonprofit and private sectors. She has developed and implemented staffing strategies and programs that improve operations outcomes and has a strong background in project management at varying levels of complexity.

She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration/management from Trinity University, Washington, D.C., a Human Resources Management Certificate from the University of Texas at Austin, Professional Development Center, and a Mediation Certificate from the University of Texas School of Law.

Contact info:

Pascal (Pat) D. Forgione Jr. Ph.D.
Distinguished Presidential Scholar and Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-512-439-0864

Nancy Doorey
Director of Programs
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-302-463-7139

Charlene Tucker
Consultant
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-207-373-0725

Nina Rinaldi
Administrative Professional
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-512-439-0864

Donna Benson-Chan
Project Manager
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-512-695-8264