Our Sales Consultants

Cheryl Baker, Regional Manager, began her career as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist before moving to educational publishing, where she started in sales by selling Superkids and other products for Addison-Wesley. She served in a number of sales and sales management positions before working most recently as a regional vice president and federal program manager at Pearson Education. Cheryl received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Vanderbilt University.

Joye Sanchez, Regional Manager, has been an educator for nearly 40 years. In addition to teaching every grade from kindergarten through twelfth grade, she has worked as a reading supervisor for the San Antonio Independent School District and as a consultant for the Texas Education Agency, Education Service Centers in the state of Texas, and numerous educational publishers. Joye has presented on many topics in reading for local, state, and national conferences. She earned a master’s degree as a reading specialist from Texas State University in San Marcos.

Mary Wexler, Senior Sales Consultant, has worked in education for more than 25 years as a classroom teacher, professional development specialist, educational consultant, and sales consultant. Mary has managed district-wide implementations in educational technology, curriculum, and intervention programs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In addition, she works with teachers and administrators in various settings—public, private, independent, charter, and Catholic schools—to focus on curriculum adoption, integration, and implementation. Mary received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the State University of New York at Oswego and did postgraduate work in elementary education at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

Tracy DiDio earned a master’s degree in elementary education from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. She began her career as an elementary classroom teacher in Naples, Florida, working with ESL students. In addition, she has extensive sales experience with reading and other educational programs. Tracy worked for Houghton Mifflin for four years, and has also worked with Achieve3000, the educational technology company Lightspan, and most recently Origo Education, a supplemental math company.

Mary Eret began her career in Minneapolis as a third- and fourth-grade classroom teacher almost 20 years ago. She has also worked in educational technology, focusing on initiatives to help teachers integrate technology into the curriculum. Mary has designed workshops on topics such as multiculturalism, primary writing, and the process of scientific inquiry. She has also managed training programs and worked with development teams on curriculum requirements for technology programs. Mary earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with an early childhood concentration from Mayville State University in North Dakota and a master’s degree in business from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Joy Gess taught in a parochial school in Connecticut before entering educational publishing in 2000. Her experience with publishers of elementary materials fueled her passion for early reading. Earlier in her career she worked with Fortune 500 companies developing and delivering training programs. Joy holds a bachelor’s degree from Sacred Heart University and a master’s degree from Milano, the New School for Public and Urban Policy in New York City.

Nancy Jarvie is a dedicated and respected leader in the advancement of literacy with more than 30 years of experience in education. She earned a master’s degree in reading from Southern Connecticut State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Central Connecticut State University. She worked as a reading consultant for New Haven public schools prior to serving as a regional consultant for various educational publishers. Nancy worked as a senior assessment consultant for over a decade and conducted focus groups for new curriculum materials.

Gary Kistner has worked in education for over 25 years as a classroom teacher and sales representative. Gary has worked for Rigby, Scott Foresman/Addison Wesley, and most recently McGraw-Hill. Gary has spent his entire sales career working in the state of New Jersey where he has enjoyed much success. He earned an undergraduate degree in elementary education from Fairleigh Dickinson University–Florham.

Melissa Martinsen received a master’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and holds certification for specific learning disabilities (K-12) and elementary education (1-8). She began her career in Grafton, Ohio, teaching pullout students in a fourth-grade learning resource center and coteaching in a regular classroom. In both environments, she taught basic reading skills with individual modifications and an emphasis on phonics. Melissa also taught first grade for five years in Grafton and Cincinnati, where she also served on the primary curriculum committee. For the past 10 years, she has worked in sales, mainly in pharmaceuticals with Merck and PDI.

Donna Moody is a dedicated and respected leader in the advancement of reading, with 40 years of experience in education. She is a past president of the Virginia State Reading Association and remains active in the organization. She worked as a reading specialist and classroom teacher for 25 years. She earned a master’s degree in reading from the University of Virginia.

Marie Phillips-McKeeman spent 12 years working in elementary schools as a teacher, reading specialist, and early childhood trainer. She also was an adjunct professor of early literacy. For the past 17 years, she has held various positions in educational publishing, including director of early learning, marketing manager, national consultant, trainer, and implementation specialist. Marie received a master’s degree in reading education from the University of Georgia.

Susan Quarino has been in education for more than 17 years. She earned an undergraduate degree in education from Loyola University Chicago and a master’s in educational supervision and management from National-Louis University in Lisle, Illinois, and she has completed additional postgraduate coursework in reading. Susan has taught regular, ESL, special-needs, deaf/hard-of-hearing, and gifted students. She spent six years serving in dual school and district administrative roles as an assistant principal, summer school principal, coordinator for special education, and district trainer. Susan also served as a consultant for McGraw-Hill.

Juan Reyneri has worked in education for over 20 years as a classroom teacher and sales representative. He worked as an ESOL teacher for the Miami-Dade County public schools where he conducted professional development workshops for ESOL teachers. Juan has spent his educational publishing career working for McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, and Wireless Generation. He earned a master’s degree in education from Boston University.

Valerie Stofac Ritchey has dedicated over 30 years to the education of young children. She received a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and a bachelor’s from Bowling Green State University. Her 14 years of classroom experience includes teaching prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary, ELD, special-needs, and gifted students. While teaching she was awarded the Phi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year Award and was a published author of educational materials. She has served as a western regional consultant and national literacy consultant and specializes in working with districts to meet their academic goals and challenges.

Sandra Welander-McCartney has worked in education for more than 30 years as a classroom teacher, Reading Recovery teacher, reading specialist, and educational consultant. She has presented at educational conferences and school boards, developed ongoing district professional development, and managed district language arts implementations. She spent 10 years in educational publishing with Rigby, Harcourt, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She was Salesperson of the Year for the western region in 2001 and 2007. Sandra received a bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and completed postgraduate work at Morningside College and the University of Northern Iowa.

Sarah Williams is an experienced and energetic leader who works to create opportunities for others to learn and succeed. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a specialization in early childhood development from the University of Iowa. Sarah taught kindergarten for six years. Her greatest joy was teaching children how to read. She has seven years of experience in educational publishing, having worked as a sales consultant, manager, and director.