Staff Profiles

Training Facilitators

Kathleen M. Porcaro, Ed.D., Executive Director & Co-founder, has worked for the past 25 years as an educational strategist with over 100,000 teachers worldwide. In addition to her work in the United States, Dr. Porcaro (Kathleen) has shared LINKS™ Strategies with numerous teachers at the European Council for International Schools. Most recently, she has presented strategy workshops for ECIS at The Hague in The Netherlands.

Kathleen has taught elementary reading courses at Suffolk University, Boston, MA, and has also taught for ten years at Boston College, School of Education, teaching content reading and writing strategies to middle and secondary educators. Her experience includes teaching in all elementary grades as well as middle and secondary grades as a general and special educator.

As a highly regarded diagnostician, Kathleen has trained thousands of special educators and school psychologists. Her assessment training focuses upon translating diagnostic information into instructional practice.

Her education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Westfield State College and a Master's degree in Special Education from Boston College. She also received her Doctorate in Education, Administration, Supervision, Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College, where she implemented the consulting teacher model for inclusive programming in an urban public school system. Her research included staff development models for moving large urban school districts through systemic change.  Email: kathyporcaro@epsi-usa.com

Theresa B. Shea, Performance Improvement Facilitator, was a Title 1 Reading/ Specialist Teacher at the elementary and middle school levels in the Springfield, MA school district. She oversaw both the first grade Early Intervention program, and the America Reads program while at the Brightwood Magnet School. She also initiated, designed, and implemented a literacy tutoring partnership. Theresa helped develop the Reading and Language Arts curriculum around the Massachusetts frameworks and was an MCAS scorer. Her education includes both a C.A.G.S. and Master’s degree from American International College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Elms College.  Email: tshea@epsi-usa.com

Jennifer Clegg, LINKS™ Training Facilitator, has over six years of teaching experience working with middle school regular & special education students. Other education experience includes curriculum development, Massachusetts Educational Frameworks Developer, after school and outside tutoring specialist, and corporate training model strategist. Jennifer’s education includes a Bachelor’s degree from Elon College in North Carolina and a Master’s degree in Education from Marymount University in Virginia.

Wendy Harris, Educational Diagnostician and Training Facilitator, has over ten years of teaching experience working with regular education, and students with special needs. Her experience includes curriculum development, inclusionary programming, educational diagnosis, and I.E.P. development. Wendy is also a registered educational therapist with the Learning Disabilities Network. Her education includes a Master's degree in Education from Boston College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cognitive Science from Brown University.

Carmen Mariano, National Staff Development Director, was the Associate Dean and Campus Director of Quincy College in Plymouth, MA. Prior to his work at the college level, Carmen spent 20 years serving the Quincy Public Schools as a; teacher, coach, school administrator, Director of Personnel, Asst. Superintendent, and finally Deputy Superintendent. Carmen earned the following degrees; a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Boston College, a Masters degree in Educational Administration, Supervision, and Leadership, from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Mathematics from the Catholic University of America.

Performance Improvement Specialists

Daniel Thibeault, Director of Performance Improvement, graduated from Bridgewater State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. While attending a post-baccalaureate teacher preparation program, Dan served as graduate assistant to the Dean of Education. He worked on the federally funded Eisenhower Grant for Initial Teacher Preparation that included a consortium of teacher training colleges, public school systems, and cooperating practitioners throughout the states. He was with the Weymouth School System for three years. Dan's last assignment was grade eight teacher of U.S. History.
Email: dthibeault@epsi-usa.com

Gabriel E. Negron, Performance Improvement Specialist, was born, raised, and educated on the Island of Puerto Rico. He came to the continental United States with a BA in Physical Education and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Puerto Rico. Gabe has also completed many other courses at Salem State and Middlesex Community College. He has over 16 years teaching experience working with second language learners, primarily in the bilingual settings. Gabe is also a basketball coach for the Greater Lowell Middle School Basketball League.

Operations

Kenneth J. Porcaro, President & Co-founder, has an extensive background in Total Quality Management as a performance technologist coupled with over 20 years experience in designing, marketing, and implementing high-tech productivity improvement systems. Education includes a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Northeastern University. Memberships include: National Society of Performance and Instruction, American Society of Quality Control, National Society of Training and Development, and the American Production and Inventory Control Society.           Email: kenporcaro@epsi-usa.com