BARBARA P. HEATH, PhD
Managing Member and Lead Consultant
bheath@emeconline.com
Vita

J. Anthony Heath is a member and consultant for EMEC, LLC. Anthony earned a B.S. in Biology from UNCW followed by serving in the Army and NC National Guard as a medic. He returned to UNCW receiving teaching certification and completing numerous hours of graduate coursework in science education. Anthony’s culminating portfolio focused on technology in the inquiry-based science classroom. Prior to joining EMEC in spring 2008, Anthony was employed as a clinical research associate for an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Wilmington. Anthony lives in the Wilmington area with his wife and three children. He enjoys the outdoors and training his five Labrador Retrievers for field trial and hunting.

Thom Clark is a consultant and evaluator with EMEC—joining the company in July 2007.  His formal education includes  BA (UNC Chapel Hill), MA in Mathematics (UNC Greensboro) and PhD in Mathematics Education with a concentration in Statistics (Florida State University).  His primary professional work has been with problems and issues in learning and teaching of science and mathematics.  Thom has served on several university faculties of mathematics and mathematics education in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.  His research interests have included international mathematics education, professional development of teachers and mathematics learning in children.  As a tenured Associate Professor at UNC Charlotte, Thom was a member of the graduate faculty with teaching assignments in mathematics, applied statistics and assessment in education. Accepting an invitation from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Thom served as Director for Research and Evaluation for the district and served in that role for four years.  In that position Thom designed and implemented numerous and diverse evaluation studies of state and federally supported projects for the largest school district in NC. Most recently, Thom has served as Project Director for two major 5-year projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation:  the State-wide Systemic Initiative (SSI in Maine) and the Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP in North Carolina).  Currently residing in Mount Pleasant on the South Carolina coast, Thom enjoys being near his son and daughter and life in Charleston’s lowcountry. 

ARUNA LAKSHMANAN, PhD
Senior Consultant
alakshmanan@emeconline.com
Vita

Aruna Lakshmanan is a senior consultant with EMEC. Her educational background includes an MS in Mathematics (India), an MA in Mathematics Education, an MS in Applied Statistics, and a Ph.D. in Educational Research Methodology, all earned at the Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. Her dissertation focused on quantitative research methods for which she received a dissertation research grant from the American Educational Research Association. Aruna was also presented with the Best Dissertation Proposal Award from the Association of Institutional Research. Prior to joining EMEC, Aruna worked as a Statistical Research Scientist at Kraft Foods in Glenview, Illinois, as an analyst at the Office of Institutional Research at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), and has taught Sociological Data Analysis and Interpretation at the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at UNCW. She has also conducted training workshops in statistics and statistics related software. Aruna has experience in working with large datasets, surveys, statistical design, and statistics for the social sciences. She lives with her husband and sons in Wilmington and enjoys writing haiku, playing trivia games and writing quizzes.

Aaron’s educational background includes a BA in Sociology from the Honors College, a Masters in Public Health, and a Masters in Social Work, all from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.  While completing his graduate program, Aaron maintained an assistantship at the Center for Child and Family Studies, where he completed evaluations for training and development seminars in diagnostic services and social work provision.  He interned at both Palmetto Senior Care, an area Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provider, and the Dorn VA Medical Center.  At Dorn VAMC, Aaron was involved in federally funded research comparing veterans in PACE to a veteran control group and additional research for his thesis, PACE: A Veteran and Non-Veteran Comparison.  After graduation, Aaron worked as a case manager and then as a consultant at an elder service agency in Boston, MA.  Aaron relocated to Wilmington, NC to work as Director of Client Services at a home care agency and then as the Director of Social Services at a 130-bed nursing facility, before joining EMEC in August 2006.  Aaron and his wife Karen enjoy traveling, outdoor activities, and spending time with their two dogs, Solomon and Henry.    

Ms. Lori Davis is a project assistant with EMEC, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 2005. She has been with East Main since August 2006. Currently, Lori’s main responsibility is to provide project support to the PIMUST project that is based in Columbus County.  She supports other EMEC efforts through data collection and organization, survey creation, and literature reviews. Lori is pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree from UNCW and will be graduating in December 2008. Her hobbies include pottery, the beach, and hanging out with her dog, Kila.

Andy Gould is a project assistant at EMEC. He graduated from UNC Wilmington with a B.S. in Environmental Studies, and recently completed an internship at the University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium. He is currently working on a Masters degree in Environmental Studies, concentrating in environmental education and interpretation. His responsibilities at EMEC include data collection and organization, survey creation, and literature reviews. Andy enjoys being outdoors and near the ocean.