Bryce Carpenter, Ph.D. and Rochelle Michel, Ph.D. Join Smarter Balanced

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Smarter Balanced is excited to announce the hirings of Bryce Carpenter as its new Executive Administrative Officer and Rochelle Michel, Ph.D. as its new Deputy Executive Program Officer. The addition of these highly qualified individuals marks a commitment to building a robust organization committed to serving all students.

Dr. Carpenter is a lifelong public servant who believes in the transformative power of education. As a member of the executive team, Dr. Carpenter will support areas ranging from workforce development, budgetary operations, communications, and employee engagement.

Dr. Michel joins Smarter Balanced with 15 years of experience in psychometrics, research, and people leadership. As Deputy Executive Program Officer, Dr. Michel will oversee the psychometrics, research, and data analysis functions.

Regarding their appointments, Dr. Carpenter and Dr. Michel shared:

"Working in high-visibility, high-risk environments at state and federal levels taught me the importance of building a strong team of internals and externals. Partnerships are key," says Dr. Carpenter. "SmarterBalanced has a history of responsive impact and, based on the strength of our prior work and our robust partnerships, has an incredible forward trajectory. I am thrilled to contribute and be a part of this team's future."

"My experiences live at the intersection of teaching, learning, and assessment. I am a teacher at heart! I entered the field of education because I wanted to help students reach their greatest potential and I entered the field of psychometrics because I saw the role that assessments played within the educational system," says Dr. Michel. "With every professional role that I have held, I keep teachers, students, and students' families in mind."

Dr. Carpenter comes from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) where he served as the Chief of Staff to the Chief Information Officer. Dr. Carpenter also served in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, has taught at every level from doctoral to pre-Kindergarten, and is a proud Army veteran.

Dr. Michel previously held positions at Curriculum Associates, Educational Records Bureau (ERB), and Educational Testing Service (ETS). She has experience teaching mathematics at the junior high school, high school, community college and university levels.

Smarter Balanced is a member-led public agency that supports educators as they help students on a path to progress. The Smarter Balanced dynamic system of tools—developed in collaboration with our members and educators—is a standards-aligned balanced assessment system and provides teachers with lessons, activities, and methods of gauging progress.

Media Contact: Audrey Lesondak [email protected]

SOURCE Smarter Balanced