Jane Hileman founded American Reading Company to help educators learn the power of using independent reading to drive both instruction and assessment. Prior to starting the company in 1998, Jane spent ten years teaching in inner-city Philadelphia, nine years teaching at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, three years as a reading specialist in suburban Philadelphia, four years as staff developer for the School District of Philadelphia, and three years as the associate director of PHILADELPHIA READS. American Reading Company has grown from a few passionate teachers working from Jane’s dining room to a group of more than 100 determined people working out of a warehouse in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Jane currently serves as a member of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Steering Committee. She holds a master’s of science degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Al oversees the company’s finance, sales, operations, IT, human resources, and legal departments. With over 30 years of management experience, including 16 years in the book publishing industry, Al brings a comprehensive approach to managing all aspects of the company’s general operations. Before joining American Reading Company in 2005, he served as Executive Vice President-Sales for Perseus Books Group, Chief Operating Officer for Running Press Book Publishers, Chief Operating Officer for A. Pomerantz & Co., and Group Leader for Private Company Advisory Services for Deloitte Consulting.
Al serves on the Camden County United Way Appropriations Committee. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and management from Drexel University, where he graduated magna cum laude.
Gaeton oversees American Reading Company’s professional development for teachers and district leadership and contributes to program design, tools, and materials. He also keeps the entire company informed and knowledgeable about cutting-edge academic research and educational policies at the federal and state levels. Gaeton is a former teacher, principal, and regional superintendent who has devoted his 30-year career in education to teaching students—especially disadvantaged students—to read. As principal of the William Cramp Elementary School in inner-city Philadelphia, Mr. Zorzi led his school to earn the International Reading Association’s Exemplary Reading Program Award for Pennsylvania. The school also won the Title One Award for an Unusually Effective Compensatory Education Program, and Mr. Zorzi was honored as Principal of the Year in 1993. He served for six years as a Cluster Leader, then as Regional Superintendent in Philadelphia before joining the American Reading Company full-time in December 2002.
Gaeton is a graduate of Haverford College and received his master’s in special education and early childhood from Temple University. He has also received certification in the areas of Secondary English and Special Education, and as Elementary Principal, Superintendent, and Reading Specialist.
Quality is a renowned literacy expert who oversees all marketing and strategic business development initiatives for the company. A well-known speaker at national and international education conferences, including ASCD and IRA, Quality has previously served as a consultant to leading education companies, including Scholastic, Compass Learning, MetaMetrics, and LeapFrog SchoolHouse. She has authored several reading and assessment programs including Literacy Place, Scholastic’s core K–6 program for reading and language arts, and has worked with many professional development initiatives for the United States Department of Defense Education Agency.
Quality has received numerous awards throughout her career, including Teacher of the Year for the State of Michigan and Reading Teacher of the Year in San Diego, California. She is a member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce Report Card Task Force and the McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors; an Advisory Board member of Marfa Public Radio; and the former president of the Austin Public Library Foundation. Quality received her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of San Diego.
Bruce oversees the company’s national sales force and the customer partnership group that works alongside customers to maintain successful implementations long after the sale actually occurs. Bruce brings over 25 years of sales experience, including nine years with Scholastic, during which he served as Vice President, International. In this capacity he was responsible for sales, marketing, distribution, and inventory for 10 countries. He also served as Division Vice President for QSP, Reader’s Digest (Time Inc.), and as a consultant for FDM Consulting. Throughout his career in educational sales, Bruce has worked to promote lifelong learning by increasing access to books for children.
Bruce is a former United States Army Armor Officer and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Michigan State University.
Nate oversees all information technology initiatives for the company. This includes the system design and school interface for KidPace®, the Web-based student progress tracker, as well as proprietary business systems to enhance MAS 500 and SalesLogix. Since 1997, Nate has been developing desktop applications using BASIC and Web-based applications using PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript. He previously worked for Akron Public Schools where he supported an electronic portfolio management system and developed a Web-based lesson planning system.
Nate was one of the first 15 employees to join the company and has led all technology efforts since 2002.
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