EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kathleen Boyle Mathers

Kathleen Mathers was appointed Executive Director of GOSA in November, 2008. Mathers previously served as GOSA's Director of External Relations, handling communications, external affairs, and policy efforts for the agency. Prior to this work, she served as state director of a federal grant program aimed at improving K-12 math and science teacher quality through partnerships between local education agencies and institutes of higher education. Kathleen also worked for the Georgia Department of Education as a specialist in the training and implementation of the Georgia Performance Standards. In addition, she led the education efforts of a children's science center as their Vice President of Education after teaching in DeKalb County for eight years. She holds a baccalaureate degree from Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame and a master's degree from Georgia State University.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Eric Wearne

Dr. Eric Wearne has led the research and data analysis efforts of GOSA since June of 2007. In November of 2008, he was promoted to Deputy Director to work more closely with the overall operations of the agency. Prior to joining GOSA, Eric served as a University Supervisor for the Division of Educational Studies at Emory University, mentoring and evaluating student teachers in the Atlanta, Fulton, and DeKalb school systems. As a graduate student, he was named a Woodruff Fellow at Emory and a Dan Searle Fellow by the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, and taught undergraduate courses in education policy and history. His writing has been published by Foxnews.com, the Cato Institute, and also by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, where he worked as a research assistant while in graduate school. Eric taught English and Debate at Duluth High School in Gwinnett County. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies at Emory University, an M.A. in English Education from the University of Georgia and a B.A. in English from Florida State University.

ACADEMIC AUDITING PROGRAM MANAGER
Bob Clark

Dr. Robert Clark’s education career spans more than 30 years. He has served as a teacher, school psychologist, elementary and high school principal, and associate superintendent in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. After retirement as principal of Parkview High School in Gwinnett County in 2002, Bob worked as Team Leader for the Georgia Department of Education in the Georgia’s Choice School Improvement program. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Knoxville earning a B.S. in Liberal Arts and an Ed.D. in Educational Psychology.

DATA MINING SPECIALIST
Nazmun Nahar

Nazmun Nahar has worked in Information Technology for more than five years. Before joining GOSA in 2008, she was employed by several large corporations, including Bank Of America, Federated Corporation, and Strategic Software. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dhaka University. Nazmun has also completed database and network certification training programs from Solutions Incorporated and DeKalb Technical College.

POLICY AND RESEARCH SPECIALIST
Bonnie Stewart

Bonnie Stewart is a doctoral student in Educational Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. She has held research assistantships in the Learning and Performance Support Laboratory and the Educational Policy and Evaluation Center at the University of Georgia, and she currently serves as Policy and Research Specialist at the Governor's Office of Student Achievement. Her research interests include education politics and policy—especially as they occur at the state level. Stewart received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UGA, and she taught English in a public high school near Athens prior to beginning her doctoral studies.

OFFICE MANAGER
Beverly Lopez

Beverley Lopez has served as GOSA’s Administrative Operations Coordinator/Office Manager since April of 2007. Before joining the GOSA team, she worked with the Georgia Department of Education as an Administrative Assistant for 19 years.