Our team includes accomplished educators, education researchers, and education technology developers.
Alexa Clemmons, PhD
Director of Product
After realizing her love of all things education while earning her PhD in genetics, Alexa pursued teaching opportunities in a range of college biology courses and eventually accepted a postdoctoral position in biology education research at the University of Washington. In that role, she used surveys, interviews, and round tables to gather input from biology educators around the country on faculty priorities for college curricula. She’s dedicated to helping students develop the skills and expertise they’ll need for modern careers, and she believes that begins by setting priorities in the form of measurable learning outcomes that emphasize higher-order thinking and competencies. At Codon Learning, Alexa is excited to support educators in the challenging but important process of starting with the learning outcomes and working backwards from there. In her down time, she can be found trying new restaurants, walking her dog Xander in the park, and doing crossword puzzles.
Ashley Rowland, PhD
Director of Customer Experience
Ashley earned a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder and studied as a postdoc at the University of California Berkeley. In 2017, she began conducting biology education research with Lisa Corwin at the University of Colorado Boulder to better understand factors affecting students’ participation in STEM. As a first-generation college student from a low-income household, she is passionate about making education more inclusive and equitable. She came to Codon Learning to create courseware that will catalyze the widespread adoption of the evidence-based teaching practices known to benefit learners of all backgrounds. She hopes her work will contribute to the creation of a more skilled and diverse population of students needed to tackle the complex challenges facing our planet. When not in the office, Ashley enjoys hiking in the Golden area and chasing her kiddos, Elliot and Will, with her husband Mike.
ERIN VINSON
Education Support Specialist
Erin started her journey in STEM education as a starry-eyed Ecology undergrad at the University of Georgia. With her love of ecology – she went on to graduate school, earning a MAT for Secondary Science Education, and teaching high school environmental science. Erin’s career path includes working as Diversity Programs Coordinator for the Ecological Society of America, in the Adirondacks as an environmental educator with SUNY-ESF, and as coordinator for a dual enrollment program at Eastern Maine Community College. In 2014, she started at the University of Maine and into the world of STEM Education Research – where she has been ever since! Working at UMaine with discipline-based education researchers, Erin investigated and implemented data-driven professional learning for STEM instructors that focused on evidence-based teaching practices. Her work at UMaine also included coordinating the Learning Assistant program and working as Managing Editor for the journal CourseSource, a peer-reviewed journal of evidence-based teaching resources. When not working, Erin loves being outside in any capacity – hiking, backpacking, camping, paddling, and wandering – and cooking, reading, yoga, and exploring. She lives outside of Bangor with her husband, Mathew, and their dog Yeager (aka Chuck Yeager!).
Katie Sieverman, phd
Director of Content
After completing a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Texas - Austin, Katie spent eight years as an academic researcher. She worked on projects spanning developmental biology in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, evo-devo in the three-spined stickleback, and membrane trafficking in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Katie ultimately earned a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California - Berkeley while investigating the intersection of DNA repair and gene silencing in yeast. While in graduate school, Katie realized her love for teaching and mentorship. She transitioned to full-time science education and has held faculty positions at UC - Berkeley, the University of Washington, and Fort Lewis College. Katie also spent 2 years as the Science Content Manager at a small K-12 EdTech company called Actively Learn, which was acquired by McGraw Hill in 2021. Katie loves crafting science content that gets learners stoked about biology, creating inclusive science curricula, and building innovative solutions to meet the needs of a rapidly changing higher ed landscape. Away from her computer, you can find Katie relishing the natural beauty around her home in Durango, CO, while trail running, bike riding, or trying to identify a bird with her Merlin app.
Kelly Hennessey, Phd
Education Support Specialist
Kelly has had a lifelong passion for biology! During her undergraduate years, she was a scuba diver for the Seattle Aquarium and spent many Saturdays recording the behavior of California Sea Otters during their Otter Watch program. She graduated with a BS in Biology and went on to teach high school (International Baccalaureate) biology and chemistry. While teaching, she pursued a master’s degree in teaching and learning. With a strong curiosity and a passion for research, she earned an MAT in biology at the University of Washington. This experience solidified her desire to pursue a Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology. After teaching for 17 years, she transitioned from high school teaching to research on the parasite Giardia lamblia, focusing on a group of protein kinases with small amino acid residues in the ATP binding pocket. During her time at the University of Washington, she crossed paths with Scott Freeman and eagerly participated in several of his biology education projects, reconnecting with her original love for teaching and learning. Upon completing her Ph.D., she was fortunate to join Scott Freeman as his postdoctoral researcher. As part of an NSF grant led by Scott, she worked with him to develop lesson level learning objectives for introductory biology courses. She’s excited that the learning objectives that emerged from the study are now being used in Codon’s Introducing the Life Sciences course. When an opportunity to join Codon Learning presented itself, she jumped at the chance. She is excited about assisting instructors who aim to enhance their students' metacognitive skills, significantly improve study habits, and enhance the overall learning experience.
Jennifer Knight, phd
Chief Academic Officer
Jenny is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado - Boulder. She did research in developmental neuroscience and genetics before turning to education. Her work in biology education has been varied and extensive, including developing concept assessments, providing professional development for faculty, and elucidating the impacts of active engagement on student learning. She is a founding member and a former president of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER). Jenny was drawn to Codon Learning because she is passionate about changing the paradigm for undergraduate science education by convincing faculty to use evidence-based practices. When not at work, she loves to be outdoors hiking and biking, tending her organic vegetable garden, and enjoying her many farm animals, preferably in the company of her husband and three sons.
Hope LALICH, Ms
Director of Engineering
Hope is no stranger to STEM education and ed tech. She earned her BS in Physics and Secondary Education, and then spent the next 8.5 years at Sapling Learning and Macmillan Learning wearing various hats ranging from content developer and tech support to software engineer. In 2020 she completed her MS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. Throughout her education and career, she was often one of very few women among her peers, so she fully understands the fear and frustration felt by many students from underserved backgrounds in STEM. Hope came to Codon Learning to help design and build a reliable and scalable application that delivers quality content to our students and instructors and enables all students to help themselves deepen their understanding, learn study skills in a meaningful way, and achieve a high quality and deeply rewarding education in STEM. Outside of work, Hope enjoys running, doing yoga, spending time outside, and hanging out with her cat, Morley.
Jeff Printy
Lead Project Developer
Jeff is our lead project developer, focused on refining the Codon user interface, with an emphasis on accessibility and intuitive user experiences. He started his journey in software engineering by making productivity apps for writers, including Write or Die, a tool designed to compel the user to keep writing, well-regarded by time-constrained dissertation authors and NaNoWriMo participants. Prior to joining Codon he worked for Macmillan Learning, building a central login portal and working alongside a11y specialists on an initiative to create a unified accessible component library. He loves all animals, especially peculiar ones, when he’s not bathed in the light of a screen you can find him Onewheeling around town, looking for bats under bridges and feeding the turtles in the UT turtle pond. Originally from Minnesota, he has long-since fled for the warmth of Austin, Texas where he is involved with the local immersive art and experimental music scene.
Stephanie Kuhns
Lead Content Developer
Stephanie is no stranger to making quality content for college students. She worked in production for 25+ years alongside Kathi Townes, producing college level math and science textbooks. Her primary task was technical (mathematics/calculus/science) typesetting, but she has performed almost every aspect of book production. She excels at developing processes to make large tasks more manageable and loves a good binder with colored tabs for organization. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BS in Kinesiology. When Steph isn’t working she is most likely outside tearing around on her mountain bike, skiing in the backcountry, hiking / camping / backpacking in the beautiful state of Colorado with her dog Moo and her camera, or building something in her woodshop.
Laura Cochran
Director of Sales
After completing her M.A. in Counseling with a focus on School Counseling, Laura found her way into higher ed admissions. She specifically enjoyed her time working as the admissions manager for Arizona State University and witnessing the growth and impact of their online programs. In 2014, she discovered a new passion for edtech in STEM education. As a publisher's representative at Macmillan Learning she loved meeting with chemists, biologists and physicists to discuss their research and approaches to educating college students. After experiencing challenges in STEM courses as a student, Laura became dedicated to bringing evidence-based resources to as many classrooms as possible. Her success increasing sales in her first few years at Macmillan led into a ten year career path in sales and training. Laura is so excited to bring her years of experience in direct sales, sales training and sales management to help Codon Learning grow. Laura lives in Northern Colorado with her husband, three kids and two dogs. When she isn't working, she spends the summer helping her toddlers to build their rock and bug collections and the winter enjoying the Colorado and Wyoming mountains sledding or skiing.
BEN ROBERTS
Chief Executive Officer
In 2004, Ben was invited to the first public Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching. A few years later, he published the seminal book on the topic: Scientific Teaching by Handelsman, Miller, and Pfund. This foundation inspired him to start Codon Learning, whose aim is to catalyze the widespread adoption of evidence-based teaching principles. (You can read more about Ben’s history and commitment to scientific teaching here.) Prior to Codon Learning, Ben founded Roberts and Company, a STEM publisher, which was acquired by Macmillan Learning in 2016. He then served as VP of STEM for two years. When not in the office, Ben loves to read science fiction, spend time with Beau (a magnificent Australian Labradoodle), and train for Ironman 70.3 triathlons.
Vance Allen
Chief Technology Officer
Vance started his career as a software engineer at eCollege in 1997, where he wrote the first assessment engine for their learning management system. As eCollege grew, Vance honed his skills, focusing on developing the application as a service platform to deliver learning concurrently to millions of students. After becoming CTO, he helped IPO and sell the company to Pearson for $477m. As SVP of Core Platforms at Pearson, Vance played a leadership role in creating a unified platform strategy for postsecondary technologies and in driving the organizational shift to Agile software development. Most recently, he served as CTO for McGraw-Hill Education. Vance holds a BA in Mathematics from Pomona College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law. He believes that a good education creates opportunities. At Codon Learning, he is passionate about merging technology and content to transform the education experience and bring about greater opportunities for students. When not in the office, Vance is can often be found exploring new wire-framing software or running up mountains with Daisy, Codon Learning’s canine director of workplace wellbeing.