Our Staff
Davin Auble
Engagement Manager
Prior to joining Mass Insight STG, Davin worked since 2006 for the educational management organization AUSL (Academy for Urban School Leadership), lead turnaround partner for Chicago Public Schools. As Director of Turnaround Coaching, Davin supported a network of teachers and principals to deepen capacity to deliver outstanding teaching and learning while effectively implementing the federal restart model for turnaround. She holds a B.S. from Northwestern University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and earned her teaching credentials at Concordia as part of the alternative-certification "Teachers for Chicago" program. Davin is grateful and proud to have spent seven years teaching middle school students in high-poverty schools on the south and west sides of Chicago.
Maia Blankenship
Director, Human Capital Strategies
Maia leads the development of new STG strategies that will allow districts and states to both create and recruit new turnaround Lead Partners. She focuses on cultivating national and regional networks of high-capacity turnaround principals and system leaders, in order to stimulate the development of high-capacity Lead Partners. Before joining the STG, Maia served as Director of Staffing and Recruitment Services in the Office of Human Resources at DC Public Schools. She also has served as Director of National Partnerships and Investments at College Summit, where she led that organization’s relationships with both national foundations and private investors. Later, she joined Education Pioneers to launch the DC Metro Area office as the Founding Managing Director. Under her leadership the new office tripled in size and impact in less than three years. Maia began her career as a management consultant with Ernst & Young LLP after obtaining her Bachelors in Science from Spelman College. She also holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Justin Cohen
President of the School Turnaround Group
Justin leads the School Turnaround Group and the launch of the Partnership Zone Initiative. Prior to joining Mass Insight, he was Director of the Office of Portfolio Management and senior advisor to Chancellor Michelle Rhee at the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Before that Justin was director of industry support and development for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Justin also spent time at Edison Schools, where he at various times served as director business development, acting director of school operations, and a new school application writer. Justin has a B.A. from Yale University.
Michael Contompasis
Senior Field Consultant
Michael Contompasis recently retired after two years as Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. Previously he served as the district's Chief Operating Officer from 1998 through 2005. Before moving to a district leadership role, Mr. Contompasis was the Head Master of Boston Latin School, the state's top performing 7-12 secondary school, where he was honored as a Milken Educator in 1997. From 1996 to 1998, he also served as a cluster leader overseeing and mentoring the principals of ten K-12 schools in the district. He began his career in education as a Biology teacher in 1966. He was presented with a Distinguished Service Award by the Council of Great City Schools in 2006. Mr. Contompasis currently serves as an unpaid advisor to the Mayor of the City of Boston in addition to his role as Senior Field Consultant for the School Turnaround Group.
Peter Cook
Senior Project Manager
Pete manages STG's turnaround work in the Jefferson Parish Public School System in Louisiana. Prior to joining Mass Insight, Pete developed and implemented teacher performance management systems for The New Teacher Project. Pete began his career as a Teach For America corps member in New Orleans Public Schools and has been a math and science teacher and middle school administrator. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Jennifer Cunningham
Program Associate
Jennifer Cunningham is responsible for research and outreach relating to both the Great Schools Network and the Turnaround Challenge initiatives, and has previously been a lead investigator and writer for Mass Insight's Building Blocks project. Prior to joining Mass Insight, she was the Site Director at the Project for School Innovation, where she coauthored nine publications helping Boston-area teachers share effective practices. Jennifer is a graduate of Yale University and of the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University.
Dipa Desai
Project Coordinator
Dipa serves as a Project Coordinator at the STG, supporting the State Development Network and our fieldwork in Central Falls, RI. Dipa also plays an integral role supporting our research and internal functions. Prior to joining the STG, Dipa interned in the Guidance and Counseling Office at Classical High School in Providence, RI. Dipa also served as a Research Assistant at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Dipa recently earned her M.Ed. in School Counseling from Providence College.
Lindsey Dulin
Program Manager
As Program Manager, Lindsey manages partnerships with schools and districts engaged in school turnaround. Before joining the STG, Lindsey served as a Program Officer at New Visions for Public Schools. In her role on the data team, Lindsey supported teachers and administrators in using data to drive instruction. Prior to working at New Visions, Lindsey worked at Achievement First. Lindsey holds a B.A. in History from Northwestern University and a M.A in Education Leadership from New York University.
Berj Garabedian
Program Manager
As a Program Manager, Berj helps to implement the Innovation Zone initiative in Syracuse. He joined Mass Insight as an Education Pioneers Analyst Fellow. Prior to joining Mass Insight, Berj worked for the private equity firm Castanea Partners where he evaluated and executed investments in the consumer products, information services and education sectors and monitored portfolio company operations. Before Castanea, Berj worked in the mergers and acquisitions group of RBC Capital Markets. Berj holds a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
William H. Guenther
President and Founder of Mass Insight Education
Bill is President and Founder of Mass Insight Education, an independent not-for-profit organization based in Boston, MA. Founded in 1997, Mass Insight Education has been a statewide leader in Massachusetts’ education reform drive and national leader for school turnaround strategy.
Mass Insight Education organizes partnerships of states, districts, schools, business, and universities and has two divisions: the Massachusetts Math & Science Initiative implementing a $30m program using Advanced Placement as a lever to attain excellence in math and science and to transform school culture, and the School Turnaround Group organized to support state and district strategies to successfully turnaround failing schools.
Bill is a graduate of Harvard College and the New York University Law School.
Dalia Hochman
Policy Director
Dalia Hochman manages consulting contracts with states to help support school turnaround policy and practice. Before coming to Mass Insight, Hochman served as an administrator at the Los Angeles Unified School District, managing the implementation of a new performance management and accountability system and developing partnerships between schools and non-profit organizations. Hochman began her career as a high school history teacher in New York City and co-founded the Bronx Lab School, as part of the Gates Foundation’ small high school transformation project. She holds a BA from Yale University and a PhD in educational policy from Columbia University.
Ji Hea Kim
Project Coordinator
Ji Hea develops toolkits for states and districts involved in turnaround while also working on research projects and providing support for other STG initiatives. Prior to joining Mass Insight, she worked on college access and success and other youth-focused projects with an emphasis on technology and program evaluation. Ji Hea holds a MA in International Education Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University and a BA in Psychology and in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jason Martin
Engagement Manager
Jason manages the Partnership Zone Initiative in Delaware. Prior to joining Mass Insight, he worked at the Georgia Department of Education implementing Charter Systems, a state wide educational reform that increased student performance through systemic district wide innovation. Before that he was a consultant for Pearson Education, helping to turnaround failing schools across the country. Jason began his career as a first grade teacher in Trenton, New Jersey and went on to help launch the first charter school in New York City, eventually becoming that school’s Master Teacher. Jason received his B.A from Rutgers University and an M.A. from Columbia University.
Nina Mitchell
Administrative Assistant
Nina serves as assistant to Justin Cohen, President of the School Turnaround Group at Mass Insight. She is a graduate of Boston English High School and has worked for the Boston School Department. Prior to joining Mass Insight Nina worked for Northeastern University for a number of years where she is currently working toward her BA in Business Management.
Emily Pallin
Program Manager
Emily plays an integral role in the communication work with our various stakeholders, including coordinating the State Development Group and managing our website. She also supports both our research and fundraising functions. Prior to joining the STG, Emily was a research associate at New Visions for Public Schools, an exemplary provider of school support and turnaround services in New York City. Emily holds a MPA/PNP from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a BA in Public Policy from Hamilton College.
Jen Shea
Senior Program Manager
As a Program Manager, Jen develops toolkits for states and districts engaged in turnaround while supporting other major STG initiatives. Prior to joining Mass Insight, Jen was with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C. where she worked on the federal policy team. She engaged directly with members of Congress and key staff members to advance legislative initiatives, while building the capacity of state charter school organizations to have an effect on state and local policy initiatives. Prior to working at the Alliance, she was a litigation legal assistant for a corporate law firm in New York. Jen holds a BA from Brown University.
Danielle Smith
Program Manager
As Program Manager, Danielle helps to implement the Partnership Zone Initiative in Delaware. Prior to joining Mass Insight, Danielle was the Director of the Ward 7 Initiative at Georgetown University where she was responsible for managing University partnerships with DC public schools and community organizations. Danielle also sits on the Public Policy Advisory Board at Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy, and serves on the board of directors for College and Career Connections, a small nonprofit in DC She received her BA in Sociology and French from Georgetown University and has a MPP with a concentration in Education Policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.
Rebecca Weinberg
Program Manager
Becca recently earned a Master’s in Education Policy from Brown University and also holds a BA in Urban Studies from Vassar College. She stayed on at Vassar after graduating to manage a variety of community and academic support programs, and then most recently has worked at both local and state educational agencies. At the STG, Becca plays an integral role in shaping our collective bargaining function as well as supporting a variety of other research and materials development needs.