Our dedicated staff has extensive experience in areas of: education, professional development, product development, organizational change and management consulting. In addition, we are fortunate to have a network of current school administrators and teachers who help support our work with schools and districts.
Benjamin B. Tregoe, Ph.D.
Founder 1927-2005Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Kepner-Tregoe, Inc.
Benjamin B. Tregoe, Ph.D., co-founder of Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. served as chairman emeritus and chairman of the Tregoe Education Forum until his death in 2005.
Kepner-Tregoe was founded in 1958 on the strength of Dr. Tregoe's and Dr. Charles H. Kepner's pioneering research in rational problem-solving and decision-making. During its history, Kepner-Tregoe has transferred its problem-solving and decision-making approaches to more than 10 million of managers in 44 countries and in 14 languages.
Dr. Tregoe was a leading lecturer and has published extensively throughout the world. His work includes The Rational Manager (1965), Top Management Strategy: What It Is and How To Make It Work (1980), Vision in Action: Putting a Winning Strategy to Work (1989), The New Rational Manager (1981, 1997), The Culture of Success: Building a Sustained Competitive Advantage by Living Your Corporate Beliefs (1997) and Analytic Processes for School Leaders (2001).
Dr. Tregoe held a bachelor of arts from Whittier College and a doctor of philosophy from Harvard University. In 1993, he established the non-profit Tregoe Education Forum to support public education reform. Dr. Tregoe is memorialized in the Human Resource Development Hall of Fame.
Kathryn A. Blackburn, Ed.D.
Executive Director email:Kathy Blackburn is Executive Director of the Tregoe Education Forum. In addition to responsibility for the overall operation of the organization, Kathy has responsibility for business development, delivery and account management. She works closely with many Forum clients in ensuring that project goals and needs are met.
Prior to joining the Forum, Kathy worked for 25 years with Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida, a large urban district of more than 170,000 students. As Senior Director for Analytical Process Services, her primary role was to facilitate, with and through people, solutions to complex district-wide issues and to guide the planning and implementation of analytic process skills throughout the school community.
Her education background also involves serving for six years as middle school principal and several years as middle school teacher in various curriculum areas. She served on the Florida Commission on School Reform and Accountability for four years, representing principals across the state. Kathy received her B.S. degree from the University of Florida, her M.Ed. degree from Rollins College and her Ed.D. degree from the University of Central Florida.
James S. Coles, Ph.D.
Project Director email:Jim Coles works with superintendents, their administrative teams, and other educators to help them implement the Forum's analytic processes in their districts and schools. Some of his specific responsibilities include: teaching process skills, project planning, and assisting school districts with project implementation.
Prior to joining the Forum, Jim was superintendent of the Cooperative Education Service Agency 7, an intermediate unit serving 37 school districts in Northeast Wisconsin. He has also served as a superintendent in three Wisconsin districts, was a high school and middle school principal, and a mathematics teacher.
Jim received his B.S. in mathematics from the University of Kansas, M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Carol Gregorovic
Office Manager email:Carol is the Office Manager for the Forum. From our central office in Princeton, NJ, she works with Forum clients, staff, and contractors to ensure needs are met and operations run smoothly. Her areas of expertise include: computer software usage, project management/coordination and desktop publishing.
Prior to joining the Tregoe Education Forum in 2001, Carol was a senior coordinator with Kepner-Tregoe, Inc., an international management consulting firm. During her 15+ years with Kepner-Tregoe, she held a variety of positions in the ever-changing desktop publishing/production arena including: word processing, graphic design, department production scheduler, project manager, proofreader/editor, and trainer/coach/ mentor.
Cynthia T. Richetti
Vice President email:Cynthia Richetti is responsible for Forum product development and improvement efforts. She has been with the Forum since its founding and has had a variety of other responsibilities including: project and account management, teaching and delivery, and administration.
Prior to joining the Tregoe Education Forum in 1994, Ms. Richetti was a consultant with Kepner-Tregoe, Inc., an international management consulting firm. During her nine years with Kepner-Tregoe, she held positions in product and consultant development and support, as well as her client consulting assignments. Her areas of expertise included: development of instructional materials, adult learning, results measurement, culture change and team building.
Ms. Richetti holds a B.A. degree from Colgate University and a M.S. degree in organizational dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania. She is co-author with Ben Tregoe of the book Analytic Processes for School Leaders (ASCD, 2001), with James Sheerin of the article “Helping Students Ask the Right Questions,” (Educational Leadership, November 1999) as well as the article “Greening the Next Generation of Principals” co-authored with Robert A. Klempen (Education Week, December, 2001).
Patricia Schwarber
Director of Development email:Patricia Schwarber is Director of Development for the Tregoe Education Forum. Pat's focus with the Forum is to develop and build relationships and strategic alliances as well as to secure funding from corporate-giving, foundations and grants.
Prior to joining the Forum, Pat was a partner with Kepner-Tregoe Inc., the organization that pioneered the processes that the Forum teaches in the educational environment. For over 30 years, Pat's career focused on leading teams in the Automotive, General Enterprise and Consumer Products Practices. She has collaborated on projects with organizations such as: The J. M. Smucker Company, Masterfoods USA/M&M Mars, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, State Farm Insurance and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, designing and facilitating various engagements from strategy formulation to productivity improvement. In addition, Pat has worked with non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity, Wooster Battered Women's Shelter and the Hipple Cancer Research Center. Pat's passion for getting these analytic tools to the education environment led her to facilitate projects with the Minerva and North Canton, Ohio school districts as well as a private school, Our Lady of the Elms.
Pat serves on the Tregoe Education Forum Board, the Heartland Education Board and is past board member of The Ohio Ballet and Interval Brotherhood Home.