Our Team

 
Warren Simons

Warren Simmons, PHD

Dr. Warren Simmons has had a distinguished 35-year career as a scholar, executive and practitioner focused on urban school reform and improving education for under-served populations. He currently serves as Chair-Elect for the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Senior Education Policy Advisor for the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Vice Chair for Family Health International, and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Partnership for the Future of Learning. In 2018, Dr. Simmons retired from Brown University having served 20 years as the Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR). Before joining AISR in 1998, Dr. Simmons was the founding director (1995-98) of the Philadelphia Education Fund, a reform support organization that collaborated with the community and the School District of Philadelphia to fund, develop, and implement new academic standards, content-based professional development, standards-based curriculum resources, and comprehensive school reform. Previously, he was Director of Baltimore Initiatives at the Annie E. Casey Foundation where he designed and funded initiatives on community development and urban school reform. From 1992-95, he was director of equity initiatives for the New Standards Project, a coalition of seventeen states and six school districts piloting the development of shared standards aligned with performance-based assessments. From 1990-92, he worked a special assistant to the superintendent of schools in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he planned and implemented district-wide initiatives on improving the achievement of traditionally underserved students and supported the district’s seminal work on Black male achievement.

Dr. Simmons received a B.A. in psychology from Macalester College and a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell University. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Citizens Award from the National Governors Association and has served on the advisory groups and boards of several prominent national education organizations, including the National Center on Education and the Economy, the Public Education Network, the Merck Institute, the National Equity Project, and the Campaign for Educational Equity. In addition, he has served as a member of the California Collaborative, the board of the College Crusade of Rhode Island, and on the boards of directors for the Southern Education Foundation and Roger Williams University. He also chaired the Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force, the New York City Working Group on School Transformation and on the National Research Council’s Committee on Strengthening Science.

 

Arthur T. Champlin, PE

An accomplished Bridge Design Manager with more than 28 years’ experience in the design and construction of highway, transit, and railroad bridges. Background includes successful project pursuit, management and execution for varied clientele in Traditional and Alternative Delivery settings. Applies technical knowledge working in concert with managerial and business development acumen to lead diverse teams across various locations and disciplines. Lead Structural Engineer for Design-Build projects with construction values in excess of $800M. Skilled in leading local, national, and international design associates and sub-consultants.

Business Development

  • Assists in planning, pursuing, and proposing on major infrastructure projects.

  • Writes and reviews proposal narratives for final design pursuits.

  • Develops pursuit strategies that fully integrate internal and external associates in the process.

Project Management

  • Establishes scopes of work and manages efforts/budgets for structural fees exceeding $10M.

  • Provides requisite leadership for large design teams (50+) in comprehensive civil projects.

  • Monitors and controls staff compliance with QA/QC procedures and client expectations.

Resource Management

  • Coordinates staffing requirements amongst supporting offices and sub-consultants

  • Provides the requisite planning, decision-making and guidance to staff in the completion of tasks.

  • Creates performance reviews - Establishes career development plans - Recommends salary adjustments.