The staff is committed to supporting, developing and sustaining the work and learning of Communities for Learning programs and sites.

Giselle O. Martin-Kniep is the President and Founder of Communities for Learning: Leading Lasting Change® and of Learner-Centered Initiatives, Ltd. She is the co-developer of the ARCS Framework.

Giselle has a strong background in organizational change and has graduate degrees in communication and development, social sciences in education, and educational evaluation from Stanford University. She has worked with thousands of schools nationally and internationally in the areas of standards, curriculum and assessment, adult learning, organizational development, school improvement, and action research.

Giselle has supported the development and writing of close to fifty curriculum units, action research studies, articles, and courses of study. She has also written extensively. Her books include Becoming a Better Teacher: Eight Innovations that Work, Why am I Doing This?; Capturing the Wisdom of Practice; Developing Learning Communities Through Teacher Expertise; Supporting Mathematical Learning; and Communities that Learn, Lead and Last. Her new book with Joanne Picone-Zocchia is entitled Changing the Way You Teach, Improving the Way Students Learn.

Joanne Picone-Zocchia is the Vice-president of Communities for Learning: Leading lasting change® and Learner-Centered Initiatives, Ltd.  Her work includes school, district, regional and statewide programs in leadership development, strategic planning, curriculum and assessment design, visioning, restructuring and organizational development. A co-developer of the ARCS Framework, Joanne is a primary trainer and certifier of ARCS facilitators.

Joanne is actively engaged in exploring connections between systems thinking skills and processes and issues of systemic educational reform, and is committed to a focus on sustainable improvement. An educator herself for twenty-two years, her background includes elementary, middle, secondary and special education.

Joanne is a published curriculum designer, has co-authored the article, “Using Curriculum and Gap Analysis Maps to Assess What Teachers Do,” and is the primary author of the book Supporting Mathematical Learning: Effective Instruction, Assessment and Student Activities, K-5, published by Jossey-Bass. Her latest book, Changing the Way You Teach, Improving the Way Students Learn , co-authored with Giselle Martin-Kniep, was published by ASCD in May 2009.

Diane Cunningham provides facilitation support for the Communities for Learning Fellowship Program. In this role, she co-faciliates the summer institute, conferences with and provides feedback to Fellows' on their work and learning, supports publication and dissemination efforts by helping Fellows to publish and present their work, mentors Fellows on their use of the ARCS framework and coaches Fellows as they design and implement action research around their practice.

Ms Cunningham is also is the Director of Consultant Support for Learner-Centered Initiatives, Ltd. and has recently published an ASCD Action Tool titled Improving Teaching with Collaborative Action Research. She has also published work related to portfolios and action research in Why Am I Doing This?: Purposeful Teaching Through Portfolio Assessment and Becoming a Better Teacher: Eight Innovations that Work. Finally, Diane has a background in elementary education and reading education and a Masters Degree in Writing from Northeastern University. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University.