Leadership

wheel of overlapping arms

Extensive experience dedicated to advancing our mission

WIDA’s leadership team brings extensive expertise in the fields of language education, test development, research, policy and professional learning, in addition to operational strength in marketing, finance, information technology and human resources.

Learn about each of our team members below.

tim boals

Tim Boals, Executive Director
Tim has been a language educator for more than 30 years. His expertise ranges from curriculum, classroom and language assessment to language policy and practice for multilingual learners.

heather buettner

Heather Buettner, Director of Communications and Marketing
Heather spent more than 20 years in corporate marketing and innovation before joining WIDA. Her expertise is in strategic communications, branding and audience-centered solutions.

jonathan gibson

Jonathan Gibson, Director of Consortium and State Relations
Jonathan has nearly 30 years of experience serving multilingual K-12 students as a teacher, district and state EL program coordinator. He leads WIDA's work to support and engage state education agencies across the WIDA Consortium.

grace li

Grace Li, Chief Assessment Officer
Grace has nearly 20 years of assessment leadership and operational experience from which she lends expertise in consultancy and innovative solutions regarding psychometrics, test design and development, scoring and analytics, and data management and operation.

dan machmeier

Dan Machmeier, Director of Information Technology
For more than 30 years in a variety of industries, organizational cultures, and technology roles, Dan has been adding value to organizations by delivering both internal and external facing information technology solutions.

fabiana macmillan

Fabiana MacMillan, Director of Test Development
Fabiana has more than 20 years of experience in a career that spans management of language assessment programs, academic research, test development, teacher education and language teaching.

diep nguyen

Ngoc-Diep Nguyen, Director of Educator Learning, Research, and Practice
Diep has more than 30 years of experience in a career that spans bilingual program and district administration, as well as teacher education and research.

kris stewart

Kris Stewart, Assistant Director of Consortium and State Relations
Kris provides expertise in education policy, data analysis, and direct perspectives from our state education agency clients and external partners, while leading a team of state relations specialists.

merideth trahan

Merideth Trahan, Chief of Staff
Merideth brings more than 30 years of experience in non-profit and higher education program and organizational development to WIDA. Her expertise is in talent development, strategic planning, program evaluation and internal communication.

meg van voorhis

Meg Van Voorhis, Chief Educator Learning Officer
Meg has more than 15 years of combined experience in dual language instruction, curriculum development and professional learning. She brings expertise in educational technology, instructional design and cross-functional leadership.

amber wilke fournier

Amber Wilke Fournier, Deputy Director
Amber drives WIDA’s day-to-day operations based on more than 20 years’ experience in leadership roles focused on operational excellence, strategic planning, change management and business development.

Related Pages

Teams

Our teams are made up of passionate experts looking to serve a single vision.

Staff Directory

Looking for a specific staff member? Access our staff directory.

Partners

Several organizations provide services to WIDA and its members.