Carnegie Learning, Inc. Management Team
Dennis Ciccone
Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Carnegie Learning, Ciccone was the Founder and Managing Partner of Lycos Ventures. In that capacity Ciccone served on the Board of Directors of Carnegie Learning, as well as several other portfolio companies. Ciccone also served as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions of Lycos, Inc. Prior to working for Lycos, Ciccone was President, C.O.O. and Director of WiseWire, an internet software company purchased by Lycos in 1998. Earlier in his career, Ciccone, worked for 12 years with Simon & Schuster as Director of Sales and Marketing.
David Hart
Executive Vice President
David Hart brings more than 20 years of experience in business development, financial planning, and operations to the company. Prior to joining Carnegie Learning, Hart was a General Partner at Lycos Ventures. Earlier in his career, Hart worked as Director of Business Development for Lycos, Inc., and directed sales and marketing at WiseWire Corporation. He previously was a sales manager at IBM and worked as Treasurer of Transarc Corporation. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, and served five years active duty in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot.
Steve Ritter
Co-Founder & Chief Scientist
Steve Ritter, Chief Scientist at Carnegie Learning, has been developing and evaluating educational systems for over 10 years. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in 1992 and helped to found Carnegie Learning in 1998. As a postdoctoral associate and research scientist at Carnegie Mellon, Dr. Ritter was instrumental in the development and evaluation of the Cognitive Tutors for mathematics. He is the author of numerous papers on the design, architecture and evaluation of Intelligent Tutoring Systems and served as chairman of the IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee working group on tool/agent communication.
Molly Bissell
Sr. Vice President, Operations
Molly Bissell has 23 years experience leading technical teams providing services and support to customers in a global, 24/7 environment. Prior to joining Carnegie Learning, she led Data Networks Services, part of the Ericsson Global Services business. Previously, for Marconi, she managed the North & South American global support teams located in Sao Paulo, Montreal, Cleveland, Dallas and Pittsburgh. At FORE Systems, Bissell led the Proposal and Strategic Account Management teams. At Carnegie Learning, Bissell leads Operations — which includes Customer Support, Order Management, Finance, IT & Facilities. She holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and in Biology from the Pennsylvania State University.
Sandy Bartle
Senior Academic Officer
Sandy joined Carnegie Learning in August, 2000 after spending 14 years as a high school mathematics teacher, department chair, and coach. Sandy began her career at Carnegie Learning as a Manager of School Partnerships, where she used her background in mathematics education and curriculum to inform and educate teachers on the benefits of using the Carnegie Learning materials in their classroom. She went on to become a Regional Account Manager for the Mid-Atlantic region, Eastern Regional Director of Sales and VP of Educational Services. As Senior Academic Officer, she ensures that the best of academic research on teaching and learning theory is directly applied to the needs of teachers.
Stephen Grieco
Vice President, Software Development
Stephen Grieco comes to Carnegie Learning after 15 years at Intel Corporation where he gained experience in microprocessor engineering, sales & marketing operations, and leading strategy and implementation of customer facing IT systems. At Carnegie Learning, Grieco leads development strategy and execution of new math product lines for the Higher Education market as well as development of next generation versions and new solutions of the company's core math software programs for middle schools and high schools. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in Computer Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech).
Mary Murrin
Vice President, Corporate Communications & Grants Programs
Mary Murrin has 20 years experience creating and implementing media relations, public policy, and marketing strategies for early-stage software companies and global corporations. At Carnegie Learning, Murrin leads media and analyst outreach and federal, state, and private funding initiatives to implement Carnegie Learning programs nationally. Murrin was formerly a product marketing manager with Nokia and developed communications strategy for four technology start-ups evolved from Carnegie Mellon University. Murrin began her career with Westinghouse Electric. She is a graduate of Brown University.
Erin Simmons
Vice President, K-12 Sales, Marketing and Educational Services
Erin began her career at Scholastic Inc. as the Co-Director of the READ 180 National Summer Institute and Manager of the READ 180 Community, a dynamic network of 35,000 educators dedicated to celebrating student achievement and ongoing teacher learning.
Most recently, Erin was Director of Professional Development with Carnegie Learning, launching the first National Math Institute and online learning opportunities for Carnegie Learning teachers. Erin led the development of the School Improvement Initiative with the Education Services division of Carnegie Learning to support schools in revolutionizing mathematics teaching and learning for sustainable reform.
Erin graduated from The College of William and Mary where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and in June, 2009, completed a Master of Education at Harvard University.
Sean Sykes
Vice President, Innovations and Urban Partnerships
Sean joined Carnegie Learning in August 2010 as Vice President of Sales with over 12 years of experience in sales and sales management. Previously, he was Vice President of Sales for School Specialty Intervention, providing K-12 blended-media solutions that build core skills and close the achievement gap in reading and math. Sean was Vice President of Sales and a key member of the executive team at AutoSkill International when it was acquired by School Specialty.
At Carnegie, Sean draws on an outstanding track record for growing revenue and building high performing, multi-tiered distribution networks. He has also held senior sales positions with WatchFire (IBM) and Xerox. Sean is a graduate of the University of Ottawa.
Lori Drake
Director, Human Resources
Lori Drake has over 15 years experience in the Human Resources field, primarily in the high tech industry managing all aspects of human resources functions. She recently held a senior Human Resources position supporting multiple teams of employees in a globally diverse, multi-cultural environment for Ericsson. As part of the management team, Drake was responsible for developing strategies to ensure alignment with corporate initiatives, creating professional development programs, optimizing compensation plans according to performance goals, and ensuring the workplace culture supported a respectful, diverse, high-energy, goal-oriented environment. At Carnegie Learning, Drake will lead the Human Resources Department and drive objectives ensuring Carnegie Learning is the employer of choice in the education/technology market. She is a graduate of Robert Morris University with a degree in Human Resources.