2009 LACOE/Syfr Retreat
The Westin Hotel
Pasadena, California

October 8 – 10, 2009

Robert Root-Bernstein
Co-author, Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People
Robert Root-Bernstein received his AB (Biochemistry) and PH.D. (History of Science) from Princeton University. He did post-doctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he was awarded one of the first MacArthur Fellowships. A Professor in the Physiology Department at Michigan State University since 1987, Bob studies the evolution of physiological control systems and autoimmune diseases, as well as scientific creativity and science-arts interactions. He is author of Discovering, Inventing and Solving Problems at the Frontiers of Scientific Knowledge (1989) and of numerous articles on creative process in science. In addition, he is co-author of Sparks of Genius, The 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People with his wife, Michele. Together they write, consult and lead workshops on imaginative thinking, polymathy and transdisciplinary education.

Michele Root-Bernstein
Co-author, Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People
Michele Root-Bernstein received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975 and a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University in 1981. Michele first joined Bob in writing Honey, Mud, Maggots and Other Medical Marvels (Houghton Mifflin, 1997), a look at folk medicines in modern medical culture. From this study she and Bob turned to the study of creative imagination and creative process.  Michele has taught history, writing and imaginative thinking from grade school to college, including poetry and writing workshops in elementary and middle school classrooms. As a “Kennedy Center Teaching Artist” she continues to present a haiku/dance workshop for teachers and students of all ages. Currently an Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University as well, she is at work on the role of imaginary play in creative giftedness.

Helen Sung
Pianist & Composer
Jazz pianist Helen Sung has been called “one of the brightest emerging stars in jazz today.”  Breaking stereotypes as an Asian-American female jazz pianist and composer, Helen’s experience in classical, jazz, & popular music gives her a compelling, unique voice. Her CD Helenistique was praised as “…one of the year’s most exciting listens.” (JazzTimes), and her latest CD Sungbird after Albéniz, a jazz-classical adventure, is being hailed “a real winner” (All About Jazz – Los Angeles), a “seamless recording in which one composer’s contributions complement the other’s.” (BillBoard). A graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, she has gone on to work with such masters as Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, and Wayne Shorter; and with luminaries including Steve Turre, T.S.Monk, and Regina Carter.  She is also a busy bandleader performing extensively in the US and abroad, and remains involved with music education through workshops and residencies.  Most recently, her project NuGenerations was selected as a 2009 US State Department-Rhythm Road ensemble and will tour as American musical ambassadors.

Christine Drew
President and COO, Syfr Corporation
Christine Drew, President and COO of Syfr Corporation started her career in education as a middle school teacher in Illinois and Iowa. After creating a design for an instructional management system in the early 80's, she approached schools to implement and test the design as a consultant. While consulting for Alabama school districts, Christine met Richard Erdmann, who hired her as Vice President of Development for Teacher Technology Systems, Inc. (TTS), where they would take the TTS IMS concept from design to market. Her work there included developing and managing professional development for the product line. The company was sold in 2000, and Christine began to work specifically on assessment content as Chief Academic Officer for an online assessment and reporting company in Oklahoma. Subsequently, Christine became the Editor of Testing and Assessment for New Century Education Corporation in Piscataway, New Jersey. Joining Syfr in 2008, Christine brings a grounded history in teaching, learning and assessment as well as staff training to the company. Christine is also an experienced presenter in both national and international settings.

Richard Erdmann
Founder and CEO, Syfr Corporation
Richard Erdmann founded Syfr to stimulate creative problem solving in education, primarily through conferences and professional development. Throughout his 35 year career in education, he pioneered the integration of technology, teaching and learning. In the early1970s, he began his career as a performance-based contractor – an education supplier paid on the basis of improving student performance - a management technique suggestive of today’s NCLB. In the 1980s and 1990s, his innovative software companies established many “firsts” in education technology, while simultaneously embracing the role of the teacher in the classroom. These include the first educational networked products, the use of recorded audio to improve fluency, and bridging state standards and teacher-created lesson plans through online testing products. He has always been a part of an education family with his wife currently serving as a principal, his mother and sister were teachers and his father worked as an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin.

His view of American education is based on a life-long commitment to understanding the many forces that impact our schools, including history, race, class, culture, and economics to name just a few. His Syfr events consistently address issues at the leading edge of educational debate and change, such as the globalization and technology in the labor market and its meaning for educational reform and politics or the improvement of educational leadership through an expansion of the pool of potential leaders by focusing on women in education. His Syfr events tend to re-frame educational issues to create inquiry and dialogue among participants in order to bring meaningful change to our schools.