Director and Principal Investigator of The Learning Design Group, Jacqueline Barber also serves as Associate Director of Lawrence Hall of Science. In that role, she leads the Lawrence Hall of Science Center for Curriculum Development and Implementation, home to more than a dozen active science curriculum programs. She has been developing increasingly educative curriculum materials for the past 28 years. She is the PI, along with P. David Pearson, of the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® program. Ms. Barber will lead the development of the intervention, the recruitment, and coordination of the project.

Lauren Brodsky is the Assessment Lead for The Learning Design Group. She worked first with The Learning Design Group as a science developer on the GEMS® Curriculum Sequences before going to England to do research focused on the use of mathematics in science education, and on the implementation of new high school qualifications for the government of the United Kingdom. She returned, excited to focus on a formative assessment system to support student learning. She has a BS in Planetary Geophysics from Brown University and an MS in Educational Research Methodology from Oxford University.

Jonathan Curley is the Middle School Science Lead for The Learning Design Group. He has been developing curriculum at the Lawrence Hall of Science since 2006. Previously, he taught elementary school for four years in bilingual classrooms in Richmond, CA. Jonathan majored in Environmental Studies and Sociology at Oberlin College. After graduating, he received a Thomas J. Watson fellowship to spend a year in rural Latin America studying children's games and local environmental issues and creating related environmental education games. His areas of expertise include curriculum design for English Language Learners, Ecology, and Ocean Sciences.

Eric Greenwald is the Director of Assessment & Analytics for The Learning Design Group. He also serves as Co-Principal Investigator, in collaboration with the National Writing Project and SRI, on a Department of Education grant to support teacher practice in evidence-based science writing. Before coming to the Lawrence Hall of Science in 2014, he was a Research Analyst at SRI where he helped lead a number of studies in STEM teaching and learning, assessment, and digital learning. He also taught math and science in public high schools for 6 years. He holds a PhD in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University, a Masters in Science Education and teaching certificate from Teachers College Columbia University, and a BA in Chemistry from Indiana University.

Suzy Loper is the Curriculum Director for The Learning Design Group. She also serves as the Principal Investigator for a National Science Foundation grant focused on supporting teachers in teaching about scientific argumentation. She is the author of a number of teacher's guides and student books for the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading® elementary program. Before coming to the Lawrence Hall of Science in 2006, she was a middle and high school science teacher in public schools. She holds a BS in Physics from Yale University and a PhD in Science Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Carissa Romano joined The Learning Design Group as a Curriculum Specialist in 2011. She develops middle school science curriculum with a particular focus on the development and integration of digital tools such as simulations and modeling tools. She is a graduate of Oberlin College where she studied Biology and Chemistry, and holds a MA in Education from UC Berkeley. Carissa spent eight years as a high school science teacher in Hayward and Oakland.