Our Team

James Burnett is the Founder and an Executive Chairperson of ORIGO Education. He started the company because he is passionate about education and is continually striving to improve the way mathematics is taught. Over the past two decades, he has authored and co-authored more than 300 mathematics resources for teachers and students aged 5 to 12 and regularly speaks to audiences across Australia and North America.

James aims to lift the profile of mathematics through dynamic professional learning and the development of quality print and innovative digital resources for the classroom. These achievements were recently recognized by winning the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in his home country of Australia.

Calvin Irons has been involved in mathematics education for over 50 years. He started his career as a specialist teacher of mathematics in Iowa after completing his BA, and MA at the University of Northern Iowa in 1967. Dr. Irons received his PhD from Indiana University in 1975 (the dissertation topic was the teaching of division). In 1975, he accepted a position at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia where he has been involved in the teaching and the development of mathematics curricula for primary schools.

He has received outstanding achievement awards from the university for his work and in year 2014 was the student’s nominee for University Outstanding Teacher of the Year from a university faculty of over 3000 professors. He is the author/co-author of over 600 books or articles including the award-winning Stepping Stones F-6 mathematics curriculum, published by ORIGO Education – a company he co-founded in 1997.

Adam Gay is a seasoned executive with deep education experience and a 20-year track record of success driving business growth in a variety of industries.  Adam previously served in progressive leadership roles at Learning A-Z, a leading global supplemental literacy provider, and the K-12 education division of McGraw Hill.

Adam has also held leadership roles at Donatos Pizzeria LLC and as a management consultant and practice manager for Orangeboy, Inc. where he worked with public library systems to develop data-driven strategies to better serve constituents in the community in their pursuit of lifelong learning.

Adam is passionate about supporting educators through the delivery of programs and services that meet their evolving needs in positively impacting the lives of their students.

Adam is a twice-over graduate of The Ohio State University, having completed both his undergraduate and his Masters of Business Administration studies at the university.

Prior to joining ORIGO Education Michael spent several years working in Private Equity and Management Consulting. His work across multiple industries and global markets provided Michael with the opportunity to work with some amazing people and amazing businesses. Outside of work, Michael is at home or at the beach with his two young children trying to pass on his love of surfing!

I love ORIGO because we teach students how to think, I love math(s) because, well, there is no better subject matter for students to learn to apply their new-found ability to think!

Sara Delano Moore focuses on helping teachers and students understand mathematics as a coherent and connected discipline.  An experienced teacher and nationally recognized speaker, her work emphasizes the power of deep understanding and multiple representations for learning.  Sara’s interests include building conceptual understanding of mathematics to support procedural fluency and applications, incorporating engaging literature into mathematics & science instruction, and connecting mathematics to engineering design in meaningful ways. She is a fourth-generation educator with experience teaching mathematics and science to K-8 students as well as experience teaching pre-service and in-service teachers at the university level.  Sara is an author of the Visible Learning for Mathematics series, the Mathematize It series, and the Mastering Math Manipulatives series of books for Corwin Mathematics. She currently serves as Vice President of Research and Content at ORIGO Education and Chair of ORIGO’s Mathematics Advisory Board.  Sara lives in Kent, Ohio.

I love math because it helps me make sense of the world and helps with my knitting and quilting projects.

With over a decade of experience in the education industry, Tony is known for his exceptional leadership in driving companies towards profitable growth. Tony's hands-on approach keeps teams focused and productive, while his strategic foresight delivers record-breaking revenue growth in competitive markets. Tony’s background includes expertise in new business development, strategic partnerships, operations streamlining, budgeting and forecasting, training and development, and international expansion.

As Vice President of Sales at ORIGO Education, Tony helps shape the company's vision of making learning mathematics meaningful, enjoyable, and accessible to all students and their teachers.

Pete Dallaire is dedicated to bringing educational access to all learners, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed. Beyond his professional commitment, Pete is a devoted husband and proud dad of triplet daughters. When he's not advocating for education, you'll find him on the golf course, indulging in his love for the game.

A true math geek and comic book enthusiast, Pete enjoys diving into the world of numbers and superheroes. He's also a self-made chef, constantly experimenting in the kitchen to create delicious meals for his family. In his downtime, Pete enjoys playing poker and cheering on Boston sports teams.

With a rich personal life and a passion for making a difference, Pete Dallaire is a dynamic individual dedicated to both his family and his mission to enhance educational opportunities for all.

Jayme grew up in Bryan/College Station, and went to college at Texas A&M University. After college, she lived in Dallas and Los Angeles, and now resides back in Dallas. Jayme is passionate about cooking and traveling to new places. One of her favorite things to do is take home a spice from wherever she travels to incorporate into her cooking.

I love math because it’s black and white, there is no grey area!

Theresa Norris lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, two boys, and yellow lab. They are a family of die-hard Kansas City Chiefs and Royals fans. Before joining ORIGO in 2015, Theresa was a middle school math teacher in Kansas for 16 years.

I love ORIGO because our company mission is to make math meaningful, enjoyable, and accessible to all. Each of the aspects of our company mission are so important…I love that we are trying to change the view of math learning for children and adults. Math is all around us and it is an important subject to embrace.

Hi! I am Stefanie Mills, ORIGO Resource Advisor for KY, TN, OH, IN, and VA. I was born and raised in the great state of Kentucky and attended Western Kentucky University where I earned my Bachelor and Masters Degrees. Some of my best memories of WKU were spent on the court/field as a cheerleader for the Men’s Basketball and Football team. Go Hilltoppers!

I spent 10 years in the classroom as a first, second and fifth grade teacher and had the opportunity to serve as a math remediation specialist as well. I absolutely loved my time in the classroom and was introduced to ORIGO teaching strategies through my Math Alliance. I quickly knew I wanted to become a member of the ORIGO family and have been here since 2015! I hold ORIGO very close to my heart because I have seen the impact our resources make on students’ lives. I always loved creating lightbulb moments for my students and that’s exactly what ORIGO does for our kids across the nation!

Sandy Szako is a retired Texas teacher. Born and raised in Houston, Texas she now lives in Bellville, Texas. Sandy attended Sam Houston State University for both degrees. In her free time, she spends time watching her son play baseball; he is currently playing for Fort Scott Kansas.

I love math because you need it in your everyday life; it is all around you.

Aarthi hails from the DMV, and currently lives in Arlington, VA. As a University of Maryland alumni, she has had years of experience in both sales and marketing. Aside from her daytime marketing job, you can find Aarthi teaching Bollywood dance classes, traveling the world, cooking up delicious meals, and spending quality time with her 3-year-old daughter.

I love math because math is EVERYWHERE! Solving math problems is a lifelong skill that is so integral to our development. The best part about ORIGO is that we make math easy and exciting to learn!

Andrea Kotowski is a Learning Services Educator based in Placitas, New Mexico.  She is an experienced elementary teacher, elementary mathematics coach, and mathematics curriculum specialist with over 20 years in the classroom.  She is a National Board Certified Professional Teacher and renewed in 2017.

Andrea is enthusiastic about the teaching and learning of elementary mathematics.  She is especially interested in creating opportunities for children to access mathematics at an early age.

Andrea other interests include working with indoor and outdoor plants, trying out new recipes and traveling with her husband.  Most of all, Andrea loves when her son graces her with a visit.

Rob Nickerson is a native of Colorado and currently lives in Denver.  His passions include playing ice hockey, bowling, and climbing the many 14,000 foot peaks in the state.  While these activities provide energy and an active foundation, his passion is learning and teaching.  This love is illustrated through the 32 years of being a part of elementary education in a large school district and at ORIGO.

I love ORIGO Education because we make mathematics make sense!