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.

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 wife and 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!

Sarah was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia.  After graduating high school, she left Australia and headed overseas and has lived in England, Israel, and twice in China! Sarah started her accounting career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and then found her way into automotive where she worked as the CFO for one of the largest privately owned automotive companies in Australia. In 2021 Sarah decided to make a change in industries and was lucky to have joined the ORIGO team.  Sarah believes to have the opportunity to work for a company who positively impacts children’s futures is exciting and what motivates her to help the business every day.

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 at 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.

Joan Pedley is originally from Louisville, KY, but became a full fledged New Yorker in 2005. She has worked in Education for over 10 years and loves that the work she does impacts people’s lives. When not working, Joan can be found traveling and volunteering. I love ORIGO because our mission really speaks to me. Math is so important to students’ success, and I want all children to believe they are mathematicians.

Chris grew up in Chicago and went to college in Iowa. After college, he lived in London, Denver, San Francisco, and now resides in Austin, TX. Chris is passionate about travel and feels that you learn more through experiences and seeing things than anything else.  With two young children at home, when not working to get ORIGO in every district in the US,  he is with his kids getting worn out.  I LOVE math because numbers tell a story!  I was taught early on that if you can’t measure something in numbers, you can’t improve it!  And math is what tells the story to help improve things! 

Lakan lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two young daughters. When not focused on ORIGO’s math products she is spending quality time with family, walking her dogs, and traveling. I love math because the real-life applications of it are endless!

 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.  

Dr. Melinda Schwartz has been an educator for over 35 years. She has a Masters in Early Childhood Education and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. She has served as a teacher in multiple grades, Pre-K-5; an instructional specialist for grades K-6; an elementary curriculum coordinator; and an elementary principal. I love working for ORIGO Education as a Learning Services Educator as it allows me to pursue my passion for helping educators inspire students to think both logically and creatively, unleashing limitless options for their futures. 

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 1 year old daughter.    I love math because math is EVERYWHERE! We use it daily in everything we do. 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!