Category: Staff

Audrey Martin-McCoy

Associate Director
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Audrey Martin-McCoy joined the SERVE Center as a Specialist for State Projects in January 2021 and began work as Interim Associate Director for Federal Partnerships in the spring of 2023. She works with the Federal Programs Office for the NC Department of Public Instruction and also on various initiatives in the Region 6 Comprehensive Center (RC6) focusing on creating positive outcomes for students and schools. Her background involves directing educational programs and innovative projects and she remains steadfast in serving and supporting educators. She began her professional career as a high school social studies teacher and has nearly 25 years in the field of education. In her previous role as Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment at Mars Hill University, she helped lead decennial accreditation reaffirmation efforts and corrected non-compliance issues identified by the regional accrediting agency. Audrey’s previous professional experience also includes work with Wake County Public School System, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and the Office of the North Carolina State Board of Education.

Audrey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Secondary Social Studies Education from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, a Master of Education in Adult and Community College Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Research and Policy Analysis, both earned from North Carolina State University.

Audrey recognizes the transformational impact of education particularly for those from historically underrepresented and underserved populations. She seeks to investigate factors contributing to academic success and connections to program and policy implementation. Audrey believes this study will better inform practice and help unravel and remove structural obstacles that impede achievement for all students. She has served in multiple liaison roles promoting diplomacy and collaborative decision-making to foster positive relationships with diverse stakeholders. She sincerely enjoys bringing people together to share ideas and create new pathways to solve problems.

Audrey is married to Jonathan McCoy, a fellow educator and Director of the Center of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and instructor of history at Mars Hill University.

Karla Strong, Ph.D.

Dr. Karla Strong is the Associate Director of State and Community Relations at the SERVE Center; as well as the Co-Director for the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE). Karla also co-directs the Nonprofit Evaluation Support Program (NESP). She began her career as a Social Worker with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services and thus has knowledge of working with vulnerable populations through working in that capacity. Before coming to SERVE in 2003, she held a 2-year Spencer Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, Center for Social Organization of Schools to extend her dissertation research on parent and family involvement. Through her Region 6 Comprehensive Center (RC6) work, she continues to work on family and community engagement projects.

Karla is also an experienced evaluator; her projects have included evaluations of Early College High School projects, student support services, violence prevention initiatives, and STEM initiatives. Karla has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Steve Johnson

STEM Specialist
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Steve Johnson joined the SERVE Center as a STEM Specialist with the Region 6 Comprehensive Center in November 2021. Steve comes to SERVE with 21 years in public school positions including classroom teacher (kindergarten, 2nd grade), computer lab teacher, and digital learning/STEM facilitator. Most recently, Steve served as the Assistant Director of Technology (Digital Learning/STEM) for Moore County Schools. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Penn State University.

Steve has a passion for supporting educators at all levels with building and growing high-quality STEM programs within their schools. He has seen firsthand the profound impacts that exposure to high-quality STEM practices can have on students of all backgrounds. His main focus area revolves around incorporation of the engineering design process within daily classroom instruction, particularly in the elementary grades.

Steve is the father of three school-aged girls and is married to Bridget, who also works at SERVE as a program specialist. The family enjoys playing games, watching movies, and travelling to see extended family in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.

Megan Atchison

Program Specialist
EducationForward
Phone: 336-315-7029
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Megan Atchison is a program specialist with the National Center for Homeless Education. She is a change-maker who has experience working in a variety of industries including counseling, social services, public transportation, and education. In her previous career, Megan was an addictions therapist working with patients struggling with mental health, substance abuse, and problem gambling. In 2019, she worked for the Speaker of the House for the Washington State Legislature where she became involved with advocacy work on behalf of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. Megan has her Master in Public Administration from Seattle University where she conducted in-depth research on a variety of aspects in public education including doing her thesis on the McKinney Vento Act. Afterward, she took her policy recommendations and developed relationships with legislators, educational stakeholders, and community organizations pursuing a pilot program that would provide more regional supports to district liaisons working with students experiencing homelessness.

Megan has two children and a corgi named Leaf. In her free time, she enjoys snow skiing, paddle boarding, cooking and eating good food, and learning new things.

Bridget Johnson

Specialist for State Projects
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Bridget Johnson joined the SERVE Center as a Specialist for State Projects in April 2020. She will be splitting her time between the Region 6 Comprehensive Center (RC6) and projects supporting the NC Department of Public Instruction. Bridget comes to SERVE with 19 years in public school positions including classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Most recently Bridget served as the K-12 Director for Curriculum and Instruction for Moore County Schools. She holds a bachelor’s from Purdue University, a master’s in School Administration from UNC-Pembroke, and in 2019, completed a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University.

Bridget’s strengths and passion include planning and delivering high quality professional development. Specifically, she enjoys helping teachers and administrators through school improvement planning, establishing effective PLC practices, and implementing research-based early literacy practices. Bridget has served as a district MTSS coordinator and has served on numerous regional and state level committees.

Bridget is the mother of three school-aged girls and is married to Steve, who also works at SERVE as a STEM Specialist. The family most enjoys spending time together playing games, watching movies, and traveling to see extended family in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Bryan Hutchins, Ph.D.

Dr. Bryan Hutchins is a Research Specialist at SERVE Center where he has served as a PI or Project Director on a number of evaluation and research studies, including those related to high school reform and the transition to adulthood. Dr. Hutchins was co-PI for an evaluation of the NC DPI Read to Achieve Program, as well as project manager for the NC DPI Race to the Top Omnibus Survey. Dr. Hutchins currently provides analysis and data management support for an Investing in Innovation (i3) project designed to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of programs applying early college strategies in traditional high schools. He also serves as Project Director for an evaluation of an NSF grant program designed to improve outcomes for computer science majors. Dr. Hutchins serves as a statistical consultant on UNCG’s Project ENACTeD (Engaging and Advancing Community-Centered Teacher Development), which provides supports to teachers working with English learners and their families. Before coming to SERVE, Dr. Hutchins served as Project Director on the Rural High School Aspirations Study at the National Research Center on Rural Education Support.

Across these studies, Dr. Hutchins provides design and analysis support as well as day-to-day project and data management for complex state and national research and evaluation studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation from UNC-Chapel Hill. His research interests include rural education, high school reform, and career development programs and services. His research has appeared in a number of recent publications including: American Journal of Education, Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, and The Career Development Quarterly. Dr. Hutchins has also taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in child and adolescent development, psychology of learning in the schools, and methods in educational research.

Kenya Haynes

Kenya Haynes is a program specialist focused on public policy, equity, community planning, and cross-systems partnerships. Ms. Haynes joined SERVE after sixteen years at the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) where she focused on vulnerable student populations. During her tenure at WDE she served as State Coordinator of homeless education, neglected or delinquent student programs, gender equity, homeschooling, and gifted education as well as State Liaison to the Office for Civil Rights, and part of the school accreditation and state system of support teams. She served as interim president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and as liaison to the National Expert Panel for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent or At-Risk.

Kenya has a demonstrated commitment to growing individual and organizational capacity. During her six years as state coordinator for the education of homeless children and youth, Ms. Haynes reduced the rate of under-identification of students experiencing homelessness from 66% to 26%. As state coordinator of the Title I, Part D program, she was selected by the American Institutes for Research to mentor new state coordinators, and developed and implemented a new monitoring and technical assistance protocol for LEAs and youth serving agencies which resulted in a 59% decrease in program findings and corrective actions. Ms. Haynes has experience conducting needs assessments and accreditation evaluations of local education agencies in the United States and for the Department of Defense Education Activity schools in Europe.

Growing up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, Kenya knows how to build a barbed-wire fence but is glad she doesn’t have to anymore. A former kindergarten teacher, five-year-olds are her favorite.

George Hancock

George Hancock is the Co-Director of the Region 6 Comprehensive Center housed at SERVE in Greensboro, NC. His work in education includes the areas of technical assistance, policy development, and inter-organizational collaboration. After beginning his career as a teacher and principal, he served as a federal programs administrator and State Coordinator for School Improvement Grants (SIG) at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. George joined the team at SERVE in 2015. He and his family enjoy traveling, attending athletic and music events, and look forward to ski season each year – although gravity is not always his friend!

Beth Hartness

Administrative Support Specialist
Operations
Spartan Strategies, Inc.
Phone: 336-315-7452
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Beth currently works with Spartan Strategies, Inc. where she provides accounting and clerical support to the Director. Beth, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UNC Charlotte, began her career at the SERVE Center in 1998 while still in graduate school at UNC Greensboro, working part-time in the Operations Department. After obtaining her Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies in 1999, Beth began full-time work in January 2000 in SERVE’s Technology and Learning Division. She coauthored a SERVE publication about virtual libraries in the Southeast. In 2001, Beth began working for the National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE, eventually becoming a Program Specialist responsible for technical assistance and compiling and maintaining longitudinal data pertaining to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Beth retired from NCHE in September 2015 and began her part-time work immediately thereafter. In her off time, Beth can be found pursuing her love for old-time stringband music by playing guitar at music camps, fiddlers conventions and performing concerts. Beth also enjoys reading, travel, historic architecture and bargain hunting!

Erin Goodman

Erin Goodman joined the SERVE Center as administrative support in 2018. She works with RC5 (previously RC6), NCHEP, EducationForward, and Operations, and assists as she can with anything else that comes up. Before starting at SERVE she did temp work with UNCG’s Donor Relations, worked as an assistant manager at a local restaurant, learned to quilt as part of her job at a fabric shop, and taught English to high school kids in Japan for three amazing years. She still occasionally expects the steering wheel to be on the right side of the car and enjoys tennis, biking, and curling up on the couch with a good book.