CORE Education and Consulting Solutions

Shekhar Iyer
CEO, CORE ECS/US

Shekhar Iyer is the CEO and lead strategist for CORE ECS/US, a family of creative development and consulting companies – providing products, services, and solutions for education and business initiatives across the Americas.

In this capacity, it is his charter to envision, develop, and direct the over-arching objectives and growth strategies of the full CORE ECS/US group. This includes executive oversight for development of the product mix, identification and execution of acquisitions and expansions, and negotiation of beneficial partnerships.

Mr. Iyer's approach to leadership is based on three central values: to respect every individual as the cornerstone of good business, to expect to deliver the very best and thus create a fair account, and to delight in one's efforts and so in turn, delight one's customers.  Under Mr. Iyer's direction, these values are embraced by all CORE operating units as essential to quality productivity and success.

Mr. Iyer provides a background of 25 years of experience in executive leadership. This includes serving as President and founder of Enterprise Computing Services, Inc., a firm dedicated to crafting both technology solutions for government-level education implementations, and for custom development and consulting for select business sectors.  And, he has served as President of Metro Communications Center, providing custom development and consulting for the banking, insurance, and healthcare industries.

Mr. Iyer holds advanced degrees in business administration and biochemistry from the University of Bombay.

Dr. James Ashby
President and Chief of Psychometrics, CORE K12

James Ashby is President and Chief of Psychometrics for CORE K12. He is the principal researcher that developed ipGrowth, CORE K12’s ground-breaking adaptive formative assessment growth measurement system.

Dr. Ashby has dedicated his research and practice to making assessment data relevant to the decision-making responsibilities of classroom teachers and school leaders.  Prior to joining CORE K12, Dr. Ashby served in public education for 20 years as a classroom teacher and in administrative positions such as Chief Accountability Officer for Knox County Schools, Tennessee and Director of Assessment and Accountability for Plano Independent School District, Texas. 

Working closely with public school administrators and policymakers, he is known for identifying systemic assessment practices and policies that act as barriers to student achievement. Whether serving in the role of classroom teacher, district administrator, or legislative advisor, Dr. Ashby has enjoyed a reputation for innovating uses of assessment to promote equitable educational opportunities among the diverse populations of students. Dr. Ashby’s educational philosophy focuses on improving the cognitive development of every child, regardless of origin or ability.

Dr. Ashby’s most recent articles and presentations discuss improved test designs for measuring cognitive growth, teacher-based item construction, using assessment to evaluate program effectiveness, and the development of accountability growth models for measuring teacher effectiveness.

Dr. Ashby holds advanced degrees in Psychology, Educational Administration, and Mathematics.

Brian Keenan
President, CORE Consulting and Staffing

Brian Keenan came to CORE ECS as a principal in The Employment Store, a contract staffing and recruiting firm that is focused on the education vertical – now CORE Consulting and Staffing.  Under his leadership, The Employment Store developed a suite of offerings that were tailored to meet the demands of its educational clients.  Many of the services that were developed by The Employment Store were seen as unique to the industry.
 
Prior to his work at CORE ECS/The Employment Store, Mr. Keenan founded Partners4Growth, Inc., which provided HR services and marketing support to start up technology companies in Boston.  Mr. Keenan also served as the National Sales Manager for Radionics (a division of Tyco Healthcare), a high tech medical device company.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Keenan has developed many brands from product names to product lines and service brands to entire service divisions.  He is skilled in both understanding current market conditions and analyzing future niche opportunities. Now as President of CORE Consulting & Staffing, Mr. Keenan will lead the way in solving the unique human capital needs of CORE ECS clients.

Mr. Keenan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in biology from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.

Paul Sprayberry
President, CORE Advanced Technologies Group

Paul Sprayberry is President of the Advanced Technologies Group and brings to CORE ECS 13+ years experience in lean manufacturing, project management, business consulting, senior level sales, business development and executive management within both small and large companies.

In recent years, Mr. Sprayberry has served as Director of Sales, and Vice President for a Integration & Consulting Company that provided Turn-Key solutions for Hundreds of organizations across the country. In executive capacities with the company, Paul oversaw operations, accounting, customer service, and marketing. Through a successful 7-year tenure with TSI, the company significantly improved its margins, increased its cash flow and return on investments, reduced expenses and lowered days sales outstanding (DSO) to best in class levels.

Pankaj Sampat
VP of Corporate Compliance and Audit, CORE ECS/US

Mr. Pankaj Sampat joined CORE ECS in July 2007. Prior to joining CORE ECS, Mr. Sampat has 25+ years of experience in accounting and finance for the non-profit sector, Government sector and corporate sectors.

Mr. Sampat is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures which are accepted by US GAAP Standards. He will also develop internal audit process and will do periodic audit of various divisions. Mr. Sampat will interact regularly with statutory auditors to stay current with changes in law.

Mr. Sampat holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Bombay University.

Allison Keenan
Vice President of Corporate Finance, CORE ECS/US
 
Mrs. Keenan joined in July 2010 when CORE ECS acquired The Employment Store, an education focused staffing services organization. Mrs. Keenan was co-owner and co-executive management of The Employment Store for 10 years and prior to her entrepreneurial background, she was a Sr. Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 8 years and a Corporate Controller at a DE Shaw & Group, an Investment Management Company. Allison has nearly 20 years of Financial and Corporate experience.  

Mrs. Keenan is responsible for strategic planning & implementation of consolidated financial analysis, reporting and tools across CORE ECS.  She works closely with our divisional teams to ensure that at both the divisional level and corporate level, the business and financial analysis is integrated across functions to ensure performance and growth across areas. In addition, she oversees Corporate Accounting to continue to enhance and build a strong, efficient and technology driven accounting and finance solution for our company.  

Mrs. Keenan is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.

Paul Trotti
Vice President of Human Resources, CORE ECS/US

As Vice President of Human Resources, Mr. Trotti is responsible for oversight and management of the benefits programs, compensation plan, recruiting, performance management, and leadership development of employees at CORE ECS.  Taking care of people, our #1 resource, is his primary responsibility.

Mr. Trotti brings to CORE ECS an extensive background in leading large organizations to achieve optimal performance. Prior to joining CORE ECS, he was the Senior VP of Human Resources at Inovis USA, an Atlanta-based leader in the IT industry, where he provided leadership development at all levels; negotiated, implemented, and supervised administration of company benefits; developed and implemented a company-wide performance management system, and focused on people. Before his tenure at Inovis, Mr. Trotti was the VP of Human Resources for the Winter Group of Companies in Atlanta. There he was a member of the executive team that reorganized the companies; and his accomplishments included the establishment of a training department, the development and implementation of a company performance management system, and the creation of a strong recruiting program that brought in premier graduates from a number of the nation’s top universities.

Mr. Trotti’s tenure as a Human Resources Executive followed a career in the U.S. Army, from which he retired as a Colonel in 1998. His military service included infantry command and staff assignments in Germany, the Republic of Korea, Panama, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, as well as numerous posts in the United States. Additionally, he spent a tour teaching ethics and coaching rugby at his alma mater, the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Jeffrey D. Cooper
Internal Legal Counselor, CORE ECS/US

Jeffrey D. Cooper graduated with Bachelor’s of Arts Degrees in Political Science and Economics from the University of Georgia in 2004.  In 2007, he received his law degree from the Emory University School of Law where he served as Director of Competitions in the Emory Moot Court Society.  He was a recipient of the James C. Pratt Memorial Award, which is given to the most outstanding member of Moot Court Society, and was awarded the Order of Barristers.  He also received the Real Property Law Section, State Bar of Georgia Exemplary Law Student Award.  While at Emory, he participated in the nationally renowned Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques.