People » CASEL Staff and Consultants

For general inquiries, please contact Jeanne Osgood at 312.226.3770 x339.

Email: info@casel.org

Phone: 312.226.3770; Fax: 312.226.3777

Lindsay J. Friedman
Executive Director
lfriedman@casel.org

Cheryl Gray
Director of Program
cgray@casel.org

Carol Haynes
Office Manager/Executive Assistant
chaynes@casel.org

Susan Keister
Product Development Specialist

Kristy Ogren
kogren@casel.org

Elizabeth O'Halloran
Administrative Assistant
eohalloran@casel.org

Jeanne Osgood
Communications Outreach Coordinator
josgood@casel.org

Hank Resnik
Communications Consultant

Andrew Wade
Director of Public Affairs
awade@casel.org

Staff Biographies

Lindsay J. Friedman has almost twenty years of experience in the anti-bias education field. Before joining CASEL in 2008, Lindsay was the Senior Associate Education Director for the Anti- Defamation League and National Director of the its A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute, a leading provider of anti-bias and diversity education programs and resources used by schools, universities, and communities throughout the United States and abroad. In this role, Lindsay provided oversight to the ADL's national education efforts and collaborations, including professional development and support to its education staff, program development and evaluation, fundraising, and strategic planning. In 2008, Lindsay led efforts to launch the Institute's first web-based professional development course for educators.

Lindsay has served as a consultant and trainer to hundreds of schools and organizations, presented at a variety of national education conferences and written numerous anti-bias training and programmatic manuals to assist teachers in effectively addressing bias and prejudice with their students.

Prior to joining CASEL, Cheryl Gray was a member of the Learning-Centered Leadership Program team at the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta. She led the research, development and training of SREB's Leadership Curriculum which consists of 20 train-the-trainer modules focused on classroom, school, and district leadership to improve student achievement. Cheryl also served as the Assistant Director for Professional and Product Development for the National Study of School Evaluation where she generated the research base for school performance indicators and the research and development process of Breakthrough School Improvement for its accreditation partners, NCA and SACS. She authored NSSE's Technical Guide to School and District Factors Impacting Student Learning and contributed to System-wide Improvement: Focusing on Student Learning and Breakthrough School Improvement: An Action Guide for Greater and Faster Results. She is a former program director of educational policy at the North Central Regional Education Laboratory (now Learning Point Associates), state director for Illinois ASCD, and executive director of the Corridor Partnership for Excellence in Education, a Chicago Metro area school reform partnership between the business community and eighty area school districts. Cheryl has authored numerous articles for school and district leaders, has regularly presented at state and national conferences, and has served on a number of boards and committees for the National Staff Development Council, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, ACT, and various state departments of education.

Carol Haynes has extensive experience in office management and accounting procedures in the corporate and non-profit sector. Carol served for five years as the Office Manager for the Chicago Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League managing day-to-day office operations, vendor relationships, operations budget and accounting procedures, as well as selecting and supervising administrative staff for the 20+ person office. She spent 15 years as a contractor for Ameritech. In addition, Carol worked as the liaison for Ameritech with a team of management consultants during their transition from Ameritech to SBC, centralizing their administrative process and establishing their operational procedures.

Susan Keister is an author, speaker, workshop facilitator, and educational leader with more than 25 years of experience in leading the research, development, and training of international programs and professional development in comprehensive school reform, positive prevention of drug use and violence, social and emotional competencies, character development, conflict management, and service-learning.  Between 1983 and 2000, Susan served as Director and Vice President for Program and Training Development at Quest International and lead the development of the internationally acclaimed positive youth development programs, including Lions-Quest Skills for Growing and Working It Out (Grades K - 5), Skills for Adolescence and Working Toward Peace Grades 6 - 8), Skills for Action, Teen-- Alcohol and Other Drugs, and Promoting Peace and Preventing Violence (Grades 9 - 12), along with writing numerous articles for national publications, serving as Editor of Quest's Energizer magazine, and developing  over a dozen K-12 professional development workshops. Currently, she is President of Integral Vision Consulting and provides consulting services to the Service-Learning and Life Skills Network, Lions Clubs International Foundation, the Learning for Living Institute, and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

Elizabeth O’Halloran has worked for one of the fastest growing real estate brokerages in Chicago providing broad-based administrative support to a team of more than twenty people.  She was responsible for managing routine office tasks, maintaining client relationships and training  new employees in a deadline-driven environment.  She performs many of these similar tasks for CASEL.  Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is currently working toward her Masters degree in Urban Planning with a focus in grassroots community development. 

Jeanne Osgood is responsible for support and communications to CASEL subscribers and related organizations. She serves as the "front door" of CASEL by responding to questions about the organization and SEL from the general public.

Jeanne's interest in SEL and CASEL developed through her experience as a parent and co-chairman and project manager for the district-wide implementation of SEL in the Hinsdale, Illinois (District 181) Schools. This included assessment, analysis, reports, and communication to the wider community about SEL. She brings this experience to her current position. Her earlier career was in art and museum education, and includes teaching positions at the Art Institute of Chicago and other area museums, DePaul University, and the public schools.  As a member of her local school district's foundation board, she actively supports education through community partnerships with the public schools.

Hank Resnik is a writer, editor, and filmmaker who specializes in education, public health, the environment, and urban planning. He has served as a communications consultant to CASEL since 2002, writing, producing, and publishing a variety of books, reports, and media, including assistance with the CASEL website and electronic newsletters and bulletins. He has also consulted with Special Olympics, Inc., developing a comprehensive K-12 program focused on acceptance of individuals with learning disabilities, and the California Department of Education, for whom he was the principal writer for a book and videos on early childhood education. He has worked closely with many leading SEL organizations across the country, among them Quest International, the Developmental Studies Center, and Developmental Research and Programs in Seattle. A resident of Berkeley, California, Mr. Resnik was a founder of the Berkeley Public Education Foundation, a mentor to high school students, and co-chair of the Concerned Citizens Committee for Berkeley High School.

Andy Wade comes to CASEL with nearly two decades experience in education reform, strategic communications, public policy and organizational development. He brings a track record as a resourceful program builder who advances complex education agendas by integrating many tactics, including public awareness campaigns, legislative advocacy, strategic alliances, coalitions, publications, and electronic media. CASEL duties will include leading the communications and marketing functions, engaging new audiences in evidence-based SEL practice, facilitating planning of public policy strategy and building new capabilities to support and engage the SEL community. Most recently, Wade ran his own strategic communications firm specializing in education, not-for-profit and government clients, which included elected officials, state education agencies, school districts and national education advocacy organizations. From 2004-2006, he managed the Ounce of Prevention Fund's two-year campaign to help pass Illinois' landmark Preschool for All legislation, the nation's most aggressive expansion of high-quality early education. Prior to that, Wade spent six years as founding executive director of the Chicago School Leadership Cooperative, a citywide education reform organization.  Other experiences include developing training videos, consulting on employee engagement and corporate communications, writing about research-based school reform strategies and teaching at the high school level.