Dr. Tim Schaap 
Tim Schaap, GAINS Education Group Founder and President, received his Bachelors in Chemistry and doctorate in Secondary Education from Northern Illinois University. He coordinated a district ACT Test Preparation program, (900 students), developed the use and explanation of the NASSP Learning Style Profile and helped develop and institute the Prairie State Mirror testing program for freshmen and sophomores. 

Tim has worked with several schools and organizations including National Association of Secondary School Principals, Township High School District 214, Cambridge Educational Services, Scantron and the National Study of School Evaluation. He is also a member of the Learning Environments Consortium, International, LEC. With GAINS Education Group, he continually consults with a variety of schools and districts on assessment and school improvement especially related to the Learning Style Profile, the ACT and Work Keys (EPAS) and ITBS testing.

​

 

Dr. Marilynn Kulieke 
Dr. Kulieke served as an associate executive director and senior vice president for the National Study of Evaluation for 6 1/2 years. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Educational Psychology, where she served as a research fellow. From 1987 to 2002, Dr. Kulieke served as the Director of Research and Evaluation for a large high school district in the Chicago area where she evaluated school based programs and coordinated the district's assessment program. In her capacity as research fellow at Northwestern University, she evaluated a large-scale character education program in the Chicago public schools, a Spencer funded grant to examine the impact of a residential integration program on student achievement, and a number of innovative programs for accelerated learners. Dr. Kulieke has focused on developing approaches to accelerate the impact of school improvement and collecting and evaluating information using web based technologies. Currently, she has been working on data-driven instruction and standards-based assessment.

​

​

​

Consultants

Mrs. Rosemary Jacot 

Rosemary Jacot specializes in helping schools use surveys and school data for improvement planning. Prior to her new consulting responsibilities at GAINS Education Group, she was the NSSE Associate VP for Research Services. Her responsibilities included developing software tools focused on school improvement and student achievement as well as customer support and training. Previously, her experience included teaching at the elementary level and a technology Innovation Coordinator for a school district. She is a presenter at the National and state technology conferences. Rosemary earned a Bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and a M.A.T. from National Louis University. Rosemary is currently the Director of Assessment Services at GAINS.

 

Mrs. Kim Waters-Lipsky 

Kim Waters-Lipsky serves as a Project/Product Management Coordinator and Data Analyst Consultant, responsible for customer service, writing and researching, processing data and analyzing, developing, and launching new products for GAINS Education Group. She has been involved in the education field for the past 20 years with a background in teaching, software development; quality project management; quality assurance; training on web-based programs/software; creating, launching, and implementing new products; and IT support/development. Kim has previously worked for National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE); also known as AdvancED for 12 years, providing support in professional development; marketing; web-based school improvement products (developing, implementing, and training); and office IT maintenance, support, and development.

 

Ms. Wendy Walters 
Wendy's background includes software development, quality management, training and website evaluation. Wendy received her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from San Jose State University and has a Masters in Project Management. She has computer lab experience working with elementary students programs and continues to be an advisor for High School youths with project requirements, planning, and project development.

​

Mr. David Kulieke 
After earning his B.A. in English literature from the University of Illinois, David Kulieke returned to add a teaching certificate. While teaching English, he earned an M.S. in Education at Northwestern University. He taught fifth through ninth grade English at Lake Forest Country Day School, a private independent school, from 1981 to 2009. He chaired the English department from 1988 to 2009. During this time he created and administered curricula covering every aspect of the English program, including composition and literature as well as grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and speech. He also inaugurated and led several interdisciplinary initiatives as well as special projects and events within the English department. Additionally, for 16 summers he taught literary analysis to gifted high school students as well as creating the curriculum for this course at Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development. In addition to his duties with GAINS, he now tutors English, test-preparation, and music as well as consulting with educational companies and serving as an editing consultant for a grammar publishing firm.

​

Mrs. Ellen Macias 
Ellen Macias has taught English at Vernon Hills High School since 2007. She has earned a Masters in Education from Northwestern University and a Masters in Reading from Benedictine University. In addition to teaching English, she also teaches ACT preparatory classes for the English Test. She has written ACT-like reading items for GAINS since 2008.

​

Mr. Evan Cater 
Evan Cater brings to GAINS fifteen years of experience as a database designer/programmer and data analyst; providing application development, reporting, and automation services for large businesses such as Jewel Food Stores, Peoples Energy, and KPMG LLP, mid-sized businesses like ExteNet Systems and Chicago Financial Enterprises, as well as smaller businesses such as Executive Travel Directors and Marriage Ministries. He has a BA in Communications from Calvin College. Educational work experience includes roles as Adjunct Theatre Faculty at Trinity Christian College and Assistant Speech Coach at Oak Park-River Forest High School.