Vincent has guided numerous programs through the test-development process and accreditation by ANSI under certificate or personnel-certification standards. He was instrumental in developing the process for efficiently creating, reviewing, pilot testing, and scoring performance-based item sets for the Uniform CPA Exam. He served for five years as an assessment specialist at the Educational Testing Service, writing multiple-choice items for the GRE and GMAT. Outside the testing industry, he has worked as a newspaper and journal editor.
Vincent serves as director of test development at Authentic Testing Corporation, providing psychometric and test-development support to several test sponsors.
Maurilio Gorito is an Educational Researcher and Credentialing Specialist. He is currently serving as Customer Advocacy Advisor at Certiverse. Maurilio has also served on the Board of Directors of the PTC for more than a decade. Maurilio has expertise in creating and structuring certification programs from the ground up and is passionate with testing and assessment, especially performance-based testing and Psychometrics. Maurilio holds bachelor’s degrees in education, Pedagogy and Mathematics from Centro Universitario Geraldo Di Biasi, Brazil, and graduate certificate in Educational Research Methodology from University of Illinois Chicago, United States.
Maurilio has 30+ years of experience in the IT field and more than 26 years combined experience in Education, Testing and Assessment, and built and structured certification programs. He has served as Head of Certification Programs at Palo Alto Networks, Director of Global Certification Programs at Pure Storage, Certification Manager at Riverbed Technology and managed the CCIE Routing and Switching Certification Program for Cisco.
Gregory M. Applegate, PhD, MBA, ICE-CCP, is a psychometrician who has worked in the certification industry for two decades. He is the Vice President, Global Certifications for The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Gregory previously served as the Chief Science Officer of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. He has also served as a member of the Standards Revision Committee for the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and is the current Treasurer of the Performance Testing Council. He has taught at the university level and presents at national conferences on certification examinations and programs. His current focus is an in-depth market study of the internal audit profession to update The IIA’s Certified Internal Auditor program and ensure it remains relevant and valuable to the profession. More information can be found about Dr. Applegate on LinkedIn.
Mihaiela R. Gugiu, PhD, serves as the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians’ first Chief Assessment Officer. In her capacity, she oversees the development and validation of entry level certification examinations, the recertification process, and the development of continued competency assessments for emergency medical services clinicians. Mihaiela is an active member in the credentialing community and contributes to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the testing industry via peer reviewed publications and conference presentations. For the past three years, she has served on the Institute for Credentialing Excellence’s Publishing and Editorial Committee, a committee she is no co-chairing, and will begin her tenure as a NCCA Psychometric Commissioner in January 2023.
Mihaiela is passionate about using psychometric methods and technological innovations to advance the testing industry in a fair and equitable manner.
Catharine Cooper has previously served on the Board of Directors for the PTC, previously as Chair, and most recently as Marketing Chair in 2020.
Catharine has served in several capacities during her career in the certification, training and testing industries. She has been at Pearson VUE since 2001 and held positions in Account Management, Strategic Alliances, IT Client Marketing Management, Test Center Operations and Business Development.
Currently, Catharine is serving as a Business Development Manager for Pearson VUE’s Growth Services, a program aimed to drive certification in the IT Industry and support initiatives to close the IT Skills gap
Katie O’Zey is Director of Content Services at Skillable, where she has the opportunity to influence performance needs for customers across many industries. Katie has an extensive, 15-year background in instructional design and learning development and has spent many years helping learning organizations find value in performance testing and assessment.
In her experience, Katie has seen a wide variety of approaches – some good and others in dire need of a revamp. With each customer project, she strives to improve the validity and reliability of assessment to reflect on the needs of learners and the business.
When she isn’t busy supporting an excellent learning development team, Katie spends her days reading and enjoying nature with her husband, David and her dog, Mochi.
Kpayah Tamba has 15+ years of experience designing and developing traditional and performance-based certification exams, as well as managing global certification teams. He has led certification teams at Citrix and AppDynamics. He is currently responsible for expanding and deepening Okta’s certification programs. Kpayah is active in the credentialing industry. He is a former President of the Performance Testing Council (PTC) Board of Directors. Kpayah studied Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, and Information Security. He’s also a former Visiting Professor at DeVry University and a former Adjunct Professor at Broward College. Kpayah lives and works full time out of his home office in Prosper, TX.
Marcus Bolton, Ph.D. is a survey and assessment professional with over 15 years of industry experience. Marcus has worked in a number of testing-related capacities including but not limited to an assessment consultant and management consultant. Within his most recent role as testing manager, Marcus oversaw testing operations for one of Southern California’s largest employers—driving various industry innovations within the selection space.
When not overseeing surveys and assessments, Marcus enjoys jiu jitsu, traveling, and spending time in nature.
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