Meaningful Measurement teams by design are creative and innovative. Team members are chosen to have complementary skills and a variety of viewpoints. This wide combination of expertise and experience generates connections and synergies that would not occur under other circumstances.
Open communication and trust result in lively brainstorming sessions and Eureka moments. Meaningful Measurement team members are expert at using techniques such as Mind Mapping and understand the principles of small group communication. This allows Meaningful Measurement to create a climate that is conducive to finding ingenious methods for inventive solutions.
Meaningful Measurement's expert researchers ensure that scientific rigor is combined with creative insight. This combination of the Arts and Sciences results in a report that is the best of both.
Individually and as a group, Meaningful Measurement Associates have impeccable credentials. They are well known professionally as well as in their local communities. This extensive individual and collective network gives Meaningful Measurement the enviable resources necessary to provide answers to most all questions, and solve unusually complex problems.
Meaningful Measurement's teams consist of vetted scholars and practitioners with real-world experience and expertise. They plan, implement and produce the results necessary for an organization to successfully reach its stated goals.
~ A Team Designed Exclusively for You ~
One of the biggest differences between Meaningful Measurement and other companies is the fact that each team is hand-picked for every project. This means the optimum combination of human capital is applied to the problem and its solution.
Unlike other companies, Meaningful Measurement experts do not merely oversee a project while less senior employees do the actual work. All named team members contribute their time and skills to the assignment.
Donna Surges Tatum, PhD, CAE, CAEd
Donna Surges Tatum founded Meaningful Measurement. She has managed many projects and is adept at creating and guiding teams of highly skilled professionals who accomplish complex tasks.
Dr. Tatum has a wide range of professional expertise. Her psychometric practice in certification and licensure includes sixteen physician specialty certification boards, dentistry specialty certification, the national licensure exam for massage therapy, psychiatric rehabilitation certification and fitness certifications in personal training, strength training, indoor cycling, group exercise and yoga.
In addition, Dr. Tatum has worked with consumer product research, program assessment and educational competencies. She is a policy expert, working with clients on a national basis.
Dr. Tatum is also an expert in the field of Communication Science and teaches communication classes at the University of Chicago for the Graham School. She created, and Meaningful Measurement produced, the Executive Communication track of the Leadership Institute for the University of Chicago Booth School Executive MBA program and for the University of Chicago Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies. Dr. Tatum also holds an appointment to the graduate faculty at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Dr. Tatum is currently leading a team of scholars and physicians to develop a program for training and assessing physician communication competence. In addition, she is part of an international research team investigating medical error disclosure and advancing safe communication to improve patient safety and quality culture.
The combination of expertise allows Dr. Tatum to effectively communicate difficult concepts to those who need to use the information. This is extremely important when working with task forces, credentialing boards, examination committees, educators, and especially the public.
Dr. Tatum holds a Baccalaureate in Communication and a Master of Arts in Persuasion and Organizational Communication from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Her doctorate in Measurement Evaluation Statistical Analysis (MESA) is from the University of Chicago. She researches, publishes, and presents widely on a variety of subjects.
William P. Fisher, PhD
Meaningful Measurement Associate
William P. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D. received his doctorate in Measurement Evaluation Statistical Analysis (MESA) from the University of Chicago, where he was supported by a Spencer Foundation Dissertation Research Fellowship. He is currently Research Associate in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Fisher is recognized for contributions to measurement theory and practice that span the full range from the philosophical to the applied in fields as diverse as education, mindfulness psychology, organizational performance assessment, the clinical laboratory, and metrology.
As Professor of Research in the LSU School of Medicine, Dr. Fisher was recognized by the city of New Orleans for his contributions in public health. In 2010, he completed a postdoctoral certification in the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University focusing on the role of measurement in making markets for human, social, and natural capital.
His online courses on measurement have attracted students from all over the world. Dr. Fisher’s entry on psychological measurement in the 2011 World Standards Day paper competition won third prize, which is notable given the focus on engineering and natural science topics usually emphasized by the competition sponsors, SES, the Society for Standards Professionals, and the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology.
Dr. Fisher is author, co-author, or co-editor of three books, over 50 peer-reviewed articles, 10 book chapters, and close to 100 short research reports. His ResearchGate.net reputation score is at the 88th percentile. He has consulted, taught, and given keynote and invited addresses at meetings across North America and Europe, as well as in Australia and China.
Johnna Gueorgueiva, PhD, CAE
Meaningful Measurement Associate
Dr. Gueorguieva is a psychometrician; accreditation and policy expert. She is Chief Credentialing and Research Officer for the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. with over 17 years’ experience managing the development of credentialing exams. She also oversees Intellectual Property and Government Relations and previously supervised the Recertification, Document Review, Professional Conduct and Customer Services departments.
Dr. Gueorguieva has a passion for volunteering. She has served on Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) committees since 2006, currently serving on the ICE Board as Treasurer. In 2007, she co-authored the chapter on “Establishing Credentialing Policies and Procedures” in the Institute for Credentialing Excellence’s (ICE’s) The ICE Handbook: A Guide to Certification. In 2011 Johnna was honored with the Service Award and in 2017 with the Chair’s Commendation.
Dr. Gueorguieva earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a focus on Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics and Assessment from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
John Michael (Mike) Linacre, PhD, MA, C.D.P., C.C.P., D.M.
Meaningful Measurement Associate
John Michael Linacre is the creator of WINSTEPS; the Rasch measurement software used world-wide. He also developed FACETS software, for many faceted Rasch analysis widely used in constructing objective measures from judge-mediated observations. Dr. Linacre is dedicated to creating the tools for measurement that the rest of the psychometric world relies upon when doing their work.
Upon graduation from Cambridge University, Dr. Linacre engaged in computer-related technical, programming and management activities in England, Japan, Australia and the USA. Dr. Linacre has consulted extensively in educational and psychological measurement, assessment and testing.
Dr. Linacre has an M.A. in Mathematics from Cambridge University. After being awarded a Spencer Dissertation Year Fellowship he obtained his doctorate in Measurement Evaluation Statistical Analysis (MESA) from the University of Chicago. He worked closely with Benjamin D. Wright, the leading advocate of Rasch measurement, for over fifteen years as Director of the Measurement, Evaluation and Statistical Analysis (MESA) Psychometric Laboratory of the University of Chicago. He currently instructs in Rasch Measurement for The Institute for Statistics Education.
Dr. Linacre is active in the application and dissemination of Rasch analysis techniques. He was editor of the Transactions of the Rasch Measurement Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association for over twenty years. He lectures and publishes widely in the educational and medical testing fields. He is also a consultant to major public and private testing agencies. He perceives that the principal challenge now facing practitioners of Rasch measurement is how to usefully and effectively communicate findings to decision-makers and society.
Dr. Linacre has authored well over 100 published papers and conference papers
Lynn Webb, EDD
Meaningful Measurement Associate
Lynn Webb is a testing consultant who assists agencies with ensuring that their professional assessments are valid, reliable, and fair. For over 20 years she has been providing consultation to credentialing agencies and testing companies in all areas of test development including practice analyses/role delineation studies, development or validation of test specifications, question writing workshops, test assembly, passing score studies, item and test analysis, and formatting score reports. Additional areas of expertise include conduct of focus groups, meeting facilitation, grader/rater standardization, policy issues, long-range planning, and auditing programs with reference to ISO/IEC 17024. Consultation also includes preparing agencies for NCCA or ANSI accreditation.
Prior to working as a consultant Dr. Webb was the Director of Testing for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She has also held senior staff positions at the National Board of Medical Examiners, Educational Testing Service (ETS) and ACT.
Dr. Webb’s academic background is in Educational Psychology, with an emphasis in research and evaluation. She is active professionally in several psychometric and testing organizations and frequently speaks on testing and psychometrics at national and international conferences.
Anne Wendt, PhD, MSN, RN, CAE, PMP
Meaningful Measurement Associate
As an experienced consultant on large and small-scale projects, Dr. Wendt offers a deep understanding of the importance of communication and measurement in nursing/medical education and practice. She has over 30 years of experience in measurement and research using multiple methods including the Rasch model to help her clients achieve success. She uses communication to make complex issues understandable while striving for innovation and excellence. Dr. Wendt’s experience as a health professional, an educator, a psychometrician, and a leader in her field of research and measurement allows her to work with varied groups to achieve their goals.
Dr. Wendt received her B.S.N. from the University of Minnesota and her M.S.N. from Loyola University of Chicago. She earned her doctorate in Measurement Evaluation Statistical Analysis (MESA) from the University of Chicago. She completed Post-Doctoral Studies in Geriatric Nursing at Rush University.
Paula Petry, PhD
Meaningful Measurement Associate
Dr. Paula Petry received her doctorate degree from the University of Miami, School of Education.
From 1986 to 2007 Dr. Petry worked in the area of disability, with a focus on accountability, policy formation, and systems change. She was the content expert on a five-year federally funded project to develop accountability instruments for the U.S. Department of Education, to measure the degree to which states comply with federal special education mandates, using the Rasch measurement model for the instrument development and analysis.
Dr. Petry currently uses Rasch measurement to determine the effectiveness of her personal development workshops and retreats. She presents her program development and outcomes at international Rasch measurement conferences.