Founder and CEO
John has worked in K-12 school reform circles since 1993, including work with organizations such as New Standards, America’s Choice, the National Center on Education and the Economy, and the Institute for Learning. A former classroom teacher with a Ph.D. in English, John founded Inquiry By Design in 2007.
Chief Operating Officer
Nick has been working across the K-12 ecosystem for 15 years, seeking solutions to long-standing educational inequities. As Chief Operating Officer at Inquiry by Design, Nick is grounded by his extensive experience as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, site administrator, and systems leader working across school districts. Coupled with Nick’s steep on-the-ground K-12 expertise is his unique experience in scaling small business models through the strategic development of programs, products, and operations.
Chief Product Officer
Before joining Inquiry By Design, Skylar DeVos taught English at both the middle and high school level in the Denver and Nashville areas. As Chief Product Officer, Skylar’s goal is to ensure that Inquiry By Design’s materials challenge and support your students in creating work you didn’t realize they were capable of. Skylar has a passion for everything and anything related to literature and literacy.
Director of Publications
Karee has 25 years of experience in content development, design, and production with a primary focus on educational publishing, including K-12, college, and trade nonfiction. She oversees the timely production and delivery of all of Inquiry By Design curriculum and materials.
Director of Professional Development
Kristi Hemingway has been a writer, teacher, trainer and consultant in both public and private settings for 25 years. She has worked in many parts of the world with people of all ages. Starting as a K-6 teacher she later migrated to secondary, earning the distinction of having taught every grade level at some point. As the Director of Professional Development with Inquiry By Design she relishes the opportunity to share inquiry-based pedagogy, rich texts, and rigor for all with teachers and leaders across the country.
Director of Partnership Development
A veteran educator, Erin has worked as a teacher, curriculum writer, and professional developer in public and private schools for more than 20 years. Erin’s role at Inquiry By Design has included auditing existing curriculum, aligning curriculum to standards, and helping to create new courses of study. As Partnership Development Coordinator, she collaborates with schools and districts to provide client services and project management.
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
As Vice President of Sales and Marketing, David oversees the day-to-day sales operations and a national team of sales consultants. David comes from a long line of Texas educators and can frequently be seen at Irons Middle School in Lubbock Texas where his father, Ed Irons, was superintendent of schools in the 1970s. David graduated from Texas Tech University and then served as a high school teacher and basketball coach. After teaching, David became the West Texas sales representative with Pearson Education and later held sales leadership positions with McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Perfection Learning. David lives in McKinney Texas with his wife, Karen, who is a preschool teacher and instructional leader at the Early Childhood School in Frisco ISD.
