Bios & Headshots

Meet Our Speakers

Biographies and headshots are available for select members of the MetaMetrics team.

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Malbert Smith, Ph.D., CEO and Co-founder

Recognized worldwide as one of the major thought leaders in educational innovation and reform, Malbert serves as an advisor to a number of educational publishers, is on the board of several educational non-profits and is a keynote speaker for numerous educational conferences. Along with A. Jackson Stenner, Ph.D., Malbert co-founded MetaMetrics. Malbert has worked on a number of prestigious research projects with the National Center for Education Statistics, the Gates Foundation and others to study a myriad of issues such as summer reading loss, the effectiveness of the NAEP assessments and English language learning. Malbert has taught graduate seminars at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he received the Distinguished Alumni Award. He has also been named a research professor at UNC’s School of Education, focusing on psychological and human development studies.

Malbert Smith Headshot

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Alistair Van Moere, Ph.D., President

Alistair is the President of MetaMetrics where he drives innovation in assessments, and helps organizations make sense of measurement and test scores. Before joining MetaMetrics in 2017, Alistair was President of Pearson’s Knowledge Technologies group, where he managed artificial intelligence scoring services for speaking and writing. He also oversaw the development and delivery of standardized assessments for tens of millions of learners. Alistair has worked as a teacher, examiner, director of studies, university lecturer, and test developer, in the US, UK, Japan, and Thailand. He has an MA in English Language Teaching, a Ph.D. in Language Testing, and an MBA. He is frequently an invited speaker at conferences and has authored over 20 research publications with a focus on educational technology and language assessments.

Alistair Van Moere Headshot

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Jillian Balow, Chief Client Relations Officer

Jillian Balow, a visionary education leader, has made indelible impacts throughout her career that has focused on children and families. With eight years of exemplary leadership as the state superintendent in Virginia and Wyoming, Jillian spearheaded remarkable transformations in education policy and practice. In Virginia, she led the implementation of the groundbreaking Virginia Literacy Act, fostered parental engagement through the establishment of the Office of Parental Engagement, and championed initiatives to enhance early care and education, career and technical education, and teacher recruitment and retention. In Wyoming, Jillian enacted vital legislation expanding tribal education, prioritizing reading science, codifying computer science education in K-12, and elevating career readiness. Her national leadership roles, including president of the Council of Chief State School Officers board, and involvement in shaping federal policies like the Every Student Succeeds Act showcase her influence on a broader scale. Jillian’s remarkable achievements have garnered recognition from prestigious organizations and institutions, affirming her status as a changemaker in the field of education.

Jillian Balow Headshot

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Jason Turner, Senior Vice President, Partner Success & Engagement

Over the last ten years, Jason has had a variety of roles with MetaMetrics before becoming Senior Vice President of Partner Success and Engagement. Jason has worked extensively in the training and implementation of the Lexile® Framework for Reading and Quantile® Framework for Mathematics in classrooms across the globe. He has also worked closely with assessment and publishing partners around the world in the implementation and development of reading and math programs. Jason has published extensively on educational topics, including measurement and performance standards, trained thousands of educators and administrators, and has presented at conferences and symposiums around North America and the UK. Prior to joining MetaMetrics, Jason worked across a variety of educational and commercial fields, including as a consultant and professional development trainer.

Jason Turner Headshot

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Lisa Bickel, Vice President, Customer Success

Lisa supports customer success by helping MetaMetrics partners understand and leverage Lexile® and Quantile® measures. She communicates with partners to ensure successful implementation of every aspect of MetaMetrics deliverables and offers sales and implementation training for Lexile and Quantile measures and related products. Joining the company in 2013, Lisa has used her extensive background in product development to direct efforts in advancing the Quantile Framework for Mathematics. That work included quantifying the demand of mathematics materials to create a path for college and career readiness. In addition, Lisa worked with mathematics publishers to add Quantile assessments and measures to their products.

Lisa Bickel Headshot

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Jing Wei, Vice President, AI & Product Innovation

Jing is the Vice President for AI and Product Innovation. She is responsible for shaping MetaMetrics’ AI capabilities and impact, providing thought leadership on using AI to drive business values, and integrating innovative solutions into MetaMetrics’ existing and future products. Prior to joining MetaMetrics, Jing served as a research scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics, leading the development and validation of a portfolio of high-stake digital assessments used by millions of students every year. Jing brings 15+ years of experience in test development, measurement and statistics, machine learning, and product development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Shanghai International Studies University, a M.Phil. in Second Language Education from University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in Language Testing from New York University.

Jing Wei Headshot