Faculty of AP Summer Institute, Northwestern University School of Professional Studies - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

Bryan Ashkettle

Government and Politics - U.S.

Bryan Ashkettle is currently an AP® U.S. Government and Politics teacher at Solon High School near Cleveland, Ohio. This is his 27th year in the profession, with over 20 years’ experience teaching AP® Government. Bryan has been an AP® Reader for 16 years and was hired by the College Board® to be an AP® Consultant in 2015. He has taught various one-day workshops and AP® Summer Institutes throughout the United States.  

Bryan received his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University in 2014. He is also an adjunct professor and consultant in Teacher Education at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio. His research interest is self-study as a tool to better instructional practice. He lives Chagrin Falls, Ohio with his wife, Stefanie (also a teacher), and their two daughters — Frankie, 15 and Julia, 17.  

Susan Barber

English Literature and Composition

Susan Barber teaches AP English Literature, Multicultural Literature, and Writers Workshop at Midtown High School in Atlanta, Georgia and serves as the College Board Advisor for AP Literature and on the NCTE Secondary Steering Committee. She has offered training at NCTE, GCTE, and the Folger Shakespeare Library and frequently leads ELA workshops across the country. She has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Edutopia, and is co-author of The Norton Guide to AP Literature. Susan, however, is most proud of the work she does on a daily basis in E216 and never tires of the beauty and chaos of the classroom. 

Angelika Becker

German Language and Culture

Angelika Becker teaches German level I, III, V, AP, and IB at Carmel High School in Indiana. She is a workshop presenter for AATG, a College Board consultant and an AP Reader. Her special interests include children and youth literature, using authentic materials at all levels, and differentiated instruction. In her free time, she likes to knit, listens to audio books, and takes care of her cats as well as the foster kitties she and her husband take in.  

Mike Berndt

Psychology (New)

Michael Berndt has taught psychology and AP Psychology for 26 years at Apollo High School in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He has attended the AP Psychology Reading every year since 2006 and has served as a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader. In 2023, Michael received the APA TOPSS Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award.

Laura Brandt

Psychology (Experienced)

Laura Brandt teaches AP Psychology at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. She also teaches AP Psychology through the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University. Laura has served as a reader, table leader and question leader at the AP Psychology exam and has been involved with the reading for the past 15 years. Laura has presented at numerous day and weeklong conferences, she has served as a reviewer for book chapters, course reviews and test banks. Laura has served on the TOPSS executive board, which represents high school psychology instructors within the American Psychological Association as member coordinator and chair. Laura earned her Master’s degree in U.S. History at Northern Illinois University and her Master’s in Psychology from DePaul University.

Myrte Campbell

English Language and Composition

Myrte Campbell is an educator who currently works as a Field Supervisor with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her expertise includes transforming classrooms and developing teacher capacity. She teaches and coaches in response to school, and instructional needs. Myrte is committed to supporting and empowering both veteran teachers, new teachers, and pre-service teachers.  

In addition, Myrte uses the classroom as a learning lab for both students and teachers. Her goal is to change thinking in order to change practice, she provides experience-based strategies that are designed to show her colleagues that all students can learn if we design, deliver and facilitate a supportive learning environment. 

In her former role as an instructional coach, Myrte developed and designed professional development training for teachers, coaches and administrators; she lead monthly trainings, and developed and published academic documents for the Department of Curriculum & Instruction for her district. 

Myrte grew up on the island of Jamaica, but she received her B.A. at Marquette University, and an MA at Georgia State University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Language & Literacy at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.  

Myrte has over twenty years of experience in education, and has taught AP courses for approximately twelve of those years, in addition to teaching AP Language, she has taught AP Literature and AP U.S. History. She scores the AP English Language exam as a table leader. In addition, Myrte has been a College Board consultant for approximately five years, presenting for both the College Board One Day Workshops, Pre-AP English Workshops and Summer Institutes.  

Christine Custred

World History: Modern

Christine Bond-Custred currently teaches Advanced Placement (AP)® United States History and AP® World History at Edmond Memorial High School in Edmond, OK. She has taught AP® U.S. History since 1998 and AP® World History since 2007 and has developed and team-taught a combination course that bridged AP® U.S. History and AP® English Language. Ms. Custred has been a College Board® consultant since 2000, presenting at numerous domestic and international College Board® institutes and conferences including the Southwest Regional College Board® conference and the AP® annual conference in Orlando in July 2019.  

Ms. Custred became an AP® Summer Institute consultant in 2003 and has presented at well over 50 summer institutes since that time. She has previously served as a reader for the AP® World History exam,and is currently a table leader at the AP® U.S. History reading and serving her third and final year as a member of the consultant advisory panel for the College Board®. In addition, Ms. Custred served as an AP® mentor from 2015-2017 in a mentoring program designed and offered by the College Board®, during which she conducted monthly webinars with new AP® U.S. History teachers.  

Ms. Custred's publishing credits include the Research and Education Association (REA) test prep book for AP® United States History (co-author), Fast Track to a 5 for AP® World History (co-author), writing the AP® review questions for the AP® edition of the Making America textbook, and the teacher's edition of the Ways of the World textbook (contributing author). She holds a Master's degree in Education Administration and School Counseling (M.Ed.) and is a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). 

Sandy Czajka

Computer Science Principles

Sandy Czajka is a Computer Science and Mathematics educator at Riverside Brookfield High School in Riverside, Illinois, where she has taught since 2003. She initiated, developed, and currently teaches AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, and CS Discoveries. Sandy's expertise in AP Computer Science education is reflected in her extensive work with the College Board, where she served as AP CS-A Development Committee Co-Chair (2017-2019) and Committee Member (2014-2021). She has been an AP CS-A Exam Leader, Question Leader, Table Leader, or Reader since 2009 and continues to serve as an AP CS Principles and APCS A Consultant, presenting workshops across the USA and internationally. Her commitment to excellence in computer science education has earned numerous recognitions, including the 2025 Illinois State Board of Education Award of Meritorious Service in the Classroom, the 2019 AP CS Principles Female Diversity Award for Riverside Brookfield High School, the 2018 CSTA/Infosys Teacher of Excellence Award, and the 2017 NCWIT Regional Educator Award. She is also a passionate advocate for diversity in STEM, sponsoring Girls Who Code and receiving the 2016 AAUW Grant for Encouraging Girls in STEM.

Kamasi Hill

African-American Studies

Kamasi Hill, Ph.D. is a historian, theologian, art curator, filmmaker, and educator who has been teaching high school students for the past 29 years. He has taught a range of courses including AP European History, AP US History, Philosophy, Sociology, and AP African-American Studies. He was born and raised on the West side of Detroit by parents who were curators of the Black arts, both visual and musical. He attended Howard University and graduated with a degree in Film Production. He moved to Chicago in 2004 and attended Northwestern University and received his PhD in Religion and Historical Studies. He has been collecting from contemporary artists of African descent for the past 15 years and has amassed over 300 pieces of original African and African-American art.  

Dr. Hill has been teaching AP courses for the past 15 years and serves on the development committee and as a consultant for the AP African-American Studies course. He currently teaches AP African-American Studies and Philosophy at Evanston Township High School and is creating a series of non-fiction graphic novels to help reorient students to the power of literacy and imagination. 

Theresa Horvath

Calculus

Theresa Horvath has been teaching AP Calculus in McKinney, Texas since 2009. She is passionate about reaching all students through her love of mathematics and implementation of varied, discovery-based, engaging strategies. She has been an AP Calculus Reader since 2014. She was a member of the College Board Instructional Design Team for AP Calculus to prepare the online resources and 2019-20 Course and Exam Description. She is one of the AP Daily Video instructors for AP Calculus BC. Theresa is an approved College Board AP Calculus consultant and a NMSI Calculus and Computer Science consultant. She enjoys time with family, playing card/board games, exercise, and hiking in our beautiful national parks. 

Lloyd Hoshaw

English Language and Composition

Lloyd Hoshaw has taught language arts and composition in public high schools for over 20 years, but his study of rhetoric began at age 10 when he began honing his skills of language selection through the careful creation of mixtapes designed to attend to an audience. More recently, Lloyd has deftly deployed these skills in crafted playlists designed to mold his three children’s taste in music. 
 
Today, Lloyd teaches at Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he established the AP® English Language & Composition course over a decade ago. In 2013 he created a co-taught interdisciplinary AP® Language and AP® United States History course, and in 2015 he and Matthew Heys (AP® U.S. History) co-authored A Guide to Team Teaching AP® English Language and Composition and AP® United States History (Bedford/St. Martin’s), a teachers' guide to use with the textbooks Conversations in American Literature and America’s History. 
 
Lloyd has served as a reader for the AP® English Language and Composition exam since 2013, and has been a co-presenter on topics related to partnering AP® English Language with interdisciplinary work at NCTE (‘14, ‘16), NCSS (‘15, ‘17), and the AP® National Conference (‘16). In addition to teaching AP® Language and Composition, Lloyd acts as the English Department Head and teaches Literature & Film, as well as teaching two courses in the Millard Education Academy focused on developing future educators. 

Glenda (Kay) Kubena

Statistics

Kay is currently serving as the Lead College Board Consultant for AP Statistics and a consultant for AP Precalculus. Kay has been teaching in Texas high schools for almost 40 years, most recently as a math teacher and math department chairperson at Bellaire High School. 

Éliane Kurbegov

French Language and Culture

Éliane Kurbegov has taught French at secondary and higher education levels for the past 30 years and is Éliane Kurbegov has taught French at secondary and higher education levels for the past 30 years and is the author of numerous French language learning titles; she is currently an adjunct professor of French at Miami Dade College. Over the course of many years, Éliane has served the College Board® in multiple capacities, participating in AP® readings as a table leader and a question leader, serving on the AP® French Language test development committee, and training and mentoring College Board® consultants. She currently conducts College Board® workshops and monitors the AP® French Language and Culture Community website. 

Éliane co-authored the Barron's Guide to the AP® French Language and Culture Exam and the textbook Thèmes, published by VHL, in addition to having written many French manuals for McGraw-Hill. She is a native speaker of French and has twice been awarded the Palmes Académiques for her promotion of the French culture and language. Most importantly, Éliane has a true passion for the teaching of French and for sharing her lifelong experiences with her esteemed colleagues. 

Michael Little Crow

Pre-calculus

Michael Little Crow is an Indigenous Math Educator from the Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe-Cree people.  With his co-founder Uraiwan Pinthong, OPEN Global Village, Original Peoples Education Network, Inc. was created to support two education abroad projects to Thailand and one sabbatical teaching mathematics through robotics in Kazakhstan.  He works with the education agencies of several tribal nations including the Pascua Yaqui, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, and several of the Chippewa nations in North Dakota and Wisconsin to provide professional development in mathematics.  

Little Crow was an instructor at Oregon State university from 1988 - 2004, residential faculty at Scottsdale Community College from 2004 - 2018, and currently is a lecturer at Arizona State University as well as an adjunct at SCC.  He is in the Mary Lou Fulton School of Education working on an EdD in Educational Leadership and Innovation. 

Mary Lopez

United States History

Mary Lopez has taught U.S. History and American Studies at all levels at Schaumburg High School since 1995. In that time, she has structured the U.S. History curriculum for all levels taught in her district.  

Mary has served as a Reader at the AP® Reading for 17 years, and has been a Question Leader or Exam Leader for the last seven years, including the online Readings in 2020 and 2021. In addition, Mary served as a member of the U.S. History Development Committee for the College Board from 2015-2019, helping to guide the direction of the course and constructing the AP® Exam. She has presented in multiple states through the College Board, the Organization of American Historians, and the National Council of History Education. 

Mary has earned two B.A.s from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in History from DePaul University, and is A.B.D. status in the History Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her areas of academic specialty are American Women’s History and U.S. History since 1763. She has four children, one of whom will take AP® U.S. History this year and thinks that his mother doesn’t know very much, and a lovable but not-too-bright dog. 

Chris McBride

European History

I’ve been an AP European History Exam Reader for the past 14 years and have worked to bring insights from the reading directly to my students and peers. A few summers ago I worked with a group of fellow AP Euro teachers to help revise our LEQ rubric to its current form. I am currently serving as the AP European History Lead Consultant. I’m an AVID teacher (program that works to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary opportunities) and have worked to expand access to my AP European History class by implementing structures and supports that have helped both AVID students and their peers succeed. I’ve received recognition as a Teacher of the Year at my school in Milwaukee, WI through the Student Council ‘05, at the district level ‘15, and Graduating Class of ‘17. Those were nice bits of recognition, though I continually strive to improve as a teacher and really enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with peers at workshops. My goal is for everyone to walk away from our time together feeling supported and excited about heading to the classroom with activities and approaches that can be used immediately.

Becky McFarlan

English Literature and Composition (New)

Rebecca McFarlan is a National Board Certified teacher who has taught English at both the high school and college level for 40 years. She has 34 years of experience teaching both the AP® English Literature and the AP® English Language courses. For the past 19 years Rebecca has been a reader, and more recently a table leader, for the AP® English Literature Exam. She is a College Board® Consultant for AP® English Literature, AP® English Language, and the AP Capstone™ Research course. In addition, Rebecca has developed three online workshops for AP Central®, contributed to the AP® Literature Mentor materials, and has worked on the development of several Pre-AP® workshops.

Over the past 20 years Rebecca has facilitated workshops both nationally and internationally, and has conducted AP® and Pre-AP® workshops in China since 2012, focusing on English curriculum for Chinese students. She has served as a coach and mentor to teachers and other College Board® consultants for over a decade, and in 2011 she became a College Board® consultant trained to work with school districts on a sustained basis as an English coach. Rebecca was recently appointed to the College Board® Instructional Development Committee to help develop instructional materials for teachers of AP® Literature.

Rebecca co-authored the article “Bridging the Grammar Gap: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” which appeared in The English Journal in January 2003. She is a recipient of the Martha Holden Jennings Master Teacher Award.

Greg Sherwin

Human Geography

Greg Sherwin has taught AP® Human Geography since its inception in 2000-2001. In addition to teaching at Stevenson High School in Chicago’s northern suburbs, he is active in the AP® Human Geography community and currently mentors new human geography teachers for the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio. Mr. Sherwin served on the AP® Human Geography Test Development Committee from 2002-2006 and has served in a variety of leadership capacities at the annual AP® Human Geography reading. 
 
Mr. Sherwin recently co-authored Human Geography for the AP® Course with Erin Fouberg, Alec Murphy and Paul Gray (March 2020). Previously, he teamed up with the same writers for the 10th and 11th editions of Advanced Placement® Study Guide for Human Geography: People, Place and Culture. Additionally, Mr. Sherwin has teamed up other expert AP® Human Geography teachers to create an app (iScore5) to prepare students for the AP® Human Geography Exam. In 2015 he received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the National Council for Geography Education (NCGE). His cultural landscape field study assignment was recognized by the College Board® and is available on the AP Central® Website. 

Benjamin Walters

Psychology

Benjamin Walters has taught AP Psychology for 14 years outside of Charlotte, NC.  In his first year teaching AP Psychology, he had 28 students take the AP exam. Currently, he has 175-200 students take the AP Psychology exam each year. He has had the opportunity to score AP Psychology FRQs for 7 years. He created a stand-alone AP Psychology online course for his district that has grown and has been very successful. Since 2017 he has worked with the National Math and Science Initiative as an AP Psychology consultant, mentor, and curriculum writer. Ben has worked as a College Board consultant since 2020. Ben has a passion to work with students and teachers to not only increase students’ AP exam scores but create a rich enjoyment of Psychology!  

Nichole Wilson

English Literature and Composition

Nichole Wilson teaches Advanced Placement® English Literature and English 4 at William Mason High School in Mason, Ohio, where she is also the Senior English Team Leader. She is an AP® English Literature Exam Reader, Mentor, and Consultant. She has spoken about best practices at a number of conferences, including the Advanced Placement® Annual Conference (2017, 2018, 2019), the College Board® National Forum (2013, 2015, 2017), the College Board® Midwest Regional Forum (2013), and the ISTE National Conference (2013). 

Through the J. William Fulbright program, Ms. Wilson taught Literature, Language, and Media Studies at East Norfolk Sixth Form College in England. She has also worked as a journalist for a daily newspaper, and as a Public Relations Director and adjunct instructor at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Nichole has an M.A. in Education and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction. 

Jorge Zamora

Spanish Language and Culture

Jorge embarked on his teaching journey in 2002 at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, IL, a suburb of Chicago, where he has dedicated his career. His expertise spans across various levels of Spanish education, from introductory to AP courses. For the past 16 years, Jorge has been instrumental in instructing AP Language and Culture, concurrently participating as an AP Reader since 2016. His roles as a Reader, Table Leader, and more recently as a Question Leader have contributed significantly to the selection of benchmarks, sample assessments, and leadership tasks during the Reading. 

Extending his influence beyond the classroom, Jorge is an accomplished presenter at local, national, and international forums, focusing on the pedagogy of AP Spanish and leveraging technology within World Language instruction. His contributions to Spanish textbooks and related publications reflect his commitment to educational advancement. Jorge earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Northern Illinois University and furthered his academic pursuits with a master's degree in educational technology from Concordia University in Chicago. 

Outside the academic sphere, Jorge devotes his time as a soccer coach for both boys’ and girls’ teams, having also coached volleyball and track and field. He finds solace in reading books in both Spanish and English, staying active through workouts, indulging in video games, and cherishing moments with his family.