Team

Meet Our Team

MANAGING ME WAS CREATED BY A GLOBAL THINK TANK

Managing Me is an executive functioning and self-management program for schools, created by a diverse cohort of prominent leaders in education, behavioral health, health care, public health and the entertainment industry.

These renowned experts have provided services for some of the most influential organizations in the world, including:

  • The White House (under multiple administrations)
  • The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Four of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world
  • Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • Stanford University School of Medicine

These renowned experts have provided services for some of the most prominent families in the world, including:

  • A family with real estate companies totaling over $28 billion in assets across the globe
  • A family with over $2 billion in assets in Los Angeles alone
  • The founding families of a leading automotive company
  • The family of a founding member of Microsoft
  • The family of a Pulitzer Prize winning American icon
  • The families of numerous celebrities

FOUNDING PARTNERS

In alphabetical order

HELEN L. BARON, M.D.

Director of Health Curriculum

hbaron@torvusgroup.com

Dr. Helen Baron is a world-renowned Endocrinologist who serves as the Director of Diabetes Health Services at Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) in Rancho Mirage, California. Prior to accepting the Directorship at EMC, Dr. Baron was the Director of the Bone Mineral Density Unit at the University of Southern California (USC) and spent more than a decade as an academic professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She held several prestigious positions at both the Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital, including but not limited to Chair of the Medical Error Reduction Team, Chair of the Insulin Error Reduction Team, Endocrinologist for USC Abdominal Organs and Cardio-Thoracic Transplant Programs, Endocrinologist for the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program, and Endocrine Attending at both the Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. She is also a published author and a clinical researcher who trains physicians in seventeen countries, and frequently participates in national and international medical conferences as an invited guest speaker. As a child of a Mexican immigrant who single-handedly raised four children, Dr. Baron continually strives to bring equality in educational opportunities to underserved communities – especially in the Lantinx and African American communities.


N.F.N. SCOUT, Ph.D.

Curriculum Designer & Director of Data Acquisition & Director of Inclusivity Curriculum

scout@torvusgroup.com

Dr. Scout is a prominent public health expert who serves on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils, serves on the NIH Advisory Council to the Director Working Group on Changing the Culture to End Sexual Harassment, serves as the Co-Chair of the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office, serves on the Advisory Panel for NIH’s All of U.S. initiative, and serves as a Pharmacopeial Convention delegate. He is also the Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, a national nonprofit healthcare organization, as well as the principal investigator of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded LGBTQ cancer disparity network. He has faculty appointments at both Brown University and Boston University’s Schools of Public Health. His work has earned him recognition from the United States House of Representatives, two state governments, several city governments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Scout is also an openly transgender father of three, a vegetarian, an avid hiker and a runner.


KERRILYN “K.” SIMMONS

Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director

ksim@torvusgroup.com

K. Simmons helms a global healthcare initiative that is active in several countries, including Bahrain, Brazil, France, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. Considered a prodigy in language arts, she excelled on the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB), was recruited by the United States Navy to be a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive (CTI) and was trained in linguistics by the United States Department of Defense. Prior to focusing on global interests, by her twenty-first birthday, Ms Simmons had utilized her expertise in language arts to become an award-winning writer whose accomplishments include selling the option to her first screenplay to Queen Latifah, Inc. Her additional credits in the entertainment industry include being represented by Innovative Artists Talent & Literary Agency, Inc., working for a major television studio, working on multiple network television shows, as well as penning and producing a feature length film that premiered in the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival in France. She also earned degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University. As the daughter of a Black man born and raised in the South who is an award-winning educator and social worker, and an Asian immigrant woman who was raised in Japan during WWII and became an award-winning educator, Ms Simmons endeavors to use the power of education to transform lives and the future.


LESLIE S. SNYDER, Ph.D.

Director of Behavioral Health Curriculum

lsnyder@torvusgroup.com

Dr. Leslie Snyder is a renowned licensed clinical psychologist and educational and neuropsychological assessor in Beverly Hills, California. She specializes in designing strategies for children to succeed academically, socially and behaviorally – enabling them to reach and surpass goals that once seemed unattainable. Prior to earning her PhD in Psychology, she was a successful professional writer who was represented by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and then Innovative Artists Talent & Literary Agency, Inc. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America and her credits for network television shows include being a television writer for Jessie which aired on NBC and being a story editor for Welcome to New York which aired on CBS. She also earned a double major in Biology and English, was awarded a prestigious research assistant position in the Department of Immunology at Rockefeller University, and earned a Masters in Biochemistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. As a Jewish woman raising an adopted Black son, she combines her passions for racial, economic, and educational equity to help children gain the most from their learning opportunities.


PROJECT SPECIALISTS

In alphabetical order

DEILA BUMGARDNER

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST

managingme@torvusgroup.com

Deila Bumgardner is the Learning Design Lead for Stanford Medicine Educational Technology. She has collaborated with Stanford faculty and subject matter experts on over 20 interactive CME courses covering a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to Type 2 Diabetes Management, Identifying Psychosis in Adolescents and Young Adults, Migraine Management in the Primary Care Setting, and Teaching LGBTQ+ Health. Prior to joining the Stanford Medicine EdTech Team in 2016, she was an instructional designer at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Apple. In addition, she built, launched and ran an innovative digital media and broadcast journalism program at Presentation High School (PHS). During her tenure at PHS, she also served as part of the technical support team and as the graphic designer and media producer. She earned her Master of Arts in Instructional Technologies (ITEC) from San Francisco State University and she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Film from San Jose State University.


SUSAN M. CRANK

Director of The Entertainment Division

managingme@torvusgroup.com

Susan M. Crank is a prestigious Producer and Unit Production Manager with more than 25 years of experience overseeing and managing all aspects of production for ABC, Disney, Touchstone Television and Warner Bros. Television. Her portfolio includes the mediums of Sitcom, Reality, Sketch, Film, Animation, Music Festivals, Digital Web, Live Show, and Variety – both single and multi-camera. In addition, she has transported Los Angeles-based shows to Hawaii, the Bahamas, and Las Vegas. She has also produced projects in Lake Tahoe, South Korea, and The Kingdom of Tonga. Ms Crank is currently working on the reboot of “Head of the Class” for Warner Bros. Television and she is slated to produce an upcoming docuseries focused on climate change with award-winning National Geographic photojournalist Paul Nicklen. Long recognized for her commitment to diversity in the entertainment industry, Ms Crank has had the privilege of working on television shows Executive Produced by and/or starring (in alphabetical order) Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Sofia Vergara, Damon Wayans, Keenan Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. Prior to her work in the entertainment industry, Ms Crank served as the Vice President of Operations at Culver National Bank in Culver City, California.


KAITLIN RODRIGUEZ

Director of Middle School Program & Curriculum

krodriguez@torvusgroup.com

Kaitlin Rodriguez is the Dean of Middle School at Westside Neighborhood School, a prominent independent school in Los Angeles, California. Prior to becoming the Dean of Middle School, she served as the 6th Grade Dean and taught 6th grade math and science. She earned a Masters in Education and Multiple Subjects Credential from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she focused her research on raising student motivation and engagement in math through the use of games. She earned her Bachelor of Arts with High Honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) where she majored in Psychology and earned a minor in Education and Applied Psychology. As the mother of a Latinx biracial son, she strives to eliminate traditional obstacles to learning with an individualized and dynamic approach that makes educational opportunities available to all.


Managing Me in Middle School has been successfully utilized in select award-winning California schools for years, including multiple prominent independent schools and a top-rated public school system. It has been run in-person and modified for online learning.

The program has been developed in partnership with Westside Neighborhood School and John Adams Middle School

John Adams Middle School
Westside Neighborhood School

Should your school join
the Managing Me family?

Managing Me is now taking applications for schools to be part of our team for the 2022-2023 school year.