The TPR Team

University of Virginia professor and CaseNEX co-founder and president, Robert McNergney has led international efforts to make case-based teaching and learning as prominent in teacher education as the processes are in other professions. McNergney fosters cooperation and partnership with corporations, education associations, and leads the company’s grant-writing and new product development efforts. He has co-authored and edited numerous books and written extensively for scholarly journals and leading newspapers. He chaired the Commission on Case-method Teaching and Learning for the Association of Teacher Educators. McNergney served as a member and chair of the Technology Committee for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. McNergney has served as principal investigator or senior researcher on grants from the U.S. Department of Education, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, AT&T/Lucent Foundation, Hitachi Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, and Spencer Foundation.

Griffin has been with CaseNEX since 2005. He oversees operations, serves as general legal counsel, and leads the university partnerships and international outreach efforts. His experience in public education includes eight years as an administrator and teacher at the secondary level. Griffin also practiced law, serving federal and state regulatory agencies. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Government from The College of William & Mary, an MA in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America, and a JD from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University. Griffin expects to earn his PhD from UVA’s Curry School of Education in 2008.

Francine Oliver received her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Radford University and her master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Virginia. Francine spent seven years as an elementary teacher working with both Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and Cherry Creek Public Schools in Colorado. She then took a brief hiatus from teaching to work for the Antarctic program based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This opportunity opened doors to further travel and after a two month journey to Africa to work with the Global Volunteer Network, Francine returned to the University of Virginia to begin her doctoral studies in curriculum and instruction. In 2007 she was awarded the Elsie Hughes Cabell Endowed Scholarship. She is currently working on her dissertation.

Matt Shields used to be a mechanical engineer, working for a large defense contractor in Northern Virginia. But he changed tracks and became a teacher in 2002. He taught high school math and science for three years before enrolling in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2005. He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation. He also teaches physics at Charlottesville High School and does web development for CaseNEX.