Advancing Educators

Advisory Board

Dr. Fran Prolman


Dr. Fran Prolman is an internationally recognized consultant specializing in educational leadership, school improvement and instructional strategies as well as communication skills, critical thinking and organizational development.  Fran earned her doctorate in teacher training and international education from George Washington University and a Masters degree in educational administration and curriculum and instruction from the University of Pennsylvania.  She has been a two-time Fulbright Scholar in both India and Israel, and has presented numerous papers and workshops nationally and internationally.


Fran brings 30 years of educational experience as a teacher, staff developer, administrator, graduate level university instructor and published author.  She has made frequent presentations at state, national, and international conferences including the United States Department of State AERO Institute, the European Council of International Schools, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Central and Eastern European Schools Association, The African International Schools Association and the Near East South Asia Association of International Schools.

Much of her time is spent in multifaceted organizational development work with school systems throughout the United States and internationally.  She is known for her depth of knowledge coupled with high energy and practical application of content.  Dr. Prolman incorporates a variety of training approaches: small group discussion, videotape analysis, demonstrations and dynamic interchange through her work.

Fran facilitates leadership retreats for administrators, delivers system-wide keynote speeches and workshops, and coaches administrators in the building of professional learning communities, instructional supervision, evaluation and professional growth systems and the change process.  She also facilitates workshops for teachers focusing on differentiated instruction, formative and summative assessment, classroom application of instructional strategies that enhance student achievement, critical thinking, and curriculum design for a Common Core standards-based classroom.

Dr. Benjamin Piper


Dr. Benjamin Piper is the Chief of Party of the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative in Kenya. With funding from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2011 to 2014 and the Department for International Development (DFID) from 2012 to 2015, PRIMR is a research program designed to test low-cost and scaleable approaches to improving reading and maths outcomes in Kenya. Dr. Piper supervises the several embedded research programs in PRIMR, including those looking at ICT investments, the relative importance of books, lesson plans and training, and the impact of mother tongue programs in Kenya. Dr. Piper is also the Regional Education Advisor for RTI’s International Development Group. In this role he supports the technical design and implementation of the Uganda SHRP and Ethiopia READ programs, both of which are literacy improvement programs working at the national level. Dr. Piper has supervised and implemented large and complex research programs utilizing EGRA and EGMA tools and other innovative research tools. His previous research investigated the impact of an Ethiopian in-service teacher professional development program on teacher and student outcomes. He has experience in quantitative research, including longitudinal data analysis, RCT designs and mixed methods designs.

Dr. Piper is interested in the transitions between primary and secondary education, as well as secondary and tertiary education, and evaluation of programs targeting various portions of educational quality. He has experience working with classroom pedagogy, director/principal supervision, policy analysis, and national assessments and has worked with a variety of organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Save the Children. 

Eliza P. Fabillar


Eliza P. Fabillar is Senior Project Director at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). She brings almost 20 years experience in the fields of education, high school reform, and systems change. Her work has focused on designing and facilitating blended models of professional development to improve instruction and support inquiry- and problem-based learning. Fabillar directed several curriculum development initiatives (in the disciplines of social studies, humanities, English language arts, visual arts, and law) that have been implemented in high schools nationwide. She also worked with organizational partners to advance the integration of academic and career readiness. In the past few years, Fabillar’s work has focused on helping school and district teams use the innovation design process to develop interventions that address emerging needs and to create an institutional culture of continuous improvement. She facilitates cross-school and cross-district communities of practice as they engage in ongoing professional learning and explore ways of bridging research with practice. Throughout her career in education, Fabillar strives to empower all educators and students and to address issues of equity and justice. Fabillar’s work involves collaboration with a broad network of schools, districts, universities, city and state departments of education, and organizations across the U.S.

Fabillar received a B.A. from the City University of New York (CUNY), holds an M.A. in cultural anthropology from Columbia University, and attended a doctoral program at Teachers College. Before joining EDC, Fabillar was Education Co-Director at the Center for Media and Learning of CUNY.

Tovah Koplow


Tovah Koplow is the Director of the Instructional Coaching Program for DC Public Schools. In that role, she is responsible for hiring, training, developing and mentoring all of the Instructional Coaches in DCPS as well as managing and developing a team of Managers of the Instructional Coaching Program. The Instructional Coaching Program is the key vehicle and leverage for DCPS’ Common Core roll out. Prior to DCPS, Tovah was the Director of Teaching and Learning and an Instructional Coach for Friendship Public Charter School. Tovah has been an instructional coach and a teacher in New York City Public Schools and Boston Public Schools. She has a Masters in Elementary Education from Lehman College and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University. Tovah currently lives in Maryland with her husband and two children.