As part of our commitment to providing our clients with the best advice and our end users with engaging and relevant educational materials, we maintain an Education Advisory Board (EAB) comprised of educators and professionals from across the United States. Board members are chosen to reflect diversity of geographic area, subject matter expertise, and grade level familiarity.

In addition to periodic conference calls, Topics Education staff calls on Topics EAB members at any time, whether it’s for subject matter advice, content review, product testing, or merely to get a second opinion.

Current Topics EAB members include:

Claire Abell Bindeman
Claire Abell Bindeman has served as an elementary school teacher since 1991. She began her teaching career in a bilingual, inner-city Los Angeles classroom with Teach For America, and has worked in both public and private education settings since. Bindeman currently works in Marin County, Calif., where she teaches 2nd grade part-time.

Robert Corbin
Robert Corbin is a National Board Certified Science Teacher, currently serving as Vice President of Learning Experiences for Discovery Place Inc. Corbin has taught for 20 years in a variety of public middle school, high school, and university settings, and is a science facilitator for the National Board Teacher Support Program for Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Schools. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards and fellowships, and is also an experienced curriculum writer. Corbin holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and an I.M.A. in Natural Science Education.

Kim Hughes
Kim Hughes, a 25-year veteran of early care and education, currently teaches four-year-olds with the Wake County (N.C.) Public School System’s Project Enlightenment Demonstration Therapeutic Program. Hughes has been an officer and board member with the Association for the Education of Young Children, is the facilitator of the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council in Wake County, and was a Teacher Advisor to both the N.C. Board of Education and the N.C. Department of Public Education's School Improvement Panel. Hughes is currently working on her school administration licensure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Donna Learmont
Donna Learmont has been a teacher for Michigan’s Bloomfield Hills Schools since 1986, specializing in media literacy and video production at the high-school level. She holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and previously served as a National Teacher Advisor for Cable in the Classroom. Dr. Learmont is also a public speaker on media literacy issues and has been honored with a number of awards, including a Teacher Award of Excellence from the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Adcraft Club of Detroit’s Community Contribution Award.

Karen L. Murrell
Karen L. Murrell is the founder and president of Higher Heights Consulting and Training, a privately held firm that works with the financial services industry to develop programs and products to improve the financial well-being of lower-income consumers. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and is the co-author of You and Your Money: A No-Stress Guide to Becoming Financially Fit (Financial Times Press, 2007). Murrell previously held leadership positions at Fannie Mae and the Fannie Mae Foundation, where she launched initiatives to increase homeownership.

Cindy Taylor
Cindy Taylor is an assistant principal at Avery Trace Middle School, a 7th and 8th grade middle school with 1000 students in Cookeville, Tenn. She taught Advanced Biology II, Honors Chemistry, and freshmen Biology for 18 years. Taylor served as a National Teacher Advisor for Cable in the Classroom and also leads professional development sessions in genetics, technology implementation in the classroom, multiple intelligences, and the use of brain-based strategies to enhance student learning. She holds an Ed.S. in Instructional Leadership.