PES Management
PES is led by an exceptional team of executive managers, who combine extensive credentialing experience with deep functional expertise. Together, they lead a staff of 90 in the delivery of services that directly support the credentialing missions of PES’s clients.
Bob Block, President and CEO
Effective January 3, 2012, Mr. Block became PES's President and CEO, replacing Dr. I. Leon Smith, who has retired.
Bob Block is a highly accomplished assessment and education industry executive. Mr. Block has spent the last 7 years of his career at Educational Testing Service (ETS), most recently as Senior Director of Business, Innovation and Growth. In this position, Mr. Block was responsible for all the business development activities for the Higher Education market, both domestically and internationally.
Prior to this position, Mr. Block was the Executive Director, K-12 Learning Development and was responsible for the ETS business unit that develops and delivers formative assessment products and services to state departments of education and K-12 school districts. He successfully managed a turnaround in this business from a loss in 2007 to a profit in 2010.
Prior to joining ETS, Mr. Block had a successful career with several other educational assessment organizations, including Boxer Learning, Inc. where as President and CEO, was responsible for all strategic planning and business development activities.
Mary Browne, MA, Vice President, Programs
Ms. Browne sets strategic direction and oversees the operations of PES’s program, editorial, and statistics departments. In this capacity, she is responsible for supervision of program management, item writing, examination development, standard setting, scoring and reporting. She has particular expertise in transition of programs from paper-and-pencil testing to CBT, and, analysis of examination program activity for compliance with standards and best practices. Her presentations at professional conferences have included topics such as repeat examination candidates, cyber ethics, and group dynamics in face-to-face and virtual meetings. Mary is currently chair of the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) Program Committee.
Kenneth J. Doucet, MBA, Vice President, Business Development and Marketing
Mr. Doucet is responsible for management and oversight of strategic and business planning, market research and analysis, strategic partnerships, new business development, and marketing at PES. He is very active in the volunteer committee work of several major credentialing industry organizations, including the Association of Test Publishers (ATP), the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), the Council for Licensure, Enforcement, and Regulation (CLEAR), and the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS). Prior to joining PES, Mr. Doucet served as Vice President for Business Development and Marketing for FinPortfolio.com, an internet-based financial services technology firm, and co-authored a book on investment portfolio management. He holds an MBA in Management and International Business from New York University, Stern School of Business.
Zuru Du, PhD, Director of Scoring and Statistical Services
Dr. Du is responsible for conceptualizing, designing, directing, and conducting statistical and psychometric research in support of PES products and services. He has contributed to the theories of psychological and educational measurement, and researched and developed new IRT models, model parameter estimation procedures, and software for improved model-data fit and increased measurement precision. Dr. Du has researched and developed optimum procedures for bank calibration and test pre-equating for licensure and certification testing programs. Dr. Du has also researched and developed new procedures for maintaining bank-scale stability and managing ITEM DRIFT for long-term licensure and certification testing programs. Dr. Du has a doctorate in Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics and a master’s degree in Applied Statistics from Columbia University. His doctoral dissertation entitled “Modeling conditional item dependencies with a three-parameter logistic testlet model” captured the 1999 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division D Mary Catherine Ellwein Outstanding Dissertation Award and the 2002 American Psychological Association Division 5 Distinguished Dissertation Award. Dr. Du’s dissertation focused on the development of a three-parameter logistic item response model that allows for local item dependence. His dissertation research is summarized in Computerized Adaptive Testing: Theory and Practice (Van der Linden & Glas, Eds.).
Sandra Greenberg, PhD, Vice President, Research and Development
Dr. Greenberg has been with PES since 1986, and has been Vice President for Research and Development since 1997. In that role, she is responsible for oversight and direction of research and development and advisory services in support of strategic planning, national and international analyses of practice, feasibility studies to explore new product development and product enhancements, audits of programs in preparation for accreditation, and practical examination development. Dr. Greenberg has extensive experience in the development, implementation, and evaluation of credentialing programs for professionals that certify, license, or register practitioners. She has coordinated a number of national and international research-based studies that provide the defensible basis for the development of credentialing programs, including those for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards; the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada; the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Petroleum Institute; and the Project Management Institute. Dr. Greenberg has also worked to develop valid and reliable examination programs, including objectively scored assessments such as written and performance tests. She has been active in the fulfillment of PES’s not-for-profit mission regarding educational initiatives—co-directing PES’s Invitational Seminars, and actively participating in the activities of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE); the Association of Test Publishers (ATP); and the Council on Licensure, Enforcement, and Regulation (CLEAR).
Daniel Leocadi, Bsc(Hons), Chief Information Officer
Mr. Leocadi is responsible for leading, coordinating, and directing all facets of the IT department within PES, working with external clients and internal business models currently in place. His responsibilities include planning and managing IT initiatives, strategy, and aligning the IT Enterprise and department with business goals. He supports PES senior management, directors, and managers by identifying, recommending, developing, implementing, and supporting cost-effective technology solutions. Mr. Leocadi is an experienced IT leader who began his career in 1991 as a Software Consultant for firms in London, UK, later founding a technology company in New York. Most recently, Mr. Leocadi was the Chief Technology Officer at Signup Media Ltd. in Toronto, Canada and Senior Vice President of Software Development for BurrellesLuce.
Jeffery P. Mohn, MBA, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Mohn has overall responsibility for the financial operations of PES, including financial reporting, forecasting, budgeting and analysis, and financial systems. Prior to joining PES in 1995, Mr. Mohn’s experience includes five years as a Certified Public Accountant in the firm of Coopers & Lybrand (now Price Waterhouse Coopers), Controller of a manufacturing subsidiary of Zurn Industries, Chief Financial Officer of a New York Media Company, and adjunct accounting instructor at Bergen Community College. Mr. Mohn holds a Bachelor of Arts from William Paterson University, and a Masters of Business Administration majoring in Professional Accounting from Rutgers University.
Steven T. Peluso, Esq., MBA, General Counsel
Mr. Peluso has been General Counsel at PES since 1996. Prior to joining PES, he was an associate counsel at a major New York financial institution. He holds a Bachelor of Science from New York University, a Juris Doctor from St. John’s Law School, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Mr. Peluso is a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is licensed to practice law in New York State and Connecticut.
John Schultz, Vice President, Operations
As Vice President of Operations, Mr. Schultz is responsible for the staffing and supervision of personnel within the departments of printing and distribution, application processing, customer service, mail service, and test administration. Mr. Schultz designs and oversees implementation of tailored customer service solutions for PES clients. He directs a cross-departmental team in the creation and implementation of quality control procedures in support of CBT- and paper-based credentialing programs.
Maureen Tillwitz, Vice President, Human Resources
Ms. Tillwitz joined PES in March of 1998. As Vice President for Human Resources, she is responsible for insuring compliance with all federal, state and local labor laws and regulations, and for setting and implementing PES’s human resource policies and procedures. Ms. Tillwitz began her career in human resources in 1971. She has worked for several major New York retailers, a healthcare provider and a financial services firm prior to joining PES in 1998. She received her BA degree from the State University at Stony Brook.
