Gail Ribalta, MIM – Senior Vice President, Marketing

Gail Ribalta is a founding partner of Edvance Research. She is a seasoned senior marketing executive with a successful track record in business and the business of education, including executive positions at Texas Instruments, Harcourt Assessment, Dearfoams and Mattel Toys. With more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of global consumer marketing, research, sales and business development, as well as finance and international business management, Ribalta has been recognized as an innovative problem solver with proven solutions.

Ribalta’s extensive knowledge of market research and analysis has been a major strength in communicating and incorporating research findings into strategic assessment and practical applications that have led to the successful launch or repositioning of a broad range of products, including agricultural and construction equipment, clothing, food and many lines of consumer goods.

She has spent more than half of her career working for the benefit of children and in the field of children’s educational toys. As leader of the Educational Products Division at Texas Instruments, Ribalta oversaw the development of the Speak and Spell line of products and at Mattel worked on over 30 other toy brands designed to promote children’s education and development.

At Harcourt Assessment, Ribalta unified the educational and clinical marketing departments into a single strategic marketing group and expanded the scope of the unit by establishing market research and public relations functions. As part of her focus on providing customers with added value, she led the creation of two new company magazines that delivered cutting-edge research reports directly to Harcourt’s education and clinical customers.

A major proponent of community outreach, Ribalta has been instrumental in providing support for a number of community organizations, including the San Antonio Education Partnership, the San Antonio Children’s Shelter, the San Antonio Food Bank, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and Communities in Schools.

Ribalta holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree in international management, (international marketing and international finance) from Thunderbird, the Global School of Management. She serves as an adjunct instructor for the MBA program at Norwich University in Northfield, VT., and is on the Advisory Council for the College of Liberal and Fine Arts at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

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Meg Grant- Senior Director, Marketing

Meg Grant has more than 25 years of experience in consumer and business-to-business marketing. At Edvance Research, Grant directs brand development, awareness and loyalty programs for the company and its clients, as well as return-on-investment analyses for all marketing programs. She collaborates with the senior vice president of marketing and the entire executive team to develop and execute strategic marketing plans and she assists in market research activities when needed. She also manages the day-to-day activities that ensure the success of all marketing, communication and dissemination programs.

As manager of dissemination for REL Southwest, Grant develops and directs the dissemination programs that ensure timely and relevant distribution of research reports to targeted audiences. She also serves as the liaison to news media and the Institute of Education Services (IES) to assess public relations opportunities and plan proactive and responsive strategies.

Grant directed national marketing programs as marketing director for Harcourt Assessment, Inc. and Fox Photo, Inc. Her background also includes marketing management and market research experience in diverse industries, such as fast food and financial services.

Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Texas at Austin. She has served in numerous leadership positions with the San Antonio chapter of the American Marketing Association, including vice president of programs. She has also served on non-profit boards, including Respite Care, the Low Vision Resource Center, and PTAs at elementary, middle and high schools in San Antonio.

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Laural Logan-Fain, Ph.D
Director, Market Research

Laural Logan-Fain has spent more than fifteen years working in the fields of education, educational publishing and market research. In her dual roles for Edvance Research and REL Southwest, she manages the day-to-day activities that ensure the success of all market research and recruitment programs.

Logan-Fain began her professional career as a high school English teacher before moving into educational publishing, first as market research director for Saxon Publishers, Inc., and then as director of market research for test publisher Harcourt Assessment, Inc. Logan-Fain has also been an assistant professor in the College of Education at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where she taught a variety of courses, such as Tests and Measurements, Classroom Management, Principles of Teaching and Foundations in Education. In addition to her full-time teaching duties, Logan-Fain also served as a university supervisor to student teachers throughout Oklahoma. She has published numerous school law-related articles and co-authored the Legal Handbook for Oklahoma School Administrators.

Logan-Fain earned a Ph.D. in educational administration, curriculum and supervision (EACS) from the University of Oklahoma (OU) with a specialization in education law. She also holds a Master´s degree in EACS from OU as well as a Bachelor´s degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio and is certified in secondary teaching by the state of Texas. The University of Oklahoma´s College of Law has awarded Logan-Fain an American Jurisprudence Award in Education Law.

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Nitin Sharma, MBA
Manager, Market Research

Nitin Sharma conducts and helps manage large, full-service primary and secondary research studies. He also participates in the management of the day-to-day activities that ensure the successful completion of educational research projects.

Sharma is a seasoned market research professional. With more than nine years of experience in the fields of market and financial data analysis, project management, industry and market segmentation, and strategy formulation in sectors such as education, publishing, health care, and technology, Sharma is a versatile researcher with numerous cross-functional skills.

Prior to joining Edvance Research, Inc., Sharma was a senior market research analyst at Harcourt Assessment, where he conducted research and interpreted results for the elementary, secondary and higher education assessment sectors and provided expert analyses that transformed raw data into actionable strategic plans. Prior to his work at Harcourt, Sharma provided professional services as a project manager, industry analyst and business strategy consultant.

Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology in India, as well as a master’s degree in business administration with concentrations in management decisions and data mining from George Washington University, where he was awarded the prestigious Global Leader’s Fellowship Award.

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Queta Nicholas
Manager, Market Research

Queta Nicholas has dedicated 20 years to market research in both the United States and Mexico. She has been a key player as both an in-house corporate resource as well as a consultant for top-level multinational companies. Having served as both supplier and client, she has developed a keen understanding of the many uses and applications of marketing research in strategic, actionable contexts. A native of Mexico, Nicholas worked as a researcher there for 12 years, including five years as a partner in a consulting research firm. She specialized in quantitative analysis and conducted research studies for organizations in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America.

Since coming to the U.S., Nicholas has held market research positions with various marketing and advertising companies. In 2000, she entered the field of educational market research when she joined Harcourt Assessment, Inc., where she held various positions, including project director for educational product development, and market research manager. This combination of experience provides Nicholas with an in-depth knowledge of the educational product cycle and market needs, plus an understanding of how to apply this knowledge to strategic decision-making.

Nicholas holds both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a postgraduate degree in marketing from Universidad Tecnológica de México in Mexico City.

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Dave Bergquist, M.S
Marketing Customer Database Manager

Dave Bergquist is in charge of developing, managing and utilizing the Contact Management System (CMS) to implement the dissemination plans and contact management plans for Edvance Research and its clients. He also supports internal clients with data-based, analysis-driven assistance.

Prior to joining Edvance Research, Bergquist worked at Harland Clarke, where he managed the day-to-day execution of database marketing analytic initiatives. Specific analysis and reporting to support client marketing programs included marketing campaign effectiveness, cross-sell effectiveness, and customer attrition. Before this Bergquist worked as an Economic Analyst with CGM Consulting and was the Assistant Project Manager at Texas A&M University working with economic impact studies on the Texas Turfgrass industry and of the Red Imported Fire Ant.

Bergquist holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Sam Houston State University and a master’s of science from Texas A&M University in Ag. Economics.

My Viewpoint
My goal is to take part in the dissemination of statistically valid and relevant information to those with the ability to make a difference in the lives of students and educators everywhere. The best messages and ideas of the world are worthless if no one is able to hear about them.

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Trina Hibbard
Executive Assistant

Trina Hibbard joins Edvance Research as Executive Assistant to the Vice Presidents of Marketing and Emerging Practices. In this capacity, she will provide administrative duties, including travel arrangements and meeting planning, as well as general support to both the Marketing and Emerging Practices teams. In addition, Hibbard will assist with web development activities.

Prior to joining Edvance Research, Hibbard had been a Marketing Specialist with a Customer Service background for the past 12 years for both the Cyberlog and NCR Corporations. Hibbard also was a Research Associate at the University of Texas at San Antonio managing a Neurobiology Research Lab for 3 years, teaching students laboratory practices and statistical analyses and managing the lab’s government grants. Hibbard earned a bachelor’s of science degree in Biology from UTSA.