Staff Listing

Holly Atha

In June of 2020, the MBA Research Board of Trustees chose Holly Atha as the next President/CEO of MBA Research and Curriculum Center. Holly assumed her new role on July 1, 2020.

Holly joined the MBA Research staff in 2015 and has provided leadership for standards research and business engagement. In her most recent role as Director of Business Engagement, she has facilitated numerous business focus groups around the country, recruited business speakers for Conclave, and is currently leading a team to re-engineer the standards development process.

Prior to joining MBA Research, Holly held a number of leadership positions including roles as Executive Director for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Chief Operating Officer and Start-up Strategist for an entrepreneurial effort in Columbus. She has management experience in customer support, account management, and sales. She possesses strong skills in problem-solving and building relationships, as well as experience in developing curriculum/training/testing materials and teaching adult learners. Atha holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“My passion and enthusiasm for our team at MBA Research and the work we do together is unbridled,” says Atha. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead, serve, and collaborate with our many partners as we continue to strengthen CTE and transform business and marketing education together.”

Rick Mangini served as interim CEO while the Board conducted their hiring process. As previously planned, he returned to his position as Executive Vice President.

Rick Mangini

Rick serves as Executive Vice President at MBA Research and is responsible for operations and program of work in conjunction with senior staff. Prior to joining MBA Research in 2012, his career spanned 36 plus years in career and technical education. He spent the last 25 years of his career with the Ohio Department of Education where he served as a consultant for Marketing Education before moving into the position of Assistant Director for Business, Marketing and Information Technology. He finished his career as Associate CTE State Director. Rick was State Advisor for Ohio DECA and Business Professionals of America. He served on the Board of Directors for MBA Research, DECA and BPA. He is an Honorary Life Member of DECA and was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for BPA. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Ohio Association of Career Technical Education. The Ohio DECA Board of Trustees named Rick Ohio DECA State Advisor Emeritus.

Marsha Dyer

Marsha joined us in 2002 when she assumed the challenge of providing the absolute best customer service in the world. Odds are, when you call or email, Marsha’s the one who will find the answer to your questions or solution to your challenges. She handles most order processing and you’ll also find her working our booth at trade show exhibits. She’s a major behind-the-scenes leader at the annual MBA Conclave (and has been seen at the infamous Conclave Casino). Recently, Marsha has accepted responsibility for the operations side of our online testing programs.

Tammy Cyrus

Tammy Cyrus is the Vice President of Professional Learning for MBA Research. She has presented at numerous state and national conferences. She was a previous Business Administration teacher in North Carolina. Tammy has received her Master of Arts in Business Education and National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certification. She holds a certification in School Administration and industry-recognized certifications in Adobe and Microsoft Office. Additional professional experiences have included teaching at the post-secondary level, working on curriculum development, serving in several leadership roles, and serving as an adviser for FBLA. At MBA Research, she oversees the MBA Research Professional Development Team, Teacher Advisory Network (TAN), MBA Research Conclave, and Leadership Forum. She provides professional learning support for teachers, districts, and state departments nationwide.

Laura Herbst

Laura Herbst is an experienced IT and business systems leader with over 20 years of experience helping organizations make technology work smarter. She’s led projects and strategies that improved processes and transformed systems at places like American Electric Power, The Ohio State University, and Fiserv.  She is thrilled to be part of the MBA Research team!

Aadil Khan

Aadil has been with the MBA Research & Curriculum Center since May 2024. A Canton, Ohio native, Aadil graduated from The University of Akron in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Sociology and a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke in 2021. He has worked at the intersection of education and policy with experience working for school districts across Akron, Cleveland, Durham, and Nashville. In his spare time he enjoys watching, talking, and consuming all things games and sports related. He also may or may not secretly be a Wolverines fan (the answer is ‘no’ when he’s in the office for safety reasons).

Janet Brophy

Janet Brophy taught High School of Business at Idalia High School and Haxtun High School in Colorado for 11 years.  Prior to teaching high school, Janet worked in human resources and then support staff for an education consortium. Janet earned her BA from the University of Wyoming and her MBA from the University of Phoenix.  Janet also taught for 10 years as an adjunct professor for Morgan Community College. Janet was an FBLA Adviser, member of the MBA Research Teacher Advisory Network, a trainer for High School of Business™, and is the current treasurer for Colorado Business and Marketing Educators Association.

Janet loves to travel and explore the outdoors, capturing the beauty with her photography. She loves spending time with family or curling up with a good book. Life is an adventure, and the best way to learn new things is to go explore.

Christopher Burke

Chris Burke is one of our graphic designers at MBA Research. He is responsible for design of LAPs, various print and exhibit materials, and content on the MBA Learning Center. Chris is a graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design and started at MBA Research in 1989.  When he isn’t working, Chris is interested in art, museums, reading, festivals, listening to and playing music (drums), concerts, movies, camping, hiking, and sports (especially OSU football, GO BUCKS! O-H, I-O).

Anna Haugh

Anna Haugh joined the MBA Research team in July 2022 as a Marketing Associate/Graphic Designer. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, she decided to go to college away from home at Ohio University to major in media studies & arts while minoring in marketing. After earning her bachelor’s degree in communication, she moved to Columbus, Ohio. She regularly visits her family in California and loves traveling all around the country. On the weekends, she enjoys watching movies, eating at new restaurants, and exploring the Columbus area.

April Miller

As Vice President of Teaching and Learning for MBA Research, April J. Miller provides guidance and support to educators involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of standards-based curriculum. She oversees the creation of a broad range of instructional materials and products, including LAP modules, curriculum guides, technical skill assessments, programs of study, and the online Learning Center. April represents MBA Research at state- and local-level workshops and seminars and has had multiple articles published in Techniques magazine.

April, who joined MBA Research in 2006, served as senior curriculum research associate prior to assuming her current role as a vice president with the organization. A graduate of Wittenberg University (OH), April is a former high school teacher and corporate trainer in the finance industry. She lives in Galloway, Ohio, with her husband Michael, daughters Maria and Alexandra, and dogs Cutie Pie and Mr. Beefy. In her spare time, April enjoys reading, crafts, and spending time with her family.

Rachel Tennison

Rachel Tennison has been with MBA Research & Curriculum Center since 2020. She graduated from Wittenberg University in 2016 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Communication. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, and enjoys cooking, spending time outdoors, listening to audiobooks, and filling her home with plants.

Sam Dunham

Sam Dunham has been with MBA Research & Curriculum Center since February of 2022. He graduated from Allegheny College with a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish. He lives in Lebanon, Ohio, and enjoys playing basketball, taking walks, playing poker, and watching esoteric horror films.

McKenzie Cottrell

McKenzie has been with MBA Research and Curriculum since March of 2025. She graduated from the Ohio State University with a B.A. in English.  She enjoys reading, crocheting, studying foreign languages, and cuddling with her cats and guinea pigs.

Zachary Leder

Zach has been with MBA Research & Curriculum Center since September of 2024 and helps develop curriculum and assessments. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s degree in English Creative Writing and a Master’s in Education Teaching & Learning. Zach enjoys watching movies, writing screenplays, and spending time with his friends and family.

Josiah Cheung

Josiah Cheung joined MBA Research and Curriculum Center in October 2024, shortly after receiving his B.S. in Computer and Information Science from The Ohio State University. Through knowledge gained in pursuit of his degree and writing skills earned through the pursuit of being an English nerd, he assists in the development of technology-related assessments and test item banks. He is a lover of Star Wars, music, video games, exercise, and a good book.

Molly Brown

Molly has been with MBA Research and Curriculum Center since May 2025. She graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in music and splits her free time between rock climbing, performing music, and being obsessed with her orange cat.

Ann-Marie Martin

Ann-Marie has been with MBA Research since 2017. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a BSBA degree in Management Information Systems. She is responsible for providing technical support to our customers and staff. This includes support for the Learning Center, HSB Wiki, and various other applications.

Phil Loaiza

Phil is, in his words, the Technology Ombudsman and Computer Whisperer for our organization. As such, he provides the human connection between all the boxes with blinking lights in our office and our staff teams. On good days, he keeps all those blinking lights blinking harmoniously. To do so, he’s been known to curse silently at the heavens when things go wrong in his attempts to maintain, upgrade, and cajole the organization’s various computers and peripherals. Phil is instrumental in the design and operation of all things technical, including our various websites, the online MBA Learning Center, and the many different databases that support our programs and services.

We asked Phil to share a bit about his professional background. In his words: I started working with computers when I was 14 years old. No big deal you say, but when I was 14 dinosaurs roamed the earth and gas was 25 cents a gallon. I tried to get a formal education in personal computers but such a thing didn’t exist and rather then getting the electrical engineering degree that all my other peers went after I dropped out and started learning everything I could about PCs on my own. Throughout the years I’ve done a little bit of everything where computers are concerned.