Molly Schock, M.A. Ed.

Executive Director of Operations

Molly is the Executive Director of Operations at The Zones of Regulation, where she leads business operations and the organization’s global training initiatives. As the company’s first employee, Molly has been instrumental in the management of systems and processes that support the organization’s continued growth and impact. She has played a key role in building the operational foundation that allows The Zones to scale its mission.

Rooted in a family of educators, Molly began her career as an elementary and middle school teacher and has spent over 20 years coaching and supporting students. With her continued passion and deep commitment to teaching life skills, Molly brings an educator’s perspective to organizational leadership.

She holds an MA in Education, an Urban Education Certification, and a BS in Secondary Education. Molly lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son.

Annie Goerdt, Ph.D.

Executive Director of Learning & Product

Annie brings a wealth of experience as a school psychologist, researcher, and evaluator to her role as the Executive Director of Learning & Product. Before joining The Zones of Regulation, she served as a Research Scientist at the University of Minnesota, where she led research and evaluation efforts in school mental health and social-emotional learning. Annie began her career as a school psychologist, where she utilized The Zones of Regulation framework and curriculum extensively in her practice.

She is passionate about advancing learners’ well-being through social-emotional learning. In her role, Annie focuses on advancing evaluation efforts and building research partnerships to assess the quality and impact of The Zones of Regulation. She resides with her husband in St. Paul, Minn.

David Kuypers

Executive Director of Legal

David handles intellectual property and legal matters along with editing and curriculum testing for The Zones of Regulation. He spent over 10 years in the corporate world editing, managing, and writing, continuing legal education courses and legal treatises, working closely with practitioners and judges alike to create comprehensive and up to date legal information. After taking time off to help with school at home during Covid, David started working at The Zones of Regulation in 2021. David is married to Leah, the best OT ever, and was the original test subject for The Zones.

Adam Berkin, M.A. Ed.

Director of Strategic Accounts & Partnerships

Adam started his career as a classroom teacher working in elementary and middle schools in New York City and Massachusetts. He also taught pre-service teachers at Bank Street College of Education. After being in the classroom for several years, he moved into educational publishing, working for a range of publishers including Scholastic, Curriculum Associates, Pearson Education, and Time for Kids.

As Director of Strategic Accounts & Partnerships at The Zones of Regulation, Adam develops Zones curriculum materials, oversees strategic partnerships, and helps to ensure the fidelity and rigor of our curriculum and professional development materials and programs. Adam lives in Arlington, Mass. with his wife and two sons.

Emily LaShorne Walz, M.S. Ed.

Director of Learning Experience & Innovation

Emily is a licensed Special Education Teacher with over 20 years of experience in the field of education. She spent the first 15 years of her career teaching special education and leading social-emotional learning (SEL) initiatives in New York City and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Emily’s role as Director of Learning Experience & Innovation at The Zones of Regulation allows her to use her rich experience to be hands-on in developing curriculum content and training for Zones leaders, as well as consulting with schools, districts, and organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

Passionate about emotional regulation as a cornerstone for well-being, Emily designs inclusive instructional experiences for both youth and adults across settings and tiers of support. She lives on a sunny corner in Minneapolis with her husband and two children.

Hannah Money

Creative Lead

Hannah brings more than a decade of graphic design experience to The Zones of Regulation team. She began as a part-time contractor and quickly transitioned into a full-time role. In her time with the company, Hannah has gained a deep understanding of the education space, and her passion for The Zones and its mission continues to grow.

As Creative Lead, Hannah has played a key role in developing and maintaining the visual identity of The Zones of Regulation. Her contributions include logo and graphic design, brand updates, creation of resources, and ensuring visual cohesion across all materials. She has been integral to the development and design of the Zones Digital Curriculum, with a focus on accessibility enhancements and the creation of iconography to support diverse learners. Hannah resides in the Twin Cities metro with her husband and two children.

David Stirling

Director of Technology

David has spent most of his career in educational publishing, managing every stage of the production process from concept to completion. As technology has played an increasingly important role, his specialty has shifted from print to digital. Most recently, he designed and developed the online edition of Jennifer Serravallo’s Reading Strategies and Writing Strategies books. In 2020, he led the production of Lucy Calkins’s Units of Study Virtual Teaching Resources, a blended instruction solution developed in response to the pandemic. Previously, he was an original team member of Heinemann’s firsthand imprint, bringing progressive curricular materials to the classroom.

He is dedicated to building tools that empower teachers to perfect their craft. David is an avid photographer and traveler and has completed the French and Portuguese routes of the Camino de Santiago. He holds a BA in Philosophy with a concentration in world languages. David lives in southern Maine, just a short walk from the ocean.

Sara Marino

Head of Revenue & Customer Success

Sara is a sales strategist for growth-minded organizations with over 25 years of experience spanning luxury retail, publishing, IT, and med tech across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. She brings a global mindset and a proven ability to translate complex data into meaningful strategy—driving sustainable, profitable growth.

Her career has ranged from small agency life to Fortune 500 companies, including time as a pioneering digital marketing agency owner during the rise of social media. Sara has led initiatives featured in a BuzzFeed Netflix documentary and takes pride in being both a job creator and a champion for community-focused philanthropy.

She recently served as a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, building on her strong commitment to job creation in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Sara lives in Minneapolis and enjoys roaming the globe, running ultra-marathons, and visiting her soccer-playing son in Germany.

Brooke Douglas

Business Growth Manager

Brooke has spent the past 15 years building and leading customer experience and operations teams with a focus on data-driven improvements, thoughtful service delivery, and empowering people to do their best work. Her career began in frontline support, where she learned the value of listening deeply, solving problems with empathy, and creating processes that support both customers and teams.

Today, Brooke specializes in transforming customer insights into actionable business strategies, implementing operational improvements that strengthen the organization, and driving continuing enhancements to the customer experience.

Brooke believes great service cultures are created through curiosity, continuous learning, and a genuine commitment to both customers and colleagues. Outside of work, you can find her in a basketball gym with her kids, helping them follow their basketball dreams, spending time with family, or exploring ways to bring more growth, connection, and joy into everyday moments.

Annelise Brown, BA

Customer Experience & Operations Specialist

Annelise began her professional career in education as a high school vocal music director in Victoria, MN, where she focused on creating a safe and creative environment for her students to express themselves and develop their natural talents. She then pivoted to opening her own business where she learned how to hone the customer journey, from building close relationships, to making sure customers felt supported and successful.

Annelise loves helping customers find new ways to use The Zones of Regulation to create a bigger impact. In her role, Annelise supports, builds, and researches the customer experience to make sure our customers are getting the most out of The Zones of Regulation. She lives in Hopkins, MN with her partner, dog, and two cats. You’ll most likely find her around town asking someone if she can pet their dog.

Andrea Samaco

Finance Support Specialist

Andrea has been with The Zones of Regulation since 2022 and brings over five years of accounting experience to the team. In her role, she manages purchase order processing, generates estimates for quote requests, sends invoices, and supports customer care inquiries related to finance.

Andrea is passionate about the organization and structure that bookkeeping brings—she enjoys creating clarity out of complexity and ensuring things run smoothly behind the scenes.

Based in Los Angeles, Andrea is a proud mom of two and a wife. When she’s not balancing budgets, she’s balancing life at home—tackling the everyday adventures of motherhood. Her family enjoys exploring local parks, discovering new coffee shops, and spending time with extended family who live nearby.

Elizabeth Sautter, M.A., CCC

Content Development & Delivery Specialist

Elizabeth is a licensed speech and language pathologist and social-emotional coach. She is the co-owner of Communication Works, a private practice offering speech, language, and social support in California. She is the author of Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick and developer of Make it Stick Parenting, an online course for parents of neurodivergent children. Elizabeth works closely with The Zones of Regulation team as a Collaborative Trainer and has co-authored The Zones of Regulation Storybook Series and games.