Kathleen Cotter Clayton
Vice President and General Manager
Kathleen Cotter Clayton is the daughter of Dr. Joan A. Cotter, author and creator of the RightStart™ Mathematics program. She was one of the first children to grow up under the Activities for Learning principles. Kathleen has a degree in Home Economics from the University of Minnesota and has two Masters Degrees from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kathleen is the mother of four children ages 26 to 30. Three of the children graduated from North Dakota State University and one graduated from the University of Minnesota.
Kathleen is currently responsible for program development support, marketing, sales, and general management. She travels all across the US and Canada, sharing the RightStart mission of helping children understand, apply, and enjoy mathematics. She is currently supporting/teaching an online class with a group of middle-school students. In her spare time, Kathleen designs and sews quilts and is re-learning how to unicycle.
You may contact Kathleen Cotter Clayton via email at [email protected], by calling 888-272-3291 or writing to her at 321 Hill Street, Hazelton ND 58544.
Maren
Office Manager
Maren has a Bachelors Degree in design and art from North Dakota State University. She is responsible for managing the office, curriculum support, assisting with marketing, convention support, and helps support the online middle school classes when needed. She travels to conventions within the US and Canada to help children benefit from using RightStart Math.
She has 30 years of accounting and customer service experience. Maren is married with three children ranging from high school to adult and has a new grandchild. Maren uses RightStart Math with her youngest daughter, who has excelled in math for this very reason. She enjoys painting, reading, camping, home improvements, and landscaping. You may contact her at [email protected].
Eileen
Data Processing and Customer Service
Eileen is the data processor and the voice behind the phone. She is a native of Washington state. She is married and has five children and five grandchildren. She loves camping and outdoor activities, including both vegetable and flower garden creations. Most summer weekends, you will find Eileen on a golf course doing her best to win some tournament. She loves painting and building things with her husband. Eileen spent many years providing child care in her own childcare facility. You may reach her at [email protected].
Amerie
Data Processing and Customer Service
Amerie works in Data Processing and is happy to help you on the phone. She has two children; a son and a daughter and just enough four legged creatures to snuggle with. The family enjoys watching and supporting each kids’ sports events. They love traveling to new places and seeing the sights. Amerie spends her spare time scrapbooking and baking (and the office enjoys her baking skills!). You may reach her at [email protected].
Jodi
Spanish Translator and Customer Service
Jodi is a native of Washington State, although she has lived in and worked in Mexico and Argentina. She has taught English as a second language to Spanish speaking people and participates in Spanish social groups. Jodi has a son and four grandchildren. She loves nature, music, teaching, math, camping, and hiking. You can reach Jodi at [email protected].
Jodi es originaria del estado de Washington, aunque ha vivido y trabajado en México y Argentina. Ha enseñado inglés como segundo idioma a personas de habla hispana y participa en grupos sociales españoles. Jodi tiene un hijo y cuatro nietos. Le encanta la naturaleza, la música, la enseñanza, las matemáticas, los campamentos y las caminatas. Puede comunicarse con Jodi en [email protected].
Kelsie
Marketing
Kelsie is a native of Michigan. She is married and has two dogs. Kelsie and her husband are foster parents. She loves Christmas and has fifteen decorated trees in her house to celebrate the season! You may reach her at [email protected].
Constance
Convention Coordinator
Constance is the person that gets the RightStart people to and from your favorite conventions! She schedules the booths, flights, hotels, and all the details in between. Constance is an engineer by education but currently is focusing her after-hours attention on the unicycling communities around her town, state, and country and on salsa dancing with her husband Greg! For a quick glimpse of Constance’s skills, click here (she’s on the tall red one). She may be reached at [email protected].
Jennifer
Warehouse Supervisor
Jen supervises the warehouse, keeping the shipments processed, maintaining the inventory, and running interference where needed. She and her husband Justin have three kids and live on a ranch in North Dakota. They raise Simmental cattle and are getting into sheep. She loves riding horse, spending time in her garden, and checking cows in the summer months. She may be reached at [email protected].
Marcie
Warehouse/Shipping
Marcie works in shipping and keeps things running. She is married and has six adult children, fourteen grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. She and her husband enjoy cooking, gardening, fishing, camping, and travel.
Betsy
Warehouse/Shipping
Betsy works in shipping. She has nine siblings and is right in the middle of the pack. She has a herd of cattle. Really! Like lots of cows. Her most favorite thing in the whole world is calving season. There’s just nothing better than seeing a new little one being born, then get up on their feet, and do well!
Betsy loves to travel and to see new things. Rather than traveling to somewhere specific with a firm plan, she goes where the wind blows her and enjoys what she finds. Her goal is to live in Hawaii!
Nikki
Warehouse/Shipping
Nikki works in the warehouse and in shipping. She grew up in northeast Montana and recently moved to Hazelton. Interestingly, she lives less than a block away from the office, so the daily commute is quick. Nikki has five adult children, nine grandchildren and counting. She likes to go camping and fishing. She also does Native American bead-work using her own designs with tiny seed beads.
Tammy
Printing
Tammy manages the printing of our books and other related material. She lives in a nearby town with her husband of 48 years and has two grown children and five grandchildren. Tammy keeps herself busy following her grandchildren’s activities, including BMX racing, basketball, soccer, and music. Tammy also enjoys gardening and bike riding.
Laurie
Printing
Laurie is one of our valuable team members in the printing department. She is married and has three children. She lives on the family farm, located near a neighboring town. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, sewing, and reading.
Darin
Printing
Darin works in printing but likes to help the other departments. He has worked for several farmers and ranchers in the area, including Don, Ron, and Laurie. Darin lives on the family farm with his dog Louie where he enjoys hunting, fishing, and riding horse.
Maretta
Printing
Maretta works in our printing department. She, her husband James, and their two children live on a ranch where cattle, fencing, and putting up hay for all the critters keep everyone busy. They have seven goats as family pets. But the goats do provide milk for the family, so they are productive pets. Maretta loves to mow their two acre yard, garden, and fix fences with her husband.
Joy
Assembly
Joy works in assembly. She’s had many different professions over her career and is now enjoying putting together materials for the children of RightStart. She has nine adult children, 22 grandchildren, and somewhere around 25 great grandchildren. The number of great grands keep changing, so it’s hard to keep up…. Joy loves to travel and go on cruises. She’s been known to hook up her fifth wheel trailer and just hit the road to see where it goes.
Sharon
Assembly
Sharon works in shipping and assembly. She spends her free time making candles, playing computer games, and reading. Sharon and her husband live in a neighboring town. Her daughter is attending college in Michigan. She can be reached at [email protected].
Judy
Assembly
Judy grew up in Hazelton, ND, and graduated from Hazelton High School. She married a local farmer 40 years ago and has three children, four beautiful granddaughters, and, finally, a grandson. Judy works diligently on assembling our many math materials. She enjoys sewing, reading, and gardening.
Bernice
Assembly
Bernice is a grandmother of nine and great-grandmother to three beautiful little people. Bernice is a native of the area. She enjoys time with her family, keeping up the grandkids, and reading when she gets a quiet minute. Bernice is the master of our assembly team and tries to keep everyone in line.
Don
Assembly
Don works in assembly. He is the man who crimps the wires for the abacus along with a variety of other things. He was born in this area, but moved to western Montana where he was a lumberjack as well as packed railroad ties. He loves feeding cattle and riding horseback. Don and his wife enjoy traveling back to his beloved Montana mountains.
Ron
Assembly
Ron works in assembly. He and Don are our go-to people for projects. He is married, lives in a nearby town, and has three daughters and three grandsons. He’s had lots of different careers in his life: lineman, motor grader, and center striper for the western half of the North Dakota highways, just to name a few. He loves to ride horseback, hunt, fish, and camp. Like Don, he loves the Montana mountains.
