Kathleen Cotter Clayton
Vice President and Curriculum Developer
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 and her husband Steve have six adult children ages 27 to 34.
Kathleen is currently responsible for program development support, 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
General 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 two grandchildren. Maren used 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 a data processor and one of 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 with three kids, five dogs and a 30 acre farm with lots of farm animals. Kelsie and her husband are big on community support, as they are foster parents, founders of a foundation driven to help youth and own a community daycare. Kelsie has many hobbies, however her biggest is competing with her two dogs in international DockDogs competitions. Kelsie really enjoys the world of marketing and loves that she can apply her creativity and skills to her job here at RightStart™ as our marketing person. Her favorite holiday is Christmas and has many 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].
Rachel
Customer Care and Conventions
Rachel Anderson has been homeschooling for 15 years. She has been married to Steve for 25 years and has been blessed with four children: Brady – 20, Logan -18, Parker -16, and Makenna – 12. Prior to homeschooling she graduated from Cincinnati Christian University (formerly known as Cincinnati Bible College) with degrees in Music and Business and an M. Ed. in Special Education. She has taught children with learning disabilities and coached families and teachers of students with special needs. She worked in Human Resources, Information Technology Department and as a Music Minister at her local church. Once she had children and started to homeschool, she realized that one of her children has significant learning struggles. As a result, she has done considerable research learning how to teach the ‘Struggling Learner’ in her family and loves to pass on her knowledge and experience to other parents looking for help.
Rachel has used RightStart Math from Kindergarten on. In fact she has “graduated” three children from RightStart Math and had been thrilled with her kids’ understanding of math concepts. She currently responds to emails sent to RightStart Math regarding questions about the curriculum or simply parents needing some guidance in their homeschool situations. She also enjoys working at homeschool conventions and sharing information about RightStart Math at the booth or in workshops. You can reach her at [email protected].
Teresa
School Liaison and Conventions
Teresa has a B.A. in English Literature and an M.S. in Student Affairs in Higher Education. Previously the Director of Student Activities at an American university in Germany, she is now a homeschooling mom of five and has been using RightStart™ since 2005. She is interested in adoption, travel, horses, gardening and reading. She can 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. 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.
Ron
Printing
Ron works in our printing department. He and Maretta are the ones who create the RightStart Math and RightStart Tutoring books. Ron 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.
Maretta
Printing
Maretta works in our printing department. She loves spending time with her two daughters, enjoying those concerts, volleyball and going to rodeos with them. She and one of her daughters have a huge heart for goats, rabbits, chickens, and cats. Someday she would love to own a hobby farm with all those critters.
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.
