Meet the People of Pearson’s Assessment Command Center

Jim SherlockDirector of Assessment, Privacy, and Security

started at Pearson working the help desk. He says the experience benefits his approach to operations and security, giving him a unique perspective on the two. Before his current role, he managed the operations center for 10 years.

Jim got a Masters in Education, and wanted to teach. He ended up working for the Department of Defense doing network security. When he moved back to Iowa, he merged his love for education and technology by joining the Pearson team.

Jerry WallingTeam LeadGovernance and Site Reliability Team

certifies that Pearson complies with security requirements, and makes sure that the assessments are up and running 24/7.

Jerry is a reservist in the U.S. Army where he serves as a captain. Since he’s been at Pearson, Jerry has been deployed to Afghanistan, Latin America and Korea. He’s also a proud owner of a Commodore 64, a computer that dates back to 1982 that he himself made when he was a kid, which you can see in this photograph.

Vani VenkatachalapthyDatabase Administrator

Working in the tech ops group gives Vani a great sense of teamwork and collaboration. She says the tech ops team is on the forefront of technology. They are the first to test a new technology, and, once they have a secure use for the tool, they move it out across the system.

got her electrical engineering degree in India. She came to America to work for a client, General Electric. After a while she got married and had kids. When her husband got a job at Pearson, she moved with him to Iowa and got a job at the same facility. The two work for different teams, but they make sure to see each other every day at lunch.

ChrisGerkenSenior Systems Engineer

is part of the monitoring team in the operations center. He guarantees that all of the systems are running in proper order.

Chris started with Pearson nine years ago as a test scorer, straight out of the University of Iowa. He got his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering.

Bin XiongDatabase Administrator

ensures new deployments go smoothly by making sure that replication and data flow between databases works seamlessly. He enjoys learning the latest technology developments, like cloud-based deployments and open source

Judah WalkerAssociate Software Developer

Judah makes sure apps for the students and teachers using the Pearson Education online system perform perfectly. He likes working at Pearson because of its commitment to quality IT services. Judah received a BS in Statistics and Computer Science from the University of Iowa and is currently enrolled for his masters.

Ashley HromatkoTechnical Project Manager

manages projects across the operations center team. She ensures that the team stays on task and that they are communicating well amongst themselves and with the outside business world. Her group focuses on infrastructure to make sure products are ready for customers.