Avant Assessment

David Bong is Avant Assessment’s co-founder and Chairman of the Board. Bong brings nearly 30 years of experience in international business, sales and marketing, and management to his oversight role, and, for ten years, led the development of the company’s strategic vision, identifying new markets, and developing and managing key relationships and partnerships in the U.S. and abroad.

Prior to co-founding Avant Assessment, Bong was a founder of Step.com Communications, a Silicon Valley-based provider of stock market prices and company data on U.S. listed companies for Japanese securities firms and investors. Bong’s activities included business development, raising venture capital and angel funding, as well as managing legal and personnel affairs.

For more than 10 years, Bong also held international and U.S. management responsibilities with Kroll Associates, a premier corporate investigative, security and crisis management consulting firm. During his tenure, he was Managing Director of the firm’s offices in Tokyo and Silicon Valley and served in the San Francisco, Hong Kong and New York offices, opening new markets, and managing complex investigations in areas of fraud, organized crime and business intelligence.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Social Studies and Japanese History at Wesleyan University and completed an intensive Japanese Language program at the Naganuma School of the Japanese Language in Tokyo.

Michael Patterson brings 20 years of organizational experience and a reputation of leading expansive and sustainable growth to his role as president of Avant. Patterson is responsible for implementing the company’s strategic vision, managing all operations, developing and managing key partnerships and driving product development that capitalizes on existing and emerging opportunities in the U.S. and abroad.

Patterson’s record of success includes ten years driving Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) development of assessment solutions for the education market. Those efforts established NWEA’s position as a strategic national leader in the education assessment market. During nine years of extraordinary growth (35% or greater every year), Patterson’s roles at NWEA included envisioning the integration of technology in product development, building the resources necessary to execute on the vision, and directing the development and deployment of solutions including MAP, Measures of Academic Progress and Reporting System.

Prior to NWEA, Michael founded and owned a software company serving the Justice and Healthcare industries, and spent over a decade in finance and business advisory services for large public and private organizations. Patterson was most recently SVP of Assessment Services at Curriculum Advantage, Inc.

Michael served as a committee member at the U.S. Department of Education National Educational Technology Planning Sessions in 2003 and 2004, and has been actively involved with SIIA, CoSN, SIF, Software Association of Oregon and other industry organizations where he has served as a presenter and panelist at national and regional conferences.

Michael is a graduate of the University of Portland where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business and pursued graduate studies.

Paul Tucker is the senior linguist and vice president for assessment and research at Avant Assessment where he is responsible for all aspects of the test development process, including test design and specifications, item production, field testing, psychometric analysis and calibration of item banks, and operational test assembly.

Tucker has more than 20 years of experience in theoretical and applied linguistics as an educator, field researcher, and test developer. He has a broad background in the design and development of innovative Web-based foreign language assessment tools, including the practical applications of automated speech recognition technology, and research in theoretical linguistics and second language acquisition. He also has extensive experience as a manager of large-scale language assessment projects, including the supervision of a staff of test developers, item writers, and assessment specialists.

Tucker is an active member of the Interagency Language Roundtable’s (ILR) Testing Committee. The committee coordinates and shares information and research with federal agencies and governmental departments related to language proficiency testing and performance testing in federal agencies, the training of effective language testers and the use of technology in testing.

Tucker holds a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Fresno Pacific University and a master’s degree in linguistics from California State University, Fresno. Tucker is currently completing his doctoral program in linguistics at the University of Oregon. He is fluent in French and proficient in Hebrew.

Kyle Ennis brings to Avant Assessment over 20 years of education experience, including classroom instruction, building level technology management, student management and administration. As vice president of education and professional development, Ennis is responsible for coordinating connections and links with our K-16 partners and for guiding educational initiatives that strengthen these K-16 partnerships.

Ennis coordinates teacher training and professional development activities that instruct world language supervisors and teachers about how to use Avant’s language assessment tools and how to apply assessment results to their individual classrooms. He works directly with school administrators to identify assessment needs and then develops customized training sessions and workshops to help each program achieve their language instruction goals. Additionally, he participates in technology development initiatives, assisting sales and Assessment Development Teams with technology integration and support, applying his classroom experience and technology background to develop and direct meaningful technology solutions for Avant’s cutting-edge assessment technologies.

Ennis’ background includes serving as an EFL instructor in Japan for two years and a Japanese language instructor and technology coordinator at a U.S. high school for more than 12 years. He served as President of NCSTJ (The National Council of Secondary Teachers of Japanese) from 1996-1997. He is a member of ACTFL and has been recognized in Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 1995, 1997 and 1998.

Ennis holds a bachelor’s degree in English-Language Arts/Japanese from Utah State University and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Portland State University.

Linda Ballas has spent her entire career in the Information Technology domain, including roles such as Network Administrator, System Administrator, Programmer, Systems Analyst, Technical Specialist, Software Engineer, Software Architect and Enterprise Architect. As vice president of technology, Linda is responsible for managing the alignment of technology assets with strategic and tactical goals of the company.

Ballas directs an Information Technology department managing a range of software and hardware products and implementations. Her duties include oversight of design and delivery of technology assets, technology asset management, long range and short term planning, and development of the Information Technology team as key contributors to the Avant Assessment business.

Ballas also serves as adjunct faculty for two universities, teaching Information Technology courses to undergraduates majoring in IT or Business. She is an Area Chair for the Business Systems and Information Technology department at the University of Phoenix. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in Applied Information Management from the University of Oregon.

John Haakanson has served Avant Assessment since May, 2004 providing executive oversight and management across key areas including finance/budgeting, contract administration/legal, planning/operations and human resources.

Haakanson’s operational acumen has been vital to establishing Avant as a highly competitive language proficiency assessment company. During his tenure, Avant became the first company to utilize online language testing for No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-mandated assessments of English language proficiency (Minnesota 2004-2005, Oregon 2005-2009).

Haakanson was instrumental in helping the company win a contract with the Oregon Department of Education to develop and deliver the only online test of English language proficiency used to satisfy state NCLB requirements. His leadership also helped Avant secure a five-year contract with U.S. Department of Defense schools to conduct online foreign language testing worldwide and contracts with the Defense Language Institute and Transparent Language that have enabled Avant to become a major provider of language assessments to the Federal Government.

Prior to joining Avant Assessment, Haakanson served from 1991-2004 as vice president of operations, finance and administration at Jody Coyote, Inc, where he oversaw preparation and analysis of corporate financials, performed short- and long-term strategic planning and managed information systems, legal and personnel matters.

Haakanson earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and served as a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon School of Planning, Public Policy and Management.

Ginger Butler, who joined Avant in 2007, is responsible for managing the strategic direction of the production, project management, and training departments. In that capacity, Butler drives process improvement and optimization resulting in streamlined planning and production, improved client loyalty, enhanced teamwork, and efficiency generated cost-reductions. She supports all departments in identifying and documenting existing processes, provides tools to achieve consistent quality and increased output, and facilitates recruiting, hiring, and staff development.

Prior to joining Avant Assessment, Butler worked in project management for nine years acquiring extensive experience in Information Technology, specifically education management software.

Butler is a member of Project Management Institute and is active in the Willamette Valley Eugene Chapter. She was also a member of Business and Professional Women, and was Oregon’s Young Careerist of the Year, 1999.

Butler holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in business administration from Oregon State University. She also holds an Associate Project Management Certificate from the Project Management Institute.

Brad Fenstermacher works with Avant’s leadership team to articulate, capture, and effectively communicate the ideas that move Avant forward. He has more than 12 years of information technology experience, working with public and private sector thought leaders to develop innovative information technology strategies and solutions.

Brad specializes in the effective use of technology and communication as catalysts for organizational change. He is versatile and creative, drawing on experience within large and small organizations, across a broad range of industries, to provide insight, perspective and best practices.

Brad joined Avant in 2007. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Oregon and was recognized in 2008 as one of 20 Rising Business Stars by Lane County business leaders. In addition to his work with Avant, Brad devotes time to programs supporting education, early childhood development, healthcare, and economic development. He is a member of the United Way Success By 6® Leadership Team, the Lane Community College Foundation Board of Trustees, and the Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation Board.