Comira Testing - Expertise

Geraldine Celestre

President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Celestre was hired as comptroller by the Board of Directors of Computer Assisted Testing Services, Inc. in 1992. In August 1993, Ms. Celestre was selected by the board to assume the additional roles of President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Her task was to transition the fledgling Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Electronic Examination project into an active company. Ms. Celestre led the company to its industry position today through a combination of her leadership, vision and fiscal management.

In 1994, the company under the leadership of Ms. Celestre achieved financial independence and profitability by implementing a systematic growth plan. This plan led to an increase in the number of testing centers and certification clients. Ms. Celestre maintains an active relationship with the FAA, certification clients and other business partners.

Mark Dennehy

Vice President, Operations and Technology
Mr. Dennehy has over 10 years of experience in project oversight and operations analytics. Mr. Dennehy was hired in 2008 to create a quality assurance program for all departments within Comira. This involves programming, technical, administrative and personnel management. Mr. Dennehy led the business model transition for the FAA in 2010 resulting in the development of new training programs, audit systems and site inspection processes. His work set the standard for programs within the Airmen Knowledge Testing program.

Ken Hatch

Vice President, Business Development and Administration
Mr. Hatch is responsible for managing the business development team for Comira. Mr. Hatch rejoined Comira in February 2010 after previously holding the positions of human resources and testing center manager from 1998 to 2002. His responsibilities include the management of existing client relationships, test center operations, supervision of professional field staff, and supervision of the corporate office staff. Additionally, Mr. Hatch leads marketing and budgetary planning for Comira.

Mr. Hatch has held various positions in customer service, sales and strategic business planning for non-profit, consulting and government entities. His cross-functional responsibilities included project management, marketing, sales, and accounting. Mr. Hatch has more than 23 years of management experience covering transportation trip reduction programs, fitness and community development and real estate appraisal. Additionally, Mr. Hatch has been an integral part of marketing and budget process for both the YMCA of San Francisco and Comira.

Arlette Novelli

Director of Client Relations
Ms. Novelli has been a valuable member of the Comira team since 1995. Ms. Novelli is responsible for client relations and quality assurance for the Comira network. Additionally, Ms. Novelli is leading the expansion of the Comira Testing Center network. Ms. Novelli has administrative management, analytical and technical skills to effectively interface business and technology groups, and manage the project activities.

Ms. Novelli has held numerous positions in the Comira organization including Accounting, Human Resource, and Operations Manager. Her responsibilities included; monthly reports, bills, commission report/checks, reconciliation, inventory, site pricing, assistance with budget formulation, payroll, human resource compliance, and employee handbook development. Her experience has covered all aspects of the Comira registration, accounting, human resources, and project management functions.

Norman Hertz, Ph.D.

Director of Psychometric Development
Part of Comira since 2005, Dr. Norman Hertz is a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in the measurement field. He was the managing partner of HZ Assessments, a private psychometric consulting firm that he co-founded after his retirement from the California Department of Consumer Affairs in 2001. He has provided psychometric expertise to national and international organizations and has developed licensing and certification examinations for several western states including California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. He has extensive experience in private industry and government settings and has conducted validation studies, developed licensing and certification examinations, and established cut scores for more than 30 professions, ranging from the construction trades to medical specialties. He specializes in conducting psychometric audits of examination programs.

Prior to HZ Assessments and Comira, Dr. Hertz was the Chief of the Office of Examination Resources at the California Department of Consumer Affairs for 15 years. During his tenure at Consumer Affairs, he handled the most sensitive aspects of examination programs for more than 30 boards including expert witness testimony for legislative committees.

He has chaired and presented at the annual meetings of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation and the National Council on Measurement in Education and has also co-authored several technical papers and journal articles. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology, the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation. Dr. Hertz is a Licensed psychologist in California (PSY 15474).

Roberta Chinn, Ph.D.

Senior Psychometric Specialist
Dr. Roberta Chinn has over 20 years of experience in the measurement field and has been part of Comira since 2005. She was the general partner of HZ Assessments, a private psychometric consulting firm that she co-founded in 2001. She has developed licensing and certification examinations for several western states including California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. She has extensive experience in government settings and has conducted validation studies, developed licensing and certification examinations, and established cut scores for numerous professions, including dental auxiliaries, engineers, engineering geologists, fiduciaries, hydrogeologists, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, and veterinarians. She specializes in the development of multiple-choice, performance and oral examinations and has developed innovative methods to streamline procedures for job analyses and examination development.

Prior to HZ Assessments and Comira, Dr. Chinn was a senior psychometric consultant at the Office of Examination Resources at the California Department of Consumer Affairs for over 11 years. During her tenure at Consumer Affairs, she handled sensitive aspects of examination programs for more than 30 boards and was instrumental in the development of standardized practical examinations, applied law and ethics examinations, and standardized oral examinations.

She has chaired and presented at the annual meetings of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation and the National Council on Measurement in Education and has also co-authored several technical papers and journal articles. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation.

Megan Pierce

Psychometric Specialist
Ms. Pierce has been part of the Psychometric department of Comira since 2007. She has experience conducting job analyses and test specifications; and performing examination development activities for licensure and certification examinations.

Prior to her employment with Comira she worked as a Graduate Student Assistant for the California State Personnel Board and the California Corrections Standards Authority conducting job audits, developing tasks/knowledge statements, developing job analysis questionnaires, and preparing validation reports.

Victor Muh

Psychometric Specialist
At Comira since 2008, Mr. Muh evaluates and analyzes candidate data using classical item statistics (ITEMAN) and other statistical software (SPSS). He manages item banks for several licensing and certification programs using RIAS.

Prior to his employment with Comira, he worked as a Graduate Student Assistant for the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development evaluating large databases; creating data collection tools and surgeon level reports; researching new variables; managing datasets in SAS, Access and Excel for more than 40 hospitals participating in the Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) project; assisting with the creation of a CABG training manual and DVD; and assisting with the preparation of a Request for Offer (stroke project).