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A seasoned educator, April Michele has served as the Executive Director since 2018 and been with Future Problem Solving more than a decade. Her background in advanced curriculum strategies and highly engaging learning techniques translates well in the development of materials, publications, training, and marketing for the organization and its global network. April’s expertise includes pedagogy and strategies for critical and creative thinking and providing quality educational services for students and adults worldwide.
Prior to joining Future Problem Solving, April taught elementary and middle grades, spending most of her classroom career in gifted education. She earned the National Board certification (NBPTS) as a Middle Childhood/Generalist and later served as a National Board assessor for the certification of others. In addition, April facilitated the Theory and Development of Creativity course for the state of Florida’s certification of teachers. She has also collaborated on a variety of special projects through the Department of Education. Beyond her U.S. education credentials, she has been trained for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Humanities.
A graduate of the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and the University of South Florida with a master’s in Gifted Education, April’s passion is providing a challenging curriculum for 21st century students so they are equipped with the problem-solving and ethical leadership skills they need to thrive in the future. As a board member in her local Rotary Club, she facilitates problem solving in leadership at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute and earned her certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Edyth Bush Institute at Rollins College.
Allison Williams brings a passion for student engagement and expanding access to Future Problem Solving’s transformative learning experiences. An FPS alum, coach, evaluator, and educator, Allison has been involved with Future Problem Solving for more than a decade. She now helps support students, coaches, and families across the organization’s global network through educational resources, program support, and outreach initiatives that strengthen participant experiences and advance Future Problem Solving’s mission.
As Education Outreach Manager, Allison oversees the Open Affiliate program, creating opportunities for independent participants from regions not currently served by an active Future Problem Solving affiliate to engage with FPS programs and competitions. She also creates educational materials and resources that enhance students’ understanding of the organization’s proven 6-step problem-solving process. Allison competed in Global Issues Problem Solving throughout middle and high school, has coached and evaluated Global Issues since 2016 for multiple affiliates, and became a certified International Conference evaluator in 2018.
Allison earned her bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Florida with a focus in Teaching English as a Second Language and language documentation. She is passionate about helping students develop the confidence, creativity, and problem-solving skills they need to make a meaningful impact in their communities and beyond.
Amy McArthur brings a passion for future-focused education and student empowerment to her role as Engagement Manager at Future Problem Solving. An educator, FPS coach and evaluator, and experienced volunteer leader, Amy has been part of the FPS community for more than a decade as a parent, coach, evaluator, and mentor. Drawing on her firsthand understanding of the student and affiliate experience, she helps strengthen engagement across the organization’s global network and create meaningful experiences that advance Future Problem Solving’s mission.
Prior to joining the FPS staff, Amy taught 6th grade English Language Arts in Texas, where she specialized in differentiated, standards-based instruction that fostered communication, creativity, and critical thinking in diverse learners. She is certified in Core Subjects (Grades 4–8), Gifted and Talented education, and English as a Second Language instruction and is passionate about creating engaging learning experiences that empower students to thrive. Beyond the classroom, Amy has mentored new FPS coaches and evaluators and led large-scale volunteer leadership and training initiatives serving youth and adults across multiple communities.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Western Governors University and an Associate of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Odessa College. She is passionate about helping students develop the critical and creative thinking skills they need to become compassionate leaders and positive change-makers in an ever-changing world.
Damien Milner joined Future Problem Solving in 2017 and leads all IT efforts. Damien’s background includes software design, development, support and training, many areas of management, website design, and ecommerce consulting. Prior to joining Future Problem Solving, Damien spent a decade working for an ecommerce software company supporting development and management of the software and tech support team. He earned his associate degree in Computer Information Systems from Athens Technical College and studied Computer Science at Georgia State University.
Debbie Pruneau joined Future Problem Solving in 2009 and leads all administrative efforts. She studied Business Education at Westfield State College in Massachusetts and has worked as a bookkeeper and office manager in a wide variety of businesses and nonprofit settings.
A seasoned development professional, Everett Duke brings extensive experience in fundraising, development, and outreach across the nonprofit, higher education, and sports sectors, along with a deep, personal connection to Future Problem Solving. He began competing with FPS Alabama in elementary school, continued through high school, and now draws on those champion problem-solving skills to align organizational goals with funder priorities and communicate impact with clarity and confidence.
Today, Everett leverages this unique perspective to help Future Problem Solving grow its philanthropic presence after more than 50 years of programmatic success. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Auburn University.
Kyla Mocharnuk serves as the Competition Director and leads centralized efforts for our Open affiliate, mentored regions, evaluation activities, and topic development. Kyla has participated in just about every role within Future Problem Solving dating back to her elementary school days. She is an alum of Florida Future Problem Solving where she competed in Global Issues and began evaluating while still in high school.
During her time at Ursinus College earning her bachelor’s in International Relations and French, Kyla evaluated for both the Florida and Pennsylvania Future Problem Solving affiliates and began evaluating Global Issues and Creative Writing at the International Conference. While completing her master’s in Political Science at Arizona State University, she served as the Arizona affiliate evaluation director and a board member for Future Problem Solving. She also has experience as a coach and evaluator trainer, future scene writer, and competition coordinator.
She is motivated by the excitement and engagement that Future Problem Solving brings to the students learning the creative process, as well as the coaches, parents, and evaluators that support these students.
Melanie Dickens is a recent graduate of Eastern Florida State College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management with a specialization in Nonprofit Management. Her connection to Future Problem Solving runs deep. Melanie began competing with FPS Florida in Global Issues in fourth grade and continued through high school, experience that helps her connect meaningfully with students, coaches, alumni, supporters, and the broader FPS community today. Since 2021, she has combined her talents and professional interests to communicate with and engage the global FPS community online.
An FPS Texas Global Issues alum, Michelle Waldgeir reconnected with Future Problem Solving in 2023. After guiding the organization through its strategic planning process, she partnered with staff to implement the foundational elements of the new Five-Year Strategic Plan, including a comprehensive brand relaunch. She now oversees and manages integrated marketing efforts across the global network and helps bring growth and transformative initiatives to life to expand FPS’s reach and impact.
A versatile leader, Michelle specializes in helping purpose-driven organizations unlock new possibilities. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and her M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Portia Ancheta is a recent graduate of Tarlac State University in the Philippines, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. As a multimedia designer, she brings experience in digital content creation across beauty care, consumer healthcare, fintech, pet care, and nonprofit sectors. She began working with Future Problem Solving in 2023 on the brand relaunch and continues to support FPS’s content needs across formats, distribution channels, and geographies.
Aligning to the International Principles of Social Value and conducted in accordance with the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework published by the Cabinet Office of the UK Government, this analysis uses a stakeholder informed approach to show the social value generated over the calendar year of 2024 against all the investment relevant to those stakeholders involved in or affected by the program. Accordingly, it uses the views of people that are materially affected (staff, volunteers, and youth) to determine what outcomes FPS Community Projects creates and involves them to estimate their quantity, duration, value and causality. It is not an assessment of the savings to participating schools, environmental value or benefit to the economy.
Results conclude a total of $4.9 million of social value generated by FPS Community Projects in 2024 with an SROI ratio of $1: $33.09 ($1: $29.12 for youth not exposed to project management concepts plus an additional ratio of $1: $3.97 for youth trained in project management knowledge and skills) and a vast total positive impact on program participants and those people whose lives FPS Community Projects touch.
Through enabling people to give back, FPS Community Projects is making a difference to people’s lives in the local communities impacted by the group projects. A larger significance are the skills and attributes participants gain through their FPS Community Projects participation. It should be noted that nearly a third (29%) of the total social value found is through increasing individuals’ feeling of giving back to others and almost half (49%) of the total social value is about life (soft) skills acquisition.
The highest social value per person was created for FPS Community Projects Volunteer Coaches (specifically regarding the use of scaffolding as a framework, i.e., recording of past efforts as a resource for present and future projects), while the highest total social value per stakeholder group was for the youth participants. It was shown that for youth participants who were not exposed to project management concepts, an increase in ‘self-esteem’ and ‘greater involvement in the community’ are the most important outcomes, and it is through enabling this, FPS Community Projects is making the most difference to people’s lives.
For those youth participants receiving project management training, ‘organizational skills’ and ‘team collaboration’ were the most important outcomes in addition to those expressed by youth not having been exposed to project management. Other important outcomes for the former group also include:
It is recommended that findings from this SROI analysis be used to:
This research was commissioned by Future Problem Solving (FPS) as a pro bono project to create an SROI report. The analysis, primary research, value map and report that forms the full SROI report was led, undertaken and written by the Project Management Institute. The overall project was overseen and supported by the Technical Director of Social Value International.
Data from the The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) was collected by Grandview Middle School and provided to Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. for statistical analysis.
Findings reported by Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. Performance data on the MCA was collected from 2010-2014 for students in grade 6 at Grandview Middle School in Mound, MN (Westonka Public School District). Students were identified as either FPS: students participating in a Future Problem Solving program, or Non-FPS: students not participating in the program. Summary statistics using Reading and Mathematics Scaled Scores were developed for each group of students by year and across years. To determine if the mean scores across the years were significantly different, t-tests were used. A Cohen’s d test was then performed to measure the effect of the size of the found differences.
Seventy-five participants from one suburban high school formed 21 teams with 3–4 members each for Future Problem Solving (FPS). Students were selected to participate in either the regular FPS or an enhanced FPS, where multiple group training activities grounded in problem-solving style were incorporated into a 9-week treatment period.
An ANCOVA procedure was used to examine the difference in team responses to a creative problem-solving scenario for members of each group, after accounting for initial differences in creative problem-solving performance, years of experience in FPS, and creative thinking related to fluency, flexibility, and originality. The ANCOVA resulted in a significant difference in problem-solving performance in favor of students in the treatment group (F(1, 57) = 8.21, p = .006, partial eta squared = .126, medium), while there were no significant differences in years of experience or creativity scores. This result led researchers to conclude that students in both groups had equivalent creative ability and that participation in the group activities emphasizing problem-solving style significantly contributed to creative performance.
In the comparison group, a total of 47% had scores that qualified for entry to the state competition. In contrast, 89% of the students in the treatment group had scores that qualified them for the state bowl. None of the teams from the comparison group qualified for the international competition, while two teams from the treatment group were selected, with one earning sixth place.
The Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol. 0, Iss. 0, pp. 1–12 © 2017 by the Creative Education Foundation, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/jocb.176
In 2011, a team of researchers from the University of Virginia submitted a report titled “Future Problem Solving Program International—Second Generation Study.” (Callahan, Alimin, & Uguz, 2012). The study, based on a survey, collected data from over 150 Future Problem Solving alumni to understand the impact of their participation in Future Problem Solving as students or volunteers.
Data was obtained from 220 coaches, 633 students, 195 parents, and 34 affiliate directors nationally and internationally
The Center for Creative Learning, USA (Treffinger, Selby, and Crumel) completed an international evaluation of Future Problem Solving including three competitive programs (Global Issues, Community Projects, and Creative Writing). Surveys ascertained 1,082 respondents’ views of: the extent to which Future Problem Solving and its programs meet their stated goals, the strengths of the programs and areas for improvement, and the impact of the program on its participants.
All respondents with current experience participating in each program rated a comprehensive list of 11-12 skills using a 5-point Likert scale. The adult groups identified the impact on participating students’ learning and growth, and the students identified what skills their participation helped them with the most.
GLOBAL ISSUES
Adults – Coaches and Affiliate Directors (151)
Students (242)
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Adults – Coaches and Affiliate Directors (64)
Students (107)
CREATIVE WRITING
Adults – Coaches and Affiliate Directors (82)
Students (146)
Note, 88% of parents were satisfied with the Future Problem Solving program their youngster(s) participated in and a majority of parents with eligible students anticipated a high level of interest in participating again next year (60.9%).
A group of 48 alumni also responded to surveys focused on their past experiences and the impact those experiences had on their development into adulthood. Approximately 8 in 10 reported Future Problem Solving was very helpful or extremely helpful in secondary school (81%), in academic work after high school (78%), and in other life experiences outside school or academic work (81%). Looking back on their experience, the aspects below were rated the five most important and valuable.
5-point Likert scale:
Adults: 1 = Little or no impact, 2 = Limited impact, 3 = Moderate impact, 4 = High impact, 5 = Exceptional impact
Students: 1= Hasn’t helped me at all, 2 = Helped me just a little, 3 = Helped me = “Okay”, 4 = Helped me quite a bit, 5= Really a great help to me
Alumni: 1=Not Important, 2=Of Little Importance, 3=Somewhat Important, 4=Very Important, 5=Extremely Important
