CREATIVE, CUSTOMIZED LEARNING SOLUTIONS FOR CORPORATE, EDUCATIONAL, AND INSTITUTIONAL CLIENTS
Agate Development is a division of Agate Publishing, an award-winning traditional trade publisher. Founded in 2006, we partner with universities, publishing companies, educational institutions, associations, and other organizations to develop online courses, textbooks, ancillaries, assessments, and other educational materials.
How We Work
We pride ourselves on what we call project discipline, which means that we apply our processes to create exactly what our clients specify, time and again, delivering desired quality on budget and on schedule.
Project Scoping
At the beginning of each project, we work with our clients to gain a full understanding of the project goals, organizational requirements, and stakeholders’ needs. Once we have clear and complete agreement about the scope of the project, including a process and schedule, we assemble our team.
Talent Acquisition
Agate’s internal staff mostly comprises project managers with editorial and/or instructional design expertise. We build teams for each project that might include instructional designers, writers, subject matter experts, editors, production specialists, and others, as needed. Our methods can be adapted to work within an existing production model or process, or we can work with a client to create a fully customized process.
Communications and Solutions
We put a premium on frequent, transparent communication and consistent, predictable execution, all devoted to the goal of efficient responsiveness to client needs and aims. Our commitment to achieving client-defined quality standards means we are always prepared to solve any problem or challenge that might arise during a project.
Our Staff
Doug Seibold has worked in trade, educational, and nonprofit publishing and media for the past 35 years. From 1999 to 2002, he was the founding editorial director of UNext, which created online schools in partnership with universities such as Stanford, Columbia, and the University of Chicago. He founded Agate Publishing in 2003 and started Agate Development in 2006.
Suzanne Sonnier has more than 20 years of experience in education and educational publishing and is a former middle school, high school, university, and community college instructor. She holds an M.A. in History and is the author of two books for young readers. She has developed many K-12 and college textbooks, supplements, and standardized assessments, as well as adult education materials and trade books. She joined Agate in 2011.
Erin Rosenberg began her career as a classroom teacher and has more than 20 years of experience in curriculum development and assessment creation. She holds an Ed.M. in education and has worked as a writer, editor, and project lead on a wide variety of digital and print products for K-12 students and teachers. She joined Agate in 2021.
David Schlesinger has 15 years of experience in publishing and education and holds an M.A. in editorial studies. He has worked on trade books, textbooks, and a variety of educational materials intended for primary grades through higher education, and in recent years has worked mostly with continuing professional education and corporate partners to develop digital and print publications as well as custom online courses. He joined Agate in 2011.
Biography forthcoming
Marta has 15 years of experience in publishing, writing education, and education support services. She holds an M.F.A. degree in writing and is a former university instructor. She has also worked as a writer, editor, instructional designer, and project manager to develop trade books and a variety of educational materials, as well as publications and online courses for corporate and continuing education partners. She began her career as an intern with Agate Publishing in 2006 and rejoined Agate in 2016.