Vivian Makhmaltchi spent 20 years at Macmillan (now McGraw-Hill) as an editor, supervisor, and vice president of mathematics, science, and music. There she made major contributions to Macmillan’s successful “lettered” programs: Series M: Mathematics, Series E: English, and Series R: Reading. She then joined McClanahan and directed Addison Wesley Mathematics K–8, McDougal-Littell’s Literature and Language Teacher’s Editions, and many other projects. She advanced to become Chief Operating Officer. When Pearson Education bought McClanahan, Vivian became president of the in-house Pearson Education Development Group (PEDG).

In 2005, Vivian left PEDG to establish a more efficient and affordable development group, pubSMARTS. Vivian continues to be hands-on on all projects, an excellent approach to getting jobs done well.

Robert Mahabir joined McClanahan in 1995 during college. While photocopying materials for writers' packs and handling administrative responsibilities, he learned the essentials of the school publishing trade. His career advanced, leading to project management on McDougal-Littell’s Literature and Language and other programs. Upon graduating, he took a position at ABC-TV, Inc as a freelance news producer. Robert returned to publishing at PEDG, where he eventually became the Business Manager.

In August 2005, Robert joined Vivian to navigate the start-up operations at pubSMARTS. Additionally, he took on the role of production director overseeing composition and pre-press services on student editions, teacher’s editions, and multitudinous ancillaries. At pubSMARTS, Robert combines financial discipline and project management expertise to ensure that all development service offerings at pubSMARTS stay efficient and effective while providing clients greater value at competitive rates.

Peter Sacks attended graduate school and taught at New York University as an adjunct professor when he began as a freelance writer and editor for McClanahan in 1993. He contributed to the Addison Wesley Mathematics program, McDougal-Littell’s Literature and Language program, and SAT study guides for Kaplan. Peter was hired on staff at McClanahan prior to Pearson Education’s purchase and joined Vivian at PEDG as a managing editor. There he worked on a wide range of products: Prentice Hall World Explorer, Civics, and Literature, and Scott Foresman Reading Street.

After working at PEDG for 9 years, Peter joined Vivian and Robert at pubSMARTS. He brings his expertise and commitment to producing high-quality educational materials.