Employee Spotlight: Ken Scherpelz

This month’s Employee Spotlight features PSG’s VP of Sales & Business Development Ken Scherpelz.

I have seen many changes in the industry since entering educational publishing in 1979. After teaching elementary school for five years—I was the big guy with the long hair and curly beard towering over the first and second graders—I moved to educational publishing, a typical career change for many teachers. I’ve worked for major publishers, including Scott Foresman (now Pearson), Zaner-Bloser/Highlights for Children and McGraw-Hill Education. I have also held management positions with several educational development houses.

I’ve been at PGS since 2006, the longest stretch with one company in my long career. I feel that PSG is the perfect fit for my experience, skills and personality. What we do here is important work when you realize the impact these products can have to help promote education and literacy. From my early days of teaching through my years in publishing, I’ve always been proud of the work I do, and I’m blessed to be able to work in an environment that’s supportive, creative and even fun. I really enjoy my work, as well as the people with whom I work—staff and clients alike.

My wife, Martha, has been a classroom teacher for almost 20 years, and education has always been a priority with my family. Dinner table conversations between us have less to do with paying bills and painting the trim and more to do with Martha’s students and my projects at PSG. Our three grown kids, of whom I am immensely proud, have always been involved with and continue to work in the nonprofit sector, contributing to Habitat for Humanity, advocating for rights for the disabled, and volunteering to teach English in underdeveloped countries.

Born and raised in the Chicago area and the third of seven kids, I have deep roots in the Midwest. Although not really a farm boy, I’m more comfortable among the open spaces of America’s heartland than the mountains or coastal shores. I’m also a long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan, a curse inherited from my grandparents, who took each of their seven grandchildren to the beautiful confines of Wrigley Field when we turned five years old. Regardless if the kids became Cubs fans, the real goal was to make us fall in love with the emerald green ivy in the ballpark and not become White Sox fans. I hope to see a Cubs World Series game (Heck—even a 10-game winning streak would be nice!) during my lifetime.

Little-Known Facts About Ken

A huge fan of classical music, Ken once conducted the Butler University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.” His one and only time on the podium remains a highlight for him.