Educator Resources
Member Biographies
Dr. Julius Gregg Adams
Membership Category: Educator
Executive Director of the Educational Opportunity Center, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Julius Gregg Adams, Ph.D., is currently the Executive Director of the University at Buffalo's Educational Opportunity Center (EOC). The Buffalo EOC delivers comprehensive community-based academic and workforce development programs, wrap-around supportive services and access to further education and employment to those who are economically eligible. Dr. Adams began his professional career as a school psychologist for the Buffalo Public Schools in 1982. In this role he worked with students with educational handicaps ranging in age from 4 to 22 years of age. In 1987 he accepted a position as a Psychologist II for the Mobile Mental Health Team (MMHT). MMHT was an outpatient unit of the New York State Children’s Psychiatric Center that provided services for children and adolescents involved with the New York State Division for Youth (DFY).
Dr. Adams began his association with the State University of New York in 1988 as an Assistant Professor at Fredonia College in the Department of Education where he taught psychological foundations courses. Dr. Adams has been nominated several times for Discretionary Merit Awards and in 1993 he received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was promoted to Associate Professor and received tenure in 1994. Dr. Adams was appointed the Director of the School of Education in July, 1997.
Dr. Adams served as Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Director of the Teacher Education Institute in the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education from 2002-06. During that time, he was also appointed as the Interim Executive Director of the Office for University Preparatory Programs (OUPP), an organization that works to enrich the education provided to local children and teenagers.
He previously held teaching and administrative positions at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY and Daemen College in Amherst, NY where he was Associate Dean for Special Programs, Director of Accreditation and Chair of the Education Department .
Dr. Adams has presented nationally and internationally in the areas of school-based mental health programs and teacher knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS. He has a B.A. degree in Psychology, an M.A. in Educational Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (major in development, minor in learning theory) all from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
He is the Immediate Past President of the New York State Association of Teacher Educators (NYSATE) and has worked with members of the NYSED in the area of teacher and leader preparation.
Membership Category: Public
Dundee, New York
Dr. Richard Ahola is an educational consultant and currently serves as a senior management consultant for the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute. Prior to 1995, he served for 25 years in a variety of positions in the State Education Department, including chief of the Bureau of Educational Management Services. Mr. Ahola began his career as a high school teacher of science and math.
Dr. Ahola is active in education organizations at the regional and state levels. He is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the New York State Association of Pupil Transportation and sits on the board of directors of Think First. Mr. Ahola is long-standing and active member of New York State PTA (since 1963) and in 1966 he received the PTA Teacher Fellowship Award. In the 1990s, he served on the PTA Board of Managers and continues to serve as a consultant to the president and board of managers on an ongoing basis.
Dr. Ahola has a B.S. in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.S. T. in Physics from Union College, and an Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the State University of New York at Albany. He also completed graduate study in Chemical Education Materials from the University of California at Berkeley.
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David Babikian |
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David Babikian has taught social studies at Cicero-North Syracuse High School for thirteen years. Prior to that he was a social studies and ELL teacher at Proctor High School in Utica, New York. He has taught nearly every social studies course from seventh through twelfth grade including Global Studies, American History, Participation in Government, and Modern European History. Babikian created the Modern European History elective to fill a void in traditional social studies curricula. The course views history through the eyes of the Europeans who lived it by integrating history, film, and other primary sources. He has served on multiple committees and has been selected for various initiatives throughout the district. Babikian has participated in curriculum mapping and data analysis of Regents tests for the district. He has dedicated time to students outside of school by becoming a coach for both Mock Trial and Lacrosse. A dedicated Union member, Babikian also has been involved in raising awareness through Vote Cope and negotiating fair contracts.
As part of Babikian’s work with NYSUT’s Innovation Fund, he has helped to shape the way that teachers are evaluated and supported throughout the state. When North Syracuse was chosen as one of five New York State districts to pilot the new teacher evaluation system, he was selected as just one of five teachers to serve on the district’s PAR (Peer Assisted Review) panel. The PAR panel, a group of administrators and teachers, is committed to supporting and nurturing new and developing teachers throughout the district, recommending teachers for tenure, and supervising the consultant teacher program. Babikian has traveled to districts throughout the country to research the best possible programs while supporting this new and exciting initiative.
Babikian has a B.S. from Butler University in Indiana in Secondary Education and a M.A. from Oswego State University in History.
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Gertrude Bantle |
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Ms. Bantle has been teaching social studies for 38 years, 32 of them at Fairport High School in Rochester, NY. She is currently co-teaching in a mainstreamed classroom with students with multiple disabilities, preparing them for the New York State Regents Examination. She voluntarily works with students who failed the Global History or U.S. History Regents to help them successfully meet the graduation requirement. Ms. Bantle is a National Board Certified Teacher and is a Candidate Support Provider Trainer for the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. She created a candidate support group in the Greater Rochester area to help teachers understand standards based assessment. She also has certifications in Social Studies, K-12 Special Education, School Building and School District Administration.
She challenged herself professionally to keep up with technology in order to better integrate technology in the classroom to help her students. Along the way she completed the Google Apps certification exams to become a master trainer. To continue her own professional growth in technology, she developed and taught on-line courses as a part time faculty member at Penn State: World Campus. She also taught a Capstone Portfolio course and a course on Differentiation in the Classroom while an adjunct faculty member at Nazereth College.
Ms. Bantle has a B.S. from SUNY at Geneseo, a Master of Science from Nazareth College and an Advanced Certificate in School District Administration from SUNY Brockport.
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Grace Barrett |
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For the past 17 years, Ms. Barrett has been an art teacher with the Commack School District. Her school is a Middle Year Program school (the developmental predecessor for the International Baccalaureate Program) and in this capacity she has been practicing literacy in the visual arts in preparation to transition naturally into the Common Core Learning Standards. Ms. Barrett has been on the NYSUT Subject Area Committee for the Arts since its inception. This group’s purview has included putting forth recommendations to SED such as calling for all instruction in the arts be delivered sequentially and by certified teachers of the arts. Another charge of the Committee has been to develop teacher workshops for state organizations such as New York State Art Teachers Association NYSATA. Currently, they are developing an exemplar lesson in literacy.
Ms. Barrett, a finalist for the New York State 2013 Teacher of the Year, is currently the President of the Suffolk County Art Leaders Association, where she oversees professional development opportunities for art teachers in her county. In this capacity, Ms. Barrett makes sure that the offerings for teachers maintain a balance between current pedagogical issues, special needs training, and innovative technology for the art room.
| Debra Calvino Membership Category: Educator Valley Central School District Montgomery, NY |
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Ms. Calvino is the 2010 New York State Teacher of the Year. She began her teaching career as a high school special education teacher in 1981. She has been teaching high school mathematics since 1984 and in 2004 was appointed Mathematics Department Supervisor, grades 7-12. She is responsible for supervising, observing and mentoring 30 mathematics teachers in the Valley Central School District. She is the liaison between her school’s administration, mathematics teachers and district parents. She develops curriculum including Common Core and coordinates Academic Intervention Services for the mathematics department. She conducts, organizes and plans mathematics professional learning communities within her district.
Ms. Calvino is a certified trainer in Decision Making for Results and Data Teams and has conducted several training sessions for her school district. She also conducts mathematics workshops for professional development and induction. She serves on her district’s APPR and K-12 math committees in addition to the Orange County Math Forum of Math Supervisors/Chairs.
In addition to being awarded N.Y.S. Teacher of the Year for 2010 she has received the S.U.N.Y. New Paltz Dean’s Award of Excellence, and is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. She has presented at numerous private and public colleges and universities as well as to the N.Y.S. United Teachers, Representative Assembly. Ms. Calvino serves as an adjunct professor in secondary education at SUNY New Paltz. In addition, she teaches multiple courses for NYSUT Education and Learning Trust.
Ms. Calvino has a B.A. in Mathematics from Mount Saint Mary’s College, a M.S. in Special Education from SUNY New Paltz, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in School District Administration from SUNY New Paltz.
Kathleen M. DaBoll-Lavoie |
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Kathleen DaBoll-Lavoie has served as Professor in the School of Education at Nazareth College for the past three years, and has been teaching at Nazareth since 1991. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Inclusive Childhood Education, overseeing the largest undergraduate major at the institution, seven graduate teacher education programs and one extension program. She currently is the co-director of the Robert Noyce Scholar Program, funded through the National Science Foundation. She has also served as Associate Chair of the School of Education, the Director of Graduate Inclusive Early Childhood and Childhood Education Programs, and the Director of the Undergraduate Inclusive Childhood/Middle Childhood Education Program. Prior to her tenure at Nazareth,
Dr. DaBoll-Lavoie taught at Syracuse University. She began her career in education as a high social studies teacher at South Jefferson Central School and Lowville Academy.
Dr. DaBoll-Lavoie is President of the New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and serves on the Teacher Education Advisory Group to the New York State Education Department. She is past president of the New York State Association of Teacher Educators, and was a member of the New York State Higher Education Task Force on Quality Inclusive Schooling/ New York State Partnership for Statewide Systems Change 2000. She was also a member of the planning group for “Building a New York State P-16 Educational Quality Information System.” She was an invited member of the New York State Teacher Standards Development Working Group, and currently serves on the New York Assessments for Initial Teacher and School Building Leader Certification Work Group. Dr. DaBoll-Lavoie has presented extensively at state and national conferences; her work has focused on the development of inclusive teacher education programs, school/college partnerships, and assessment.
Dr. DaBoll-Lavoie has a B.A. in history, art history and secondary education from the State University of New York College at Potsdam; an M.S.Ed. in secondary education from the State University of New York University Center at Binghamton; and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Syracuse University.
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Kheita Davis Membership Category: Educator/Teacher Elementary Social Studies LeadTeacher Central Administration Offices Rochester, New York |
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Ms. Davis participated in the Ethiopia for Teachers Fulbright-Hayes Group Project Abroad. Her follow-on project with sixth graders earned the distinction of New York State finalists in the 2010 Disney Planet Challenge. She was awarded the title of 2010 Most Admired Women Teacher of African Descent and the 2004 Elementary Teacher of the Year award by the Rochester Area Council for Social Studies. Ms. Davis was a 2009 National Education Association Learning and Leadership grant recipient and a 2009 Friends of Rochester Public Library Mini Grant recipient. She has given presentations at the Association of Mathematics Teachers of the Rochester Area’s Annual Spring Conference, the Second Annual Rochester City Math Conference, and the Rochester Teacher Center’s Socratic Seminars and Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning. Ms. Davis has also presented workshops on culturally responsive practice to pre-service teachers at Nazareth College.
Ms. Davis has a B.A. in Magazine Journalism and International Relations from Syracuse University, a Multi Subject Teaching Credential (K-12) from Holy Names College in Oakland California and a M.S. in International Studies from St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York.
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Maria DeWald Membership Category: Public Member New York State PTA Immediate Past President |
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As immediate past President of the NYS Parent Teacher Association Ms. Dewald is presently focusing on large family engagement initiatives in New York City in conjunction with the United Federation of Teachers. She is also co-chairing a large initiative in partnership with New York State Parent Information Resource Center and NYSED regarding the implementation of the Regents Family Engagement Policy.
Maria has been extremely involved in the planning and execution of three Family Engagement Summits working with Chancellor Emeritus Bennett, EPIC, PIIRCS and the Cornell Cooperative Extension. She also serves on the NYS Association for Arts Education and the National PTA Legislation Committee. She has helped to guide public policy formation on Family Engagement issues in the reauthorization of ESEA/NCLB, the Juvenile Justice Act and IDEA.
Ms. Dewald is currently Arts in Education Coordinator for the Dutchess County BOCES where she: facilitates SED aid reimbursement for arts in Education program in the schools of Dutchess County, identifies and oversees resources for participating schools, and works with statewide coordinators to advocate for the arts integration in the schools.
Ms. Dewald is recipient of the NYS PTA Honorary Life Distinguished Service and Diamond Awards, the National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award the Pleasant Valley Lions Club of the Blind Award and the Dutchess County Executives Arts in Education Award.
Sharon Eghigian |
Ms. Eghigian began her teaching career serving in the Peace Corps as a Biology teacher on the Fiji Islands. She holds New York State and National Board Certification in English as a New or Second Language. She has been teaching in the Utica City School District for the past 20 years. In addition to classroom teaching, Ms. Eghigian has taught college level content in Puerto Rico and English as a Second Language (ESL) in Malaysia. She is also an ESL teacher at Mohawk Valley Community College and the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees.
Ms. Eghigian facilitated the development of the K-5 ESL curriculum for the Utica City School District. She is a trainer in Sheltered Instruction and has developed ESL workshops for the elementary teachers in her district. She has mentored new teachers and teacher candidates in her district. She has served on the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Board of Examiners and has worked with the State Education Department to assess teacher preparation exams and the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test.
Ms. Eghigian has a B.A. in Biology from St. Lawrence University and a Master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the School for International Training.
Rita Floess |
Ms. Floess currently serves as a Math Coach and Mentor Program Coordinator for the City School District of Albany. As a math coach, Ms. Floess provides coaching and assistance to teachers in the instruction and assessment of the Common Core Learning Standards, the District’s mathematics curriculum, as well as effective teaching practices. In her capacity as a mentor program coordinator, Ms. Floess is responsible for coordinating and assessing the Mentor Teacher Program, facilitating the state-required mentoring of all Initial Certificate holders and all new teachers to the district, and coordinating the Mentor Teacher Intern Program SED grant. Under her leadership, the Mentor Teacher Program has moved from a basic mentoring program to a three-year “differentiated levels of support” induction program for teachers new to the district.
As well, Ms. Floess is an active member of the i-3 AFT/NYSUT Innovation Teacher Evaluation and Development Design team, where she has worked with Teaching Standards, NYSUT Teacher Practice Rubric, and Peer Assistance and Review. She also serves as a facilitator for Urban Teachers National Board for Professional Standards support group.
Ms. Floess holds a BS from the College of St. Rose and an MA from SUNY Albany. Ms. Floess is also a National Board Certified teacher for middle childhood.
Billie Gastic |
Since earning her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2005, Dr. Gastic’s teaching, scholarship and service have focused on improving educational opportunities for young people, with a particular interest in the role of teachers and school leaders in supporting student success. As a professor at Temple and UMass Boston, Dr. Gastic has worked with graduate students who were also full-time teachers, or school or district administrators, and served on many dissertation committees in the areas of school quality, teacher leadership and development, and student achievement. Over the years, Dr. Gastic has designed and taught courses on youth risk and resilience, research methods, and educational policy. At Temple, Dr. Gastic’s teaching extended to professional development, as she was selected to design and lead a training workshop on school safety and related legal issues for career and technical educators.
As the Director of Research at Relay Graduate School of Education, Dr. Gastic leads a team of staff researchers and MAT program faculty in investigations of effective teaching practices, promising pedagogical strategies (including technology) in teacher
education, the use of video to improve teacher practice, and the role of measurements of student achievement growth in teachers’ performance evaluations.
Dr. Gastic holds a Ph.D. in Sociology of Education and an M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Economics from Yale University.
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Jan P. Hammond |
Jan Hammond is currently associate professor of the Department of Educational Leadership and Administration at C.W. Post, Long Island University. Previously she served as associate professor of the Department of Educational Administration at the State University College at New Paltz. From 1999 to 2006, she also served as department chair. From 1989 to 1998, Dr. Hammond served as principal of Tuxedo Elementary School and from 1998-1999, as district business administrator for the Tuxedo Union Free School District. She has taught as an adjunct in Farleigh Dickinson University's College of Business Administration and in Pace University's School of Education and served on two Middle States Association Accreditation Committees. She began her career in education as a teacher, serving as music director and teacher in North Salem High School and, before that, as a middle school teacher in the Phoenix Central School District.
Dr. Hammond is president of the Collegiate Association for Developing Educational Administrators (CADEA) and chapter advisor for student teachers for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).She currently serves on the General Advisory Group of the Wallace Foundation/SED Leadership Initiative. Dr. Hammond is past president of New York ASCD and past chair of the New York State Association for Women in Administration. While principal of Tuxedo Elementary School, the school was named a NYS School of Excellence in 1997 in the Blue Ribbon Schools process. Among her many awards, she received Phi Lambda Theta's Best Curriculum Innovation Award for Westchester County for 1987-88 and was a 1984 Fulbright recipient.
Dr. Hammond has a B.A. in education from the State University of New York College at Cortland; an M.S. in music administration from Western Connecticut State University; an Advanced Certificate in administration and supervision from Southern Connecticut State University; and an Ed.D. in policy and administration theory from Teachers College of Columbia University.
| R. Lloyd Jaeger Membership Category: Educator/Administrator Superintendent of Schools Millbrook Central School District Millbrook, New York |
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Lloyd Jaeger assumed the role of superintendent in the Millbrook Central School District in July 2006. Previously, he served as deputy superintendent for K-12 Curriculum and Instruction in the Wappingers Central School District. His other district leadership experience spans over twenty years as assistant superintendent for instruction and deputy superintendent of schools in the Beacon City School District, assistant to the district superintendent for Dutchess County BOCES, and assistant superintendent for instruction and superintendent of schools in the Hyde Park Central School District. He has also served as an adjunct professor in educational technology at C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University and in educational administration at SUC New Paltz. Dr. Jaeger was also director of an educational consulting firm. Dr. Jaeger began his educational career as a social studies teacher and department chair at Suffern High School in the Ramapo Central School District, and his school administrator career as an assistant principal at F. D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park.
Dr. Jaeger is and has been an active member of numerous community, state and professional boards of directors including the National Urban Alliance, the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber Foundation, and the Dutchess Arts Council. He has been a consultant/advisor to the State Education Department, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the New York State Arts Council, the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, and the Rockland and Mid-Hudson Teacher Centers. He received the Mid-Hudson School Study Council's Award for Excellence in Administration, the National PTA's Honorary Lifetime Membership for distinguished service to youth, the L.I.F.E. Award from Literacy Volunteers of America, and the first Dutchess County Executive Award for school district arts-in-education programming.
Dr. Jaeger has a B.A. in History from Amherst College; and an M.A. in Educational Administration, Ed.M. in Organizational Leadership, Curriculum, and Teaching, and Ed.D. from Teachers College of Columbia University.
| Charles Khoury Membership Category: Administrator District Superintendent Ulster BOCES New Paltz, New York |
Dr. Charles V. Khoury has served as District Superintendent of Ulster BOCES since 2011. In addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer, he is the New York State Education Commissioner’s representative in the field, the major liaison between local districts and the State Education Department, as well as the spokesperson for regional education issues. Working closely with his administrative team, Dr. Khoury oversees collaborative opportunities for districts to increase their capacity, provide support, and create possibilities for students to meet the changing requirements for graduation.
Dr. Khoury began his career in education as a Social Studies teacher at Ridgewood High School, where he served as the Director of Guidance, Chairperson of the Child Study Team, and was an athletic coach, among other duties during his 19 year tenure. Thereafter, Dr. Khoury was the principal of two high schools, served as the Assistant Superintendent of Fair Lawn Public Schools, the Superintendent of Cresskill Public Schools, as well as the Superintendent of Ardsley Union Free School District.
Dr. Khoury holds an Ed.D. in Educational Policy and Administration from Rutgers University, an M.A. in Student Personnel Services from Montclair State University and a B.A. in Social Studies from Wagner College.
| Joan Lucariello Membership Category: Higher Education University Dean for Education Professor of Psychology and Educational Psychology City University of New York New York, New York |
Dr. Joan Lucariello currently serves as the University Dean for Education at the City University of New York and as Professor of Psychology and Educational Psychology at CUNY Graduate Center. Prior to this, she was CUNY’s Interim University Dean for Academic Affairs. In her role as University Dean, Dr. Lucariello works with the CUNY education deans and chairs, the NYC and NYS Education Departments, and organizational partners, such as the Lincoln Center Institute and Math for America, on matters related to teacher and leader preparation and college readiness. She has also led development of a brochure and website for university faculty on best teaching practices, conferences with university math faculty on best instructional practices, and a study of online learning at the university.
Dr. Lucariello’s expertise is on the relation among cognition, learning, and education. She has authored dozens of articles and chapters and is editor of the volume The Development of the Mediated Mind: Sociocultural Context and Cognitive Development. She received a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of
Education Sciences to develop a teacher-use, diagnostic assessment of algebraic thought. She was a member of APA’s Task Force on the Applications of Psychological Science to Teaching and Learning and developed two online modules for teachers that present evidence-based teaching practices to facilitate pupil learning. Dr. Lucariello has been nationally elected (twice) to the Executive Committee of APA’s Division on Developmental Psychology. Currently, she is Chair (elected by the Coalition) of APA’s Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, which develops national initiatives to integrate psychological science into teacher education. Dr. Lucariello has recently served on NYS Education Department’s Teacher Standards Working Group (to develop new teaching standards), the NYS Education Department’s Assessments Committee (to develop assessments of clinical skills), and the NYS Regents Task Force on Teacher and Principal Effectiveness (to examine and develop the process for annual reviews of in-service teachers).
Dr. Lucariello is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. She has been a visiting faculty member at Columbia University and UCLA and a Fellow at Princeton University. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and Inaugural Fellow of the American Education Research Association.
Dr. Lucariello received her Ph.D. in Psychology from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where she was a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) predoctoral fellow. Thereafter, Dr. Lucariello was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
| Margaret Madden Membership Category: Higher Education Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs SUNY Potsdam Potsdam, New York |
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Dr. Margaret E. Madden has been the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at SUNY Potsdam since 2002. A social psychologist specializing in gender issues, she previously was Dean at Long Island University (NY), Associate Dean of Faculty at Lawrence University (WI), and Professor of Psychology and Assistant to the Academic Vice President at Franklin Pierce College (NH).
At SUNY Potsdam, she periodically teaches Feminist Research Methods in the Women's and Gender Studies Program and in previous positions taught courses in gender, social, developmental, personality, and research methods in psychology. She was awarded a Sears Foundation Teaching Excellence Award and was voted Faculty Member of the Year at Franklin Pierce College and the Distinguished Teaching Associate Award in the Psychology Department of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Dr. Madden is currently a member of the Board of Educational Affairs of the American Psychological Association and is a former president of the Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35 of APA). A Fellow of the American Psychological Association, she received the 2008 Sue Rosenberg Zalk Award for Distinguished Service to the Society for the Psychology of Women.
Dr. Madden holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in social psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
| Gerald M. Mager Professor, School of Education Syracuse University Syracuse, New York |
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Gerald M. Mager is a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at Syracuse University.
As a professor in the School of Education, Dr. Mager has been engaged in the design of teacher preparation programs in many fields, and regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses to prospective teachers. He is also a long-time mentor of doctoral students who are becoming teacher educators. He coordinates the University's program in Teaching and Curriculum, and teaches doctoral level courses in that program.
During his thirty-five year tenure at Syracuse University and in New York State, Dr. Mager has held a number of leadership roles. He served as coordinator of the Jamesville-DeWitt/Syracuse University Teaching Center from 1978 to 1988. He has also served as chair of Elementary Education, director of the Urban Teacher Preparation Program, and chair of Teaching and Leadership Programs. From 1986 to 1989, he was a consultant and statewide evaluator of the New York State Mentor Teacher-Internship Program. He served two separate terms as President of the New York State Association of Teacher Educators. From 1995 to 2011, he was Director of the VESID-sponsored New York Higher Education Support Center (HESC) for Systems Change, whose aim was to enhance inclusive teacher preparation programs and establish partnerships between teacher preparation institutions and high-needs schools throughout the state. Dr. Mager is currently Associate Dean of the School of Education. He is a proponent of high quality teacher preparation and of mentoring for new teachers. He is an advocate for inclusive education policies and practices.
Dr. Mager has A.B. and M.A. degrees in English from John Carroll University, and a Ph.D. in Education from Ohio State University. He began his career in education as a middle school teacher in Ohio.
Lesli Myers |
Dr. Myers became the Superintendent of the Brockport Central School District in June of 2012. She came to Brockport from the Ithaca City School District where she served as the assistant superintendent of student services since 2007.
Prior to her current position, Dr. Myers served in the Greece Central School District as director of student and career support and coordinator of student support and enrichment. While in this position, Dr. Myers implemented the NYS Comprehensive K-12 School Counseling Curriculum. She also held the titles of school counselor and house administrator for the Rochester City School District, where she worked for nine years.
Dr. Myers holds a Ph.D. in executive leadership from St. John Fisher College and M.A.s from St. John Fisher (educational administration) and the University of Rochester (counseling and human development).
| John Mahony Membership Category: Educator/Teacher Questar III BOCES Hudson, New York |
John Mahony is a Career and Technical Education teacher for Questar III BOCES in Hudson. He began teaching aviation in 2002, to juniors and seniors in a unique career introductory program offered by BOCES. He is also an Adjunct Flight Training Instructor at Columbia-Greene Community College. Mr. Mahony is a New York State United Teachers building representative and local chapter treasurer.
Mr. Mahony has an extensive background in aviation. Prior to becoming a teacher Mr. Mahony was the president of Redtail Aviation, Inc. He has 38 years of flight experience and has been an Airline Transport Pilot, Advanced Ground Instructor and Flight Instructor for single Engine airplanes, Instrument Airplanes and Gliders. He holds Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic license with Inspection Authorization. He was a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute test pilot and worked with the collegiate design and development team flying the first test flight of the RP-3 glider. Mr. Mahony built, performed test flights and competed in the HP-18 glider which is now part of the National Soaring Museums collection. He has been a professional airshow pilot for 10 years, performing glider aerobatics in over one hundred airshows.
He was a member of the International Council of Airshow Safety Committee and the U.S. National Glider Aerobatic Team.
Mr. Mahony has a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Lehigh University.
| Ruth Pagerey Membership Category: Educator Assistant Provost for Teacher Education State University of New York Albany, New York |
Prior to her position at SUNY System, Dr. Pagerey served as Assistant Dean for Professional Studies in the University at Albany’s School of Education, where she led the teacher and leader education program to continuing program accreditation with the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). Dr. Pagerey provided oversight of the School’s Educational Studies minor, as well as the Pathways Into Education Center, which disseminates information on degree programs, teacher certification, and educational careers. She came to the University from Siena College, where she was Director of Field Experiences and Accreditation. Previously Dr. Pagerey worked in the Office of Higher Education at the State Education Department where she supervised the registration and accreditation of New York State’s teacher preparation programs. She was Project Director of federal grants totaling $3.5 million for the preparation of new teachers for hard-to-staff schools. Prior to working at the State Education Department, she taught high school for eighteen years.
Dr. Pagerey earned her Ed.D. in Instructional Leadership from St. John’s University (Queens, NY) and her M.S. and B. S. in education from the University at Albany.
Gale Sookdeo |
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Dr. Gale Sookdeo, NBCT, began her teaching career as an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, New York in 1991. She taught social studies at Middle School 52 in the Bronx (2000-2001) and at The Susan B. Anthony Academy, IS 238 in Queens (2001-2012). She is now with the UFT Teacher Center Professional Development Program.
On a national level, she is a member of the UFT/AFT Teacher Leader Program. Prior to that, she served as a part-time consultant for the NEA/CTQ Project in developing exemplars for the Teacher Leader Standards. Since 2010, she has been representing New York as the state coordinator of the National Geographic Bee; this national contest is sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Dr. Sookdeo received national recognition on three occasions. First, in September 2005, when she was profiled in the ninth edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. National recognition came a second time in November 2005, when she earned National Board Certification in Social Studies (Early Adolescence). For a third time, she received national recognition in September 2006 when she was profiled in the tenth edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. That same year she served as an independent consultant for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Dr. Sookdeo was honored at the state level and named a Title I Distinguished Educator by the New York State Education Department in 2006. She represented the New York Geographic Alliance at Texas State University and at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. in curriculum development and evaluation. Now a teacher consultant and a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Geographic Alliance, she is also a Geography Awareness Coordinator with the National Geographic Society. Dr. Sookdeo was honored by the New York State Council of Social Studies in the spring of 2012, as a National Board Certified Teacher in the state of New York.
On a city level, she is a part-time consultant and mentor with the UFTTC National Board Mentoring Program. Part of that responsibility also entails teaching a National Board Pre-Candidacy Class. Since 2007 she has been conducting these classes in the borough of Queens.
On a district level, she initiated a district-wide professional learning community for teachers seeking National Board Certification, while working as a full-time classroom practitioner. She was the recipient of Mentor of the Year Award in 2010 for producing National Board Certified Teachers in a District in Need of Improvement.
Dr. Sookdeo has presented at many conferences and committees including the UFT ESL Bilingual Committee; Lehman College, Bronx, NY on National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; the pre-service teachers at York College, Queens, NY; The New York State United Teachers Celebration of Teaching and Learning; Hilton Hotel NY, NY; Geofest at Monroe Community College in Rochester, and the International Learning Styles Conference.
Dr.Sookdeo has a B.A. in History and Social Sciences with Honors from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education from the City University of New York. She received an award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement along with a Professional Diploma in Instructional Leadership in 2004 from St. John’s University. Her doctoral degree is also in Instructional Leadership from St. John’s University.
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Ellen Sullivan |
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Ellen Sullivan is a member of the board of education for the Greater Capital Region Teacher Center. The Center encompasses the 93 public school districts, four BOCES and 83 non-public schools in the Capital Region. Previous to her serving on the board for the center Ms. Sullivan was Center Director. She has also spent the last year working on the American Federation of Teachers i3 grant for teacher evaluation in New York and Rhode Island.
Ms. Sullivan first joined the teacher center staff in 1996 as a program assistant. Prior to this, she was the Education Director for the Junior Museum of Troy, Education Assistant for the Albany Institute of History and Art, and Instructor and Education Assistant at Hudson Valley Community College. She was an Adjunct Instructor at the College of St. Rose teaching Business Communication and she began her career in education as an elementary school teacher at St. Patrick’s School in Albany.
Ms. Sullivan has previously served the department as a member of the NYSED Career and Technology Task Force, and as a grant reviewer for the NYSED Comprehensive School Reform Program, the Learning Technology Grants program and Goals 2000 grants program.
Ms. Sullivan has presented for numerous conferences and committees including the NYS Teacher Center Higher Education Committee, New York State Union of Teachers, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Conference, Washington DC, and the NYS In-service Conference on Mentoring Programs.
Ms. Sullivan has her B.A in Education, magna cum laude, from the College of St.Rose, her M.S. in Education from SUNY Albany and an A.C. in Grant Making and Foundations from New York University. In 2008, she completed the Federal Policy Institute program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
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James Vasquez |
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For the last 13 years, Mr. Vasquez has taught United States History, Participation in Government and Economics at Newcomer’s High School in Long Island City. Newcomers High School’s mission is to provide new immigrant students with an instructional program that emphasizes the development of English language proficiency as well as helping students and their parents with the adaptation process to a new school system, a new city, and a new country.
Mr. Vasquez has embraced the challenge of teaching his academic subject and simultaneously teaching language and literacy skills to students that are primarily English language learners. He works in close collaboration with his colleagues trained in English as a Second Language to develop and adapt curriculum to meet the needs
of the schools unique population of students. He is recognized by the principal of Newcomers as being one of the reasons the high school has received an “A” grade by the New York City Department of Education.
Mr. Vasquez served as the Chairperson of the Newcomer’s School Leadership Team for seven years. This team fosters the initiative of shared leadership and bridges connections between parents, teachers, administrators and community organizations. He also served as district representative for the Queens High Schools.
He has taken on student teaching candidates and mentored new teachers. He has facilitated professional development sessions and has a leadership role in the High School’s Comprehensive Development Plan, conducting needs assessment, and framing goals and objectives to improve student performance.
Mr. Vasquez earned his B.A. in History and Philosophy and his Master’s in Secondary Education from The City University of New York Queens College.
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Tony Vargas |
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Mr. Vargas is a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development for Teach for America in New York City. Teach for America is growing the movement of leaders who work to ensure that kids growing up in poverty get an excellent education. As an instructional coach and manager Mr. Vargas works with 35 Teach for America candidates in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx during their first and second year mentored teacher placements.
Mr. Vargas joined Teach for America in 2007 and taught 7th grade biology at Sunset Park Prep M.S. 821 in Brooklyn. After two years Mr. Vargas decided he could better serve Teach for America as a coach and mentor and has provided leadership training and helps hold his TFA teachers accountable to reaching their class academic goals.
Mr. Vargas holds a B.A. in Psychology and Biology from the University of Rochester.