As an educator with over 30 years of experience in the field of early care and education, Cathrine (pronounced “Katrina”- it’s Norwegian) brings her experience in quality improvement, programming, policy studies and education finance to Trust for Learning and our partners. Cathrine holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education from the University of Colorado at Denver and a doctorate from the University of Denver in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Her passion for social justice and equity building guides her work to create systems change and positive outcomes for children and families, particularly those from historically underserved populations.

Cathrine is a coalition builder with experience in state and federal systems, public and charter school districts, non- and for-profit community organizations and family child care. Her joy in learning and hearing different perspectives enables her to authentically partner and support all voices in collaboration. When not engaging in her work in early childhood, Cathrine enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Tanya Amodio-Kovacs is an Associate in Bilingual Education in the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Early Learning (OEL).  OEL provides oversight and guidance to school districts in the development of policy, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies related to educating students in prekindergarten to third grade, in alignment with the New York State (NYS) Board of Regents Early Childhood Policy.  Prior to this position, she served as an Associate in Bilingual Education in the NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages supporting the implementation of statewide policy and guidance for nearly 300,000 English Language Learners (ELLs) and their families.

Tanya has served in a variety of leadership roles that have afforded her the opportunity to collaborate with NYSED senior leadership to develop policies, guidance, and resources that have impacted students in prekindergarten through grade 12.   Tanya co-led NYSED’s 2021 P-3 Virtual Summer Institute in partnership with the NYS Council on Children and Families.  She helped shape the development and release of the Emergent Multilingual Learner (EML) Language Profile, guidance, and resources for EMLs in prekindergarten.   Tanya assisted in the review and revision of the NYS English Language Arts Learning Standards to ensure all students, including multilingual learners, have equitable access to a set of Standards and resources that foster the literacy and language skills needed for college and career readiness. She supported the 2018 Board of Regents Early Childhood Workgroup’s Blue Ribbon Committee and contributed to the development of the NYSED Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education Framework.  Tanya was instrumental in building NYSED’s partnerships with Institutions of Higher Education in providing Clinically Rich-Intensive Teacher Institutes to meet the shortage of NYS certified teachers of multilingual learners.

Tanya has 22 years of experience in education. She has served as a classroom teacher (grades Kindergarten, 1, and 2), an English as a New Language teacher in both monolingual and dual language settings, an adult English immersion teacher, a new teacher mentor, and teacher leader. Tanya holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from State University of New York (SUNY) College at Oswego and holds a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from SUNY Albany. She is advancing her graduate studies in the Educational Leadership Certification Program through Stony Brook University.

Alicia Baez-Barinas is an Associate in Bilingual Education for the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages, New York State Education Department. For her, Bilingual education is a calling, and she views it as a right for students to have access to. Biliteracy, bilingualism, and biculturalism are the pillars on which their foundation must be built. She believes that together we can achieve great things for our children; we have a duty to them to continue our efforts with ensuring that our children have every opportunity to succeed, and that language continues to enrich our Nation. She works tirelessly to achieve this as she in her role as Associate of Bilingual Education for the New York State Education Department, which is accepted in the fall of 2021.

Alicia began her career with the New York City Department of Education and has twenty years of experience in bilingual education. While working in the South Bronx she supported English Language Learners (ELLs) and Multilingual Learners (MLs) as a classroom teacher, literacy/data coach, and as an Assistant Principal.

Alicia returned to her hometown of Buffalo, New York where she proudly accepted the position of Assistant Principal at City Honors School. She continued to advocate and serve ELLs/MLs in Buffalo through when she accepted the position of Director of Bilingual Education and Multilingual Placement for the Buffalo Public Schools.

Alicia was sworn in as President of the New York State Association for Bilingual Education on September 7, 2019, where she served for two consecutive years. This work allowed her the ability to promote the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of high-quality bilingual education programs for students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds as a means to ensure equitable and enriched educational opportunities. As a member of various state-wide coalitions, she advocates daily for all ELL’s/MLL’s and their families.

Most recently, while continuing to serve as a Regional Director for the New York State Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, Alicia has been elected as Treasurer for the Organization.

Before transitioning to NCCS, he served as the Community School Director (CSD) at C.S. 211. Located in the most impoverished congressional district in the country, Jorge inherited 242 chronic students – 42 % of the population. By leveraging existing programs, slow-scaling practice, and programming, creating a systems-based approach, and building coherence, the Community School strategy reduced chronic absenteeism by 30% in 5 years, reaching above 95% average daily attendance and chronic absenteeism rate less than 11%. Children’s Aid (C.A.) has led the way in Community Schools in New York City for more than 25 years and is NCCS’s parent organization. Jorge began with the agency as an Educational Coordinator at P.S. 5. He then became Program Director for the after school at the Salome Urena Campus. Both are C.A. Community Schools located in Washington Heights. In this position, the program under his supervision surpassed all end of year goals in February, engagement increased, and programmatic quality increased year after year. He was promoted in 2013 to the Assistant Community School Director for C.S. 211 in the Bronx. A year later, he became the CSD at the Fairmont-Samara Campus. Jorge was able to change the trajectory of the partnership, build a positive culture, and reestablish the strategy during his time there. In 2016, he returned to C.S. 211 to do the same at Whitney Young Jr. Campus. In addition to chronic absenteeism, his expertise and systems approach translated into resource coordination, behavioral and academic support, parent engagement, and mental health services running year-round resulted in WYJR becoming the flagship site in the Bronx. Jorge holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Finance from St. John’s University.

Susanna Cook is a deeply passionate educator of English as a New Language students. With “twenty-something” years of experience in the field, she has taught Spanish at the middle- and high-school levels, bilingual education at multiple elementary levels, and ENL K – 12. Susanna earned her CAS in Educational Administration from SUNY Oswego in 2018 and her Ed.D. in Executive Leadership from Saint John Fisher University in 2022. Her doctoral topic explored the experiences of secondary, veteran ENL teachers and the relationship of the changes to CR Part 154 in 2015 on student achievement. Susanna is an advanced candidate for National Board Certification in ENL. Susanna’s advocacy focus is equitable education for ENL/MLLs. Susanna lives near Syracuse, NY with her husband, Jamie, and their many shih tzus. In her free time, Susanna is a voracious reader, gardener, and consumer of telenovelas.

Ronald Cope II is the Deputy Director for the Bronx Community Schools at Children’s Aid. He currently supervises eight Community Schools in the heart of the South Bronx. Ronald works to engage the efforts of school communities, city agencies, community organizations, teachers, and families to create interactive and safe environments in which children can learn and grow. This work is done by effectively assessing the strengths and needs of students and families and working closely with school personnel and community partners to provide services that support the academic achievement and healthy development of those students. He previously was the Program Manager where he led and supervised the implementation of Boston College’s City Connects student support model in Community Schools in Washington Heights, the Bronx, Harlem and Staten Island. Prior to coming to Children’s Aid, Ronald led a diverse range of educational initiatives. Those initiatives include working with preschool education, community schools, parent education, teen school-based programming, and community and university partnerships. Ronald has devoted his time to mentoring high school and college aged young men of color. He works to develop strong relationships grounded in trust, advocacy and education. In each mentee, Ronald strives to instill the belief that, once one succeeds, it is his duty to identify and assist those who need him. Ronald has a master's in administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a BA in Sociology from Hampton University.

Kristina Crehan is the Assistant Director of ENL, World Languages and Bilingual Education in the Syracuse City School District. In this role she oversees the intake of new ENL students, interpretation and translation resources, and manages the implementation of grants supporting the acclimation of newly arriving refugee and immigrant students. Kristina has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish Education from Siena College, a Masters Degree in Teaching English Language Learners from Syracuse University and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership from Syracuse University. She holds NYS certification in ESOL, Spanish 7-12 and District Leadership. She has experience as an ENL teacher, language assessor and instructional coach. Kristina is passionate about providing equitable access to education for English Language Learners and designing and implementing professional development that ensures this is possible across classrooms and schools districtwide.

Tianni Guo is a Mandarin Immersion teacher at Stonebrae Elementary School, Hayward Unified School District in California. She received her B.A. in English Literature from Tsinghua University and her M.A. in Elementary Inclusive Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has been teaching third and fourth grade Chinese immersion classes since 2016. Prior to that, she did her student teaching in public schools in New York. Ms. Guo has a strong background in linguistics and educational theory. She carefully adapts curriculum and creatively designs instructional activities for her class. She has rich first-hand experience in engaging young learners. Her teaching has been immensely enjoyed by her students and well-received by parents and administration. Ms. Guo’s expertise also includes teaching adults Chinese as a foreign language. She has been trained in the TCSOL (Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages) program at Columbia University and student taught a Chinese language course in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Chinese Bio: Ms. Tianni Guo(郭恬妮),本科毕业于清华大学外国语言与文学系,研究生毕业于哥 伦比亚大学教师学院基础全纳教育专业，获得硕士学位。郭老师曾在纽约多所公立学校实习，目 前任教于海沃联合学区石东坡小学。郭老师在语言学和教育学理论方面拥有深厚背景。她精心改

编课程,并设计富有创造性的课堂活动。她长期执教于中文沉浸式项目,特别是在对于低年级学 生的教学上拥有丰富的一手经验。她的教学为学生所享受,并得到家长和管理层的一致好评。郭 老师还擅长教授成年人中文。她在哥伦比亚大学的TCSOL(教授其他语言使用者的中文老师)项 目受过良好的训练,并在东亚语言与文化系实习教学过汉语课程

Bonnie has had a fruitful and diverse career that has spanned nearly fifty years. She earned a BS from SUNY Geneseo, an MS from SUNY Oswego, and she obtained a TESOL certification from Le Moyne College. She worked with a bilingual consortium from Nazareth College and is currently a member of the RBERN consortium in Wayne County. Bonnie’s career includes both daily and long-term substitute teaching, home tutoring, teaching UPK, and teaching ENL. Though her educational experiences have been vast, there is a thread that connects each one: using purposeful play to engage students and get them excited about learning. “When students have opportunities to learn through purposeful play, the sky's the limit.”

DJ Kaiser joined the Webster University faculty in 2011 having taught previously at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Barcelona, Parkland Community College, and the University of Illinois. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Linguistics and Spanish. He graduated with distinction and received the Mary A. Hussey Award for Excellence in ESL Teaching from the University of Illinois upon completion of his first master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language. Kaiser also has a master’s in Drama and a doctorate in Comparative Literature and Drama from Washington University in St. Louis and completed the graduate certificate in Translation Studies.

He is a specialist in teaching English pronunciation with a vast background in phonetics, phonology, and applied linguistics. His research and teaching interests also include translation studies, adaptation studies, language planning & policy, general linguistics, World Englishes, pragmatics, second language acquisition, language pedagogy, and teacher training. In addition to teaching for Webster University, he has worked on a three-year Math and Science Partnership (MSP) grant (2011-2013) with the St. Louis Public Schools, Pearson Education, the Center for Applied Linguistics, the Magic House, and the International Institute and worked on a five-year U.S. Department of Education National Professional Development (NDP) grant (2012-2017) with Webster's TESL Program on the Kansas City campus working with the Kansas City Public Schools.

He has presented at numerous conferences and various institutions throughout the USA and in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In 2015 Dr. Kaiser was awarded a research grant to study the innovative English language instruction project Ceibal en Inglés in Uruguay. In 2016 Dr. Kaiser was awarded two more research grants to focus on projects of Videoconference Assisted Language Learning (VALL): a U.S. Fulbright Scholar grant in Uruguay to research Ceibal en Inglés in primary and secondary schools throughout Uruguay (March-June 2016) and a Faculty Research Grant to research Rio de Janeiro's EnglishWorks (June-July 2016).

He is currently the incoming chair for the Standards Professional Council for TESOL International, a site visitor and site visitor lead for accreditation visits with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and the Project Director for a $2.7 million U.S. Department of Education National Professional Development (NPD) grant (2017-2022).

Katie has been an ENL teacher for fifteen years in both Syracuse City and Liverpool Central Schools. Educational degrees earned include a B.S. in TESOL and Linguistics, and M.S. in Literacy at SUNY Oswego. Katie is currently completing a CAS in Educational Leadership for School Building and School District Leadership and has served as an Administrative Intern at Liverpool High School this year. She hopes to continue to support ELLs across the region through her participation as a member of the Mid-State RBERN ENL Council.

Claudia Kramer Santamaria, PhD, recently retired from the principalship at the Anita Uphaus Early Childhood Center in the Austin Independent School District. A native of Uruguay who immigrated to Queens, New York, at the age of five, Claudia has dedicated her career to serving children of low income households as an educator, a community organizer and a social justice leader. She also served as a principal in 3 elementary campuses, an Assistant Director in the Multilingual Department and Supervisor of the Parent Support office. Her PhD research captures families’ experiences in two way dual language education. Her own children have attended dual language bilingual programs since preschool.

Susanne Marcus brings over 30 years experience in the field of TESOL to share. A two-term past president of NYS TESOL, she recently retired as ENL teacher for the Great Neck Public Schools, where she continues to offer PD, and teaches in their intensive summer ENL/SIFE program. As a facilitator for NYSUT, Marcus writes and conducts ENL seminars for NYSUT’s ELT. She has facilitated storytelling workshops for ELLs using strategies from The Moth Storytelling Workshop and Herstory Writers Workshops. She is a literacy coach for Fordham University’s Center for Educational Partnerships. Susanne was the principal writer and CLD trainer for the Early Intervention Training Consortium.Marcus holds degrees from CUNY Queens College and Fordham University, is NYS-certified in ESL K-12, French and Spanish 7-12, and is a frequent presenter at national, state and local TESOL/BE conferences.

Denise McAuliffe is an Instructional Support and Resource Specialist with NYSED’s L.I. Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network at Eastern Suffolk BOCES. Formerly a Special Education teacher and English as a New Language (ENL) Teacher & Program Coordinator, Denise has a passion for working with students who have the most unique learning needs. As a part of her leadership program research, Denise explored the impact of family-school partnerships and used her findings to create the L.I. RBERN’s Family Academy, building equitable opportunities for ELLs and their families.

As Portfolio Director of Early Milestones, Kacee oversees all projects related to early learning, including early childhood care and education. Kacee previously served as Director of Professional Development and Communications for the Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council, where she managed a variety of professional development opportunities and strategies for developing the early childhood workforce. Kacee also managed the T.E.A.C.H. program at Qualistar Colorado. She has spent the past 10 years coordinating professional development for early childhood educators as a credentialed Early Childhood Coach and Trainer.

Kacee earned a B.A. in communication from Missouri State University and an M.A. in international and intercultural communication from the University of Denver. She is also a graduate of Leadership Aurora, a 10-month community engagement program led by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.

Kacee enjoys exploring Colorado with her husband Chris and their young children, Knox and Lake. She spends much of her free time traveling, reading, and restoring vintage handbags.

Lyda Ragonese is the Assistant Director for the Office of English as a New Language, World Languages and Bilingual Education in the Syracuse City School District. She is a Hmong-American from Laos and is a fluent speaker of Hmong. She began her teaching career in 1993 as an English as a Second language teacher at Franklin Elementary before moving to Frazer K-8 School in Syracuse. She has her TESOL certification from Le Moyne College and M.A. in Reading Education from Syracuse University. After leaving the classroom, her experiences varied in the fields of student learning objectives (SLO), APPR, and was elected as the treasurer of the teacher’s union in Syracuse. She has served as an adjunct professor at Le Moyne College and earned her Certificate of Advanced Studies (C.A.S.) from Syracuse University in Educational Leadership.

Dr. Shannon Turley is a passionate and dedicated professional who has been working as an ESOL educator in the central New York area for ten years. She has experience working in both urban and suburban school districts, currently working in Marcellus Central School District. Her teaching experience includes teaching students in every grade from Kindergarten through 12th grade and being certified in 5 different areas of teaching in NYS. She also supports students beyond the school day by one-on-one tutoring. Shannon is very motivated to be a life-long learner. Her education includes a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish and Adolescent and Special Ed from Le Moyne College in Syracuse. She completed her Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, also at Le Moyne. She most recently completed her doctorate degree through St. John Fisher University. The topic of her dissertation is Perspectives from Teachers on Communication and Building Relationships with English Language Learner Families. Shannon is very excited to be a part of the educator forum. Connecting with other educators is a priority of Shannon's so please feel free to reach out to her at any time by emailing DrShannonTurley@gmail.com.