David Adicott

David Adicott, Senior consultant, NSCC. David is a school counselor with more than 30 years experience working us public school in the US and international schools around the world. Most of his experience has been at the elementary level and for 10 of the last 12 years he has been working in China. He has consistently looked for ways to weave social emotional education into the fabric of the school and to create safe and supportive climate for learning. While at the International School of Beijing, he initiated and coordinated a school-wide effort to infuse social and emotional learning in the classroom and throughout the culture of the school. During the past year, David has been working with BI-TO EQ Camp, a Chinese institution that delivers social-emotional lessons to children after school in 60 centers around China. His focus with BI-TO has been to help the teachers create a classroom climate that supports the social-emotional lessons being taught and to help parents create a positive climate for social and emotional learning at home. He is currently working on a book for Chinese parents on how to promote social and emotional competencies at home.

Kay Bradley

Carolyn Kay Bradley is a member of our Center’s consultation staff. She earned a M.S. and Ed. S. in School Counseling from the State University at Albany and has been a school counselor and educator for over thirty-five years in public education. She was the manager of a program called Student Support Services at Capital Region BOCES and trained a team of professionals to provide professional development and technical assistance for schools in need of improvement. Her experience includes work in teacher renewal, supportive learning environment positive school climate, system change models, K-12 school counseling programs, Professional Learning Communities, character education and Positive Behavior and Supports (PBIS).

Steven Brion-Meisels

Steven Brion-Meisels, Ph.D. is a member of our Center’s consultation staff. For the past 35 years Steven worked with schools and communities as a classroom teacher, school administrator, curriculum writer, trainer, coach, evaluator and researcher. The common thread for all of his work has been the intersection among social development, school culture/climate, and social justice. This thread began with graduate study at the University of Utah and the Harvard Graduate School of Education with Lawrence Kohlberg and Robert Selman. Collaboration with Dr. Selman has continued through writing, teaching and field supervision (in the HUGSE Risk and Prevention Program). Steven was a co-founder of the Center for Peaceable Schools and Communities at Lesley University – where he helped initiate a Masters Degree program in Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools. His work as Director of the Peace Games Institute provided the opportunity to apply these interests in supporting peace education and civic engagement with young children – through work with children, educators and community partners in four U.S. cities as well as Colombia and the West Bank area of Israel/Palestine. The international partnerships continue to provide opportunities to learn and contribute. Much of this work has been in partnership with his wife, Dr. Linda Brion-Meisels, who is a Professor of Education at Lesley University. Thier work is fueled by a commitment to help create a future worthy of our children and grandchildren.

John Devine, Ph.D.

John is a member of NSCC's faculty and the coordinator of NSCC' comprehensive school safety project. He was the Co-Chair of the Academic Advisory Council for the National Campaign against Youth Violence and is on the New York Academy of Sciences panel for Adolescent Violence Prevention. He is the founder and former director of the New York University School Partnership Program, a collaborative project between NYU and the New York City Board of Education. He is the author of an award-winning ethnography, Maximum Security: The Culture of Violence in Inner City Schools (University of Chicago Press, 1996), co-author of the forthcoming volume Making Our Schools Safe: Physically, Socially and Emotionally and numerous articles and papers dealing with the phenomenon of violence in American schools.

Joan O. Dawson, Ph.D.

Dr. Joan Dawson worked as a special education speech and language consultant, a middle and high school teacher, an assistant principal and then a principal. She was the director of the New York University Equity Assistance Center: one of ten federally funded centers that address equity, school reform and NCLB implementation in the public schools. She has also consulted to the New Jersey State Department of Education. Dr. Dawson is the recipient of many awards including the AASA Shanklin Scholarship Award, the Manhattan Community Board 10 Distinguished Service Award, Phi Beta Kappa Member at New York University, Blacks in Government Excellence in Education Award, New York Governors Award for Excellence in Education, Five Certificate of Appreciation Awards from the USDOE for Improving Americas Schools Conferences, Certificate of Appreciation New York City Department of Education Equal Opportunity Office, Governors African American Community Service Award, and most recently the recipient of the Governor’s Harriet Tubman Award for Women’s History.

Phyllis Durden Ph.D.

Dr. Durden, a member of NSCC's consultation staff, has been a professional educator since 1978 with experiences as a K-12 teacher, principal, and superintendent. She has worked as a national project director, a state official, and faculty member. Her professional goals are to actively contribute to the collective effort in achieving a democratic society and to positively affect the knowledge, thinking, enhanced perception, and professional practice of educational leaders. Dr Durden's efforts have been and continue to be focused on initiating and facilitating systemic change through leadership.

Bill Eyman

Bill Eyman is a member of NSCC's consultation staff. He recently retired from the Rhode Island Department of Education after a forty-four year career in public education and children's mental health. Bill has been a classroom teacher, alternative school director, co-founder and coordinator of a community-based children's mental health program and educational consultant and trainer as well as a member of NSCC's summer institutes. He has helped to create and to implement "Schools As Communities" plans in Rhode Island that address the social and emotional needs of everyone in the school, adults, students, and families. As for credentials, he has the traditional ones, a BA from Ohio University and an MA from Syracuse University, as well as those that come from real experience - years in the classroom, in the homes and in the community-at large.

Susan Fountain

Susan Fountain is a member of NSCC's consultation faculty. She has worked as a trainer, curriculum developer and evaluator specializing in the areas of conflict resolution, social and emotional education, and global education. She has developed school-wide programs in conflict resolution, peer mediation, and bullying prevention and intervention for pre-school through high school levels. In addition to her work with NSCC, she has consulted with Creative Response to Conflict, the Early Childhood Social and Emotional Learning program, and Educators for Social Responsibility (Metro). She worked for 10 years with UNICEF as focal point for peace education, developing national programs in countries undergoing post-war reconstruction. Her international clients include the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, ERIC Japan, the Landmine Survivors Network, the Middle East Children's Association, the UNESCO Associated Schools Project, UNICEF Belgrade, the UN Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Children, and the United States Institute for Peace. Susan teaches conflict resolution at the graduate level at the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she helped design the introductory course in the ICCCR's certificate program; and at the undergraduate level in the Off-Campus College Program of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She has developed curriculum materials for the United Nations Global Teaching and Learning Project, the US Fund for UNICEF, and is the author of six books for teachers on conflict resolution, social/emotional learning, and global education. She has an MS in education and is currently enrolled in the Ed. D. program in Adult Learning at Teachers College.

Stephen Haff

Stephen Haff has taught English and Drama for a dozen years, at high schools and colleges in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Vermont and Canada. At Bushwick High School in Brooklyn, he co-founded Real People Theater (RPT) with his students. The company received great acclaim in the worlds of education and theater, and toured North America and Europe. The VILLAGE VOICE called RPT, “Nothing less than a revolution.” Stephen has spoken at several pedagogical conferences and designed curriculum for the CUNY GearUp program. He used to make his living writing for the VOICE, AMERICAN THEATRE, and other publications, and earned his MFA at the Yale University School of Drama. Right now, Stephen is leading the new Bushwick Writing Project, for people of all ages, in the neighborhood he calls home.

Rhia O. Hamilton, Ed.D.

Rhia Hamilton, Ed.D., is an experienced high school social studies teacher, curriculum developer, and school leader. Dr. Hamilton earned an Ed.D. in School District Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University having previously received an Ed.M. in Public School Leadership. Her particular research interests include: how teachers support students' emotional and social development in advisory classes, social justice education, and team-based professional development for advisory teachers. Dr. Hamilton has conducted research in small learning communities in New York City and worked with the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST) before joining NSCC. She received her B.A. in History and B.S. in Social Studies Education from Miami University of Ohio. In addition, she received her Ed.M. with a concentration in urban policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Kecia Hayes

Kecia Hayes is a member of NSCC's consultation faculty. She received her PhD in Urban Education from the CUNY Graduate Center where she was a MAGNET Scholar. She is committed to the idea of education as a means to achieve social justice and community empowerment. Her research focuses on how social policies and practices impact the educational experiences of children and parents of color in urban communities, especially in terms of court-involved youth. As a practitioner, Kecia has extensive experience in the design and delivery of educational programs. She has taught graduate courses at the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution of Teachers College, Columbia University, and has been an educational consultant with organizations such as the Christian Children's Fund of South Dakota, New York University School of Education Metropolitan Center, and Rikers Island Educational Facility. Here publications include the volumes Metropedagogy: Power, Justice, and the Urban Classroom ; and City Kids: Understanding, Appreciating, and Teaching Them (which were both edited by Joe Kincheloe and Kecia Hayes).

Ann Higgins-D’Alessandro

Ann Higgins-D’Alessandro is NSCC’s Senior Research Advisor. Ann is a graduate of the Life Span Human Development Department, Pennsylvania State University (1979). She is now the Director and Professor, Applied Developmental Psychology Graduate Program, Psychology Department, Fordham University, New York. Dr. Higgins-D’Alessandro’s theoretical work examines schools and workplaces as contexts for adolescent, adult, and older adult moral and social development and the formation, continuity, and flexibility of moral identity, especially moral identity development of students and teachers. From 1976-1989 she was Senior Researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she conducted research with Lawrence Kohlberg at the Center for Moral Development and Moral Education. Longitudinal research on the effects of an experimental democratic, civic high school intervention resulted in the conceptualization of the dynamics of school moral culture change (Power, Higgins, & Kohlberg; Lawrence Kohlberg’s Approach to Moral Education, 1989). Since coming to Fordham in 1990, Ann has also published in a wide range of areas including adolescent risk-taking, the development of empathy in infancy, spirituality and moral community, and moral reasoning. In 2002, she edited the SRCD New Directions monograph, Science for Society: Informing Policy and Practice through Research in Developmental Psychology. Since 2003, she has been Principal Investigator on research funded by a private foundation and two US Department of Education grants evaluating a national school reform and character education program entitled Community of Caring. These projects focus on identifying processes of school change, teacher attitudes, and student engagement by modeling intervention effects. Chosen in 2004 for the Advisory Council of the US Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and the Character Education and Civic Engagement Office she advises the federal government on pro-social education and school climate as well as co-authored (i) Mobilizing for Evidence-Based Character Education (2007); (ii.) co-authored an assessment of pro-social education efforts internationally, and (iii) co-created a teacher resource website.

Donna Titus Johnson

Donna is an educator with over twenty five years of experience. She has worked as an educator in both the New York Public School System and New Jersey Charter Schools. She has been a teacher, administrator and an adjunct professor. Her interest in social, emotional and civic learning came when working in urban schools where there was such a great need. Donna appreciated that there is a need to integrate social, emotional and civic learning into the curriculum. Donna has a B.A. in Sociology and Elementary Education from Hunter College, CUNY. She has two Master degrees; one in Math from Brooklyn College, CUNY, and Supervision and Administration from the City College of New York.

Harmonie Regina Jones

Harmonie Regina Jones is a NSCC consultant and has more than 17 years experience in the field of professional development. Most recently, she has coordinated the NCLB Act of 2001 Title IIA professional development program that included the School Building Leadership graduate program at Adelphi University, St. John’s University, Manhattan College and Mercy College, the UFT Teacher Center and in-service courses. As the former Program Coordinator for Creative Response to Conflict, she designed and directed local and national training programs for students, teachers, administrators and parents. These programs on topics that ranged from conflict resolution and bullying prevention to problem-solving and team building, supported participants’ academic, social and emotional learning. She also designed and coordinated city-wide professional development career education programs for graduate, undergraduate and in-service credit courses that fostered school-to-work transition. Harmonie received her M.A. from Columbia University Teachers College and her B.A. in History and Asian Studies from Michigan State-Oakland University. In addition, she holds New York State School Administrator and Supervisor certification.

Andrea Mandel, Ph.D.

Andrea Mandel, Ph.D. is a member of NSCC's visiting faculty. She has worked as an English teacher educator and a teacher in public schools, Dr. Mandel's professional life has been dedicated to child-centered, inquiry-based and reflective teaching and teacher education. As an outgrowth of her hands-on approach to teaching English Education core courses in Methods, Curriculum and Research, Dr. Mandel knows the importance of creating opportunities for teachers to revisit theory-in-action, and to collaborate in university-school networks and action-research projects. It is for these reasons that Dr. Mandel introduced Teacher Talk Network at Stony Brook University, an organization for beginning and experienced teachers to deepen and extend the conversations begun in coursework. In her professional work, she has been influenced by a wide range of educators, networks, and research efforts, many already firmly linked to New York City Schools: Maxine Green and The Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts; Denny Taylor's Literacy Research; Pat Carini's Prospect Center for Education and Research; Sondra Perl's Composing Process; and Foxfire Core Principles. Through exploring activities, resources, and dialogues such as those above, educators are informed about what needs to change in professional development. As a project researcher for The School and Classroom Design Project, (Danforth Grant), a collaboration between City College Secondary Education Program,(CUNY) and a NYC Middle School, Dr. Mandel helped design a site-based MA program aimed at school change.

William S. Pollock Ph.D.

Senior consultant and visiting faculty member at NSCC. Bill is the Director of the Centers for Men and Young Men and the Director of Continuing Education (Psychology) at McLean Hospital; and is Assistant Clinical Professor (Psychology) in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is an internationally recognized authority on boys and men. He has served on the U.S. Presidential initiative, The National Campaign Against Youth Violence and is a consultant to The United States Secret Service, including its collaborative Safe Schools Initiative with the U.S. Department of Education. He is the author of many books including the Real Boys Workbook (Random House/Villard, 2001) and Real Boys Voices (Random House, 2000/paperback, Penguin, 2001)

Doris Porto, M.S.Ed., Ed.D. Candidate

Doris has been an educator in NY State for nearly 30 years, and enjoys teaching, mentoring, consulting and developing programs. Doris has taught in the schools of Education at the City University of New York and at the State University of New York, and she has provided professional development for teachers, administrators and school support staff. Doris holds a BA in Psychology and Education from the City University of New York, and a Master of Science in Education/K-12 Reading from the State University of New York. Doris has consulted with the Center for Educational Innovation of the Public Education Association (CEI-PEA), with the Teachers College New Teacher Academy, and with the Teachers College Peace Corps Fellows program. She is also active in civic movements seeking increased democratic participation in public school systems. Doris holds the Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, and has facilitated adult learning in conflict resolution. Doris is a doctoral candidate in Comparative and International Education at Teachers College Columbia University, with a concentration in Peace Education. Since 2003, Doris has participated in the annual International Institute on Peace Education, a collaboration between the Peace Education Center at Teachers College and universities and organizations worldwide.

Sue Ruskin-Mayher, Ph.D.

Sue is the director of the Middle Schools Program at the Bank Street College of Education. She has extensive experience as a Staff Developer in the New York City Public Schools. She has also worked as a curriculum development specialist for the Office of the Manhattan High Schools Superintendent. Dr. Ruskin-Mayher began her career in education as a junior high school English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at Junior High School 118 in the Bronx.

Zina Rutkin, Ph.D.

Zina Rutkin, Ph.D. is a member of NSCC’s consultation staff. She is a clinical psychologist with over thirty years experience working with children, adolescents, and families. She holds a master’s degree in special education, a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, and a certificate in family studies. Dr. Rutkin’s approach is family-centered and her work with children and adolescents involves parents in every aspect of the process. She is a seasoned workshop provider and has conducted both parent and professional training programs for over 25 years. Dr. Rutkin has also served as an adjunct professor teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in psychology and education, notably a course at NYU entitled “Working with Parents” for teachers. She is currently a staff member at the Ackerman Institute for Family Studies, where she is working on developing and disseminating a social-emotional learning curriculum for use with elementary aged students. Dr. Rutkin received her B.A. in psychology from SUNY Binghamton, her M.Ed. from Lesley College, and her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Rutkin’s postdoctoral family therapy training took place at the Minuchin Center for the Family.

Margaret Jo Shepherd, Ed. D.

Margaret is a member of NSCC's faculty and the co-director of the Non Verbal Disorders Work Group. She is Professor Emeritus of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, where she established the College's Learning Disability Program. In 1967, Dr. Shepherd created degree-granting programs to train teachers and educational specialists to work with learning disabled students. She directed these programs until 1998 when she retired from her tenured faculty position. She taught at Teachers College for 30 years. During the same time, Dr. Shepherd created a diagnostic and tutoring center at Teachers College (originally known as The Child Study Center). Today, as part of The Center for Educational and Psychological Services, it provides a practicum site for teachers and psychologists, as well as services for children and families. She continued to work at the Center until 1998, even though she had relinquished its directorship. Dr. Shepherd was chair of the 1988 group that created a Professional Development School for Teachers in New York City's Community School District #3. This project, which received five years of Ford Foundation funding, is a model for community/university partnerships and practice-centered teacher education - providing preparation for beginning teachers, as well as continuing education. She was a member of the Urban Network to Improve Teacher Education and Japan/United States Teacher Education Consortium. From 1980 through 1993, she helped train teachers in Ontario, Canada during summer institutes conducted at the University of Waterloo. For 25 years, Dr. Shepherd has been a consultant to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, US Office of Education, and to the New York City Board of Education. She has served on many national educational advisory boards, as well as editorial boards of professional educational journals.

Kristin Page Stewart

Kristin Page Stuart is a member of NSCC’s consultation staff. She began her work in the New York City public schools ten years ago as a teaching artist in the areas of creative writing and theater. In 2002, she was given the opportunity to meld her experience as a teaching artist with social, emotional and civic learning. Working with the FEMA’s Project Liberty and later the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility (formerly Educators for Social Responsibility, Metro Area), she has trained staff, administration, parents and teachers in a variety of socially, emotionally and civically informed ways. Kristin has served as a mediator for conflicts between all members of the school community, and implemented numerous peer mediation programs from the training of student mediators, providing support for these mediators, and filing mediation records for administration officials. She is deeply interested in the intersection of creative processes and social and emotional learning and is involved in independent research projects exploring limbic system learning as it applies to both.

James Williams

James is a member of NSCC's consultation faculty. He is a consultant/training specialist in human resources. He specializes in diversity issues, conflict resolution, collaborative negotiation, and mediation; as well as team building. He has conducted workshops in over forty-eight cities within twenty-seven states and seven foreign countries. James also teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Cecile Wren

Cecile Wren is a member of NSCC's consultation faculty. She was the principal at Jericho Middle School for eight years and worked collaboratively with her staff to design and implement a resilient middle school that articulates a clear vision, social and emotional literacy strategies, and research-based best practices. As a result, Jericho Middle School has been recognized as a New York State Network Support School, as well as a High-Performing Gap Closing School which now provides support to middle schools throughout New York State. Mrs. Wren and her staff have presented at both local and state conferences and frequently host school visitations. Mrs. Wren was the past-president of the Nassau County Middle School Principal's Association; was a Liaison to the New York State Education Department; Co-chairs the Social and Emotional Literacy Forum (SELF), is a member of the executive committee for the Social and Emotional Wellness (SEW) Forum sponsored by the North Shore/LIJ Mental Health Alliance, and serves on the Love Is Not Abuse Advisory Board for Liz Claiborne Inc.. She has over 30 years experience as an educator and her experiences include: Middle and High School Mathematics Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Dean of Students, as well as, an Elementary Principal.

Marisa Zalabak

Marisa Zalabak has been a professional actress and teacher of arts-in-education programs for 30 years. She has worked with Childrenʼs Aid Society, The 52nd Street Project, The Writers Theater, New Dramatists, Circle Repertory, The Public Theater, Fuller Young Peopleʼs Theater, La Fabricca, and Non-Traditional Employment for Women in New York, Minneapolis, and Europe. Marisa holds a degree in Theater and Educational Studies, has studied theater, applied performance, dance, and music, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, has multiple certifications in exercise and fitness, and has served as a speaker for the Anti-Violence Project in New York City.

Manal J. Zoabi

Manal J. Zoabi is a member of NSCC’s consultation staff. Manal has received a MSE and PD from Fordham University in Therapeutic Interventions and School Psychology respectively. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in School Psychology at Fordham University. She has worked with the Ackerman Institute for the Family Therapies’ Competent Kids Caring Classrooms Program. And, for the past 3 years, Manal has worked in refugee camps in the Middle East and with inner-city adolescents in New York City.