Graduate School of Education

Graduate School Faculty & Staff

Graduate Faculty Directory

A-E | F-J | K-M | N-S | T-Z

N

Nancy Nager
E-mail: nnager@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4470
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Brandeis University; MSEd, Bank Street College of Education; PhD, Yeshiva University
Practitioner background: early childhood educator
Academic interests: developmental psychology; professional development of teachers; technology in early childhood education

Francisco Najera
Director, Bilingual Education Programs
E-mail: fnajera@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4530
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, CUNY; MA, City College/CUNY; PhD, Graduate Center, CUNY
Practitioner background: bilingual teacher (elementary and intermediate); staff developer; administrator (elementary)
Academic interests: second language acquisition and its effect on literacy development

Diane Newman
Director, Childhood Special Education Programs
E-mail: dnewman@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4547
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Queens College/CUNY; EdM, Pennsylvania State University; PhD, Northwestern University
Practitioner background: special education teacher; supervisor of education evaluators
Academic interests: diagnosis of learning difficulties; literacy in special education

O

Katherine O'Donnell
E-mail: kod@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4469
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BS, SUNY/Buffalo; MA, University of Minnesota; EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: elementary school teacher; undergraduate teacher and administrator
Academic interests: adult development; processes of supervision; learning organizations; relational practices; program design; international programs; the arts as ways of knowing

Margaret (Terry) Orr
Director, Future School Leaders Academy
E-mail: morr@bankstreet.edu 
212-875-4546
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Denison University; MA, Teachers College, Columbia University; PhD, Columbia University
Practitioner background: research and development in schools, districts, and community organizations on educational programs, and in higher education institutions on leadership preparation
Academic interests: leadership preparation and development; school restructuring and improvement

Karina Otoya-Knapp
E-mail: kotoyaknapp@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4545
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA and MA, University of Chicago; PhD, University of California - Los Angeles
Practitioner background: teacher of math and computers, 3rd grade, high school Spanish
Academic interests: critical inquiry in teacher development; teacher research in higher education settings; public urban education and social justice issues

P

Frank Pignatelli
E-mail: fpignatelli@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4710
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA and MA, City College of New York/CUNY; MPhil, PhD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: junior high school teacher; school district and central administrator; school-university liaison; staff developer
Academic interests: social foundations; activist research; politics and philosophy of education; urban school reform; educational leadership

Troy Pinkney-Ragsdale
Director, Child Life Program
E-mail: tpinkney@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4473 (phone)
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BS, West Virginia State University; MA, Ohio State University
Practitioner background: director of therapeutic recreation for skilled and assisted-living facilities; director of early intervention program; director of child life for pediatric facilities within various major hospitals
Academic interests: diversity issues as they relate to healthcare and education; literacy initiatives; healthcare (particularly pediatrics)

Denise Prince
Director, Early Childhood Leadership Program
E-mail: dprince@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4585
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BS, City College of New York/CUNY; MSEd, Bank Street College of Education
Practitioner background: teacher and director of early childhood programs; program planner in NYC early intervention program
Academic interests: early childhood education; professional development; school reform; parent involvement; inclusive education

R

Madeleine Ray
212-875-4462
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Hunter College, CUNY

Rena Rice
E-mail: renarice@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4508
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Barnard College of Columbia University; MSEd, Bank Street College of Education
Practitioner background: director of public and private not-for-profit early childhood centers
Academic interests: family-school-community partnerships; parenting education; home-based child care; family support; early childhood education

Olga Romero
Chair, Dual Language/Bilingual and Special Education Department
E-mail: olgar@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4468
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Hunter College/CUNY; MPh, CUNY Graduate School and University Center; PhD, CUNY Graduate School and University Center
Practitioner background: elementary and middle school teacher in bilingual and monolingual classrooms; bilingual speech/language pathologist; bilingual speech/language evaluator
Academic interests: language development and disorders; bilingualism; dual language and bilingual education, preparation of teachers of color; language of learning-disabled adolescents

Mimi J. Rosenberg
Director, Middle School Special Education Programs
E-mail: mrosenberg@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4544
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, University of California-Riverside; MA, Hunter College; EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: special education junior and high school teacher in NYC Public Schools
Academic interests: language and literacy; bilingualism; dialects; middle schoolers

Susan Ruskin-Mayher
Director, Middle School General Education Program
E-mail: sruskin-mayher@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4780
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA and MS, City College of New York/CUNY; PhD, New York University
Practitioner background: language arts teacher (junior high)
Academic interests: reading and literacy; urban education; social studies education

S

Gil Schmerler
Director, Leadership for Educational Change Program
E-mail: ace@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4709
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Amherst College; MA, EdM, and EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: high school English teacher; director of public alternative high school; principal of independent middle and high schools
Academic interests: small schools; middle schools; teacher leadership; service learning; team building

Rima Shore
Chair, Weismann Center for Educational Leadership
Chair, Educational Leadership Department
E-mail: rshore@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4478
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: PhD, Columbia University 

Jonathan Silin (on leave 2008-09 academic year)
E-mail: jsilin@optonline.net
212-875-4520
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Columbia University; MS, Bank Street College of Education; EdM, Teachers College, Columbia University; EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: classroom teacher (ages 3-6); consultant to schools on action research
Academic interests: childhood studies; queer theory; curriculum theory

Marcia Singer
E-mail: msinger@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4496
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University

Jon D. Snyder
Dean, Graduate School of Education
E-mail: jsnyder@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4466
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, Washington State University; MA and MEd, Washington State University; EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: public elementary school teacher; curriculum and staff developer
Academic interests: teacher learning; conditions that support teacher learning; relationships between teacher learning and student learning

Cristian Solorza
E-mail: csolorza@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4553
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BS, Cornell University; MSEd, Bank Street College of Education
Practitioner background: dual language elementary school teacher, grades 4-5; teacher leader in the New York City public schools
Academic interests: language development; dual language pedagogy; dialects; diversity; Spanish language learners; urban education; ESL; teacher leadership

Andrea (Penny) Spencer
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
E-mail: aspencer@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4602
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA and EdM, University of Maine; PhD, University of Connecticut
Practitioner background: program director in private special education settings; administrator in a regional education service center
Academic interests: special and alternative education for children with emotional, learning and behavioral problems

Barbara Stern
Induction Coordinator
E-mail: bstern@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4601
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BA, University of Michigan; MSW, Hunter College/CUNY
Practitioner background: day care center founder and director; parenting center founder and director; literacy assessment consultant; psychotherapist
Academic interests: learning styles and differences; reading and literacy; parent/teacher interactions; observation and descriptive inquiry

Susan Stires
E-mail: sstires@bankstreet.edu
212-875-4542
212-875-4753 (fax)
Education: BS, West Chester State University; EdM, Boston University; EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University
Practitioner background: elementary school teacher and resource room specialist; staff developer
Academic interests: writing development and pedagogy; children's literature; first and second language development