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About Us

Who We Are

The New York City Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI) is a public/private partnership that brings together a range of city agencies, a consortium of private funders, and the nation’s largest urban university to build a comprehensive system of professional development for individuals who work with young children in New York City.

Our Mission

Children need to spend their most critical years with dedicated, educated, trained, and well-compensated individuals in order to thrive in today’s society. PDI works to ensure that all early childhood practitioners have access to a comprehensive system of professional development that supports high-quality services for New York City’s children and their families. Recruitment of a talented workforce; competency-based teacher education programs and training opportunities; innovative models of technical assistance; effective public policy; and adequate funding are integral components of this system.

Read more about our mission

Staff

Sherry M. Cleary, Executive Director

Claudette Jordan, Project Manager - Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies Initiative's Early Childhood Program in East New York

Deana Butler, Community Consultant

Dana Benzo, Project Coordinator - Special Projects

Jennifer Butch, Community Consultant

Kelly Burnes, Project Associate

Nancy Dessables, Career Advisor

Natasha LaCroix, Community Consultant

Ola Friday, Project Coordinator, Quality Stars New York

Jessica Howe, ECE Project Coordinator

Jessica Weber, Special Needs Project Manager

Tristan Joy, Web and Print Design Associate

Nancy Klinger, CPAC Consultant

Belinda Kwan, Project Associate

Tamra Leurbourg, Senior Office Assistant

Sofia Lopez, IFCC Project Associate

Bardria Nichols, Administrative Coordinator

Kaylan Sobel, Project Associate

Hamish Strong, Web and Database Administrator

Angelica Velazquez, Project Coordinator, IFCC/Direct Service

Raedell Wallace, Career Services Project Manager

Advisory Panel

Anna Allanbrook, The Brooklyn New School

Andrea Anthony, Day Care Council of New York

Carmen Ayala, Visiting Nurse Service of New York

Marilyn Bartlett, Children’s Services/Division of Family Support Services

Michelle Bodden, United Federation of Teachers

Beryl Bunch, Child Care Provider

Leslie Bushara, Children’s Museum of Manhattan

Sherry Copeland, New York City Department of Education

Marian Detelj, Lenox Hill Neighborhood house

Robert Frawley, New York State Council on Children and Families

Margie Fuentes, Aquinas Housing Corporation

Cindy Gallagher, New York State Department of Education

Devon Gayle, Administration for Children’s Services

Raglan George Jr., District Council 1707

Nancy Kolben, Child Care Inc.

Patricia S. Lieberman, A.L. Mailman Family Foundation

Nina Lublin, Resources for Children with Special Needs

Bonnie Lou Mallonga, 1199/Employer Child Care Corporation

Rachel Payne, Brooklyn Public Library

Alison Pepper, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

Diana Perez, Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corp.

Jon Pinkos, Day Care Council of New York

Janine Pizzarella, Public School 207Q

Brooke Richie, Resilience Law and Advocacy Project

Deborah Rubien, Agenda for Children Tomorrow

Raysa Rodriguez, Office of the Mayor

Sheila Smith, New York University Child & Family Policy Center

Ron Stowe, America’s Edge

Christina Taharally, Hunter College School of Education

Rachel Theilheimer, Borough of Manhattan Community College

Eleanor Greig Ukoli, New York City Department of Education

Joyce Wallace, Administration for Children’s Services

Ahmed Zaman, Borough of Manhattan Community College