NYSAECTE
New York State Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators
Board of Directors 2023
President: Kate McCormick, SUNY Cortland
Vice-President: Jen Gilken, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Secretary: Bridget Turner, CUNY
Treasurer: Claudine Campanelli, CUNY School of Professional Studies
Member-at-Large: SeungJung (SJ) Jo, SUNY Geneseo
Member-at-Large: Cristina Medellin, Bank Street College
Past-President: Jeanne Galbraith, SUNY Geneseo
Kate McCormick
President
Kate McCormick, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department at SUNY Cortland. Kate is a former preschool teacher, who has been teaching and researching in the field of early childhood education for over ten years. In her current position, she assists in preparing over 600 teacher candidates through the Early Childhood/Childhood dual certification teacher education program. Kate serves on several local and regional early learning-focused advisory boards including the Onondaga Community College Human Services and Teacher Education Department Advisory Board, SUNY Cortland Child Care Center Board of Directors, and the SUNY Cortland Professional Development School Advisory Council.
Jen Gilken
Vice-President
Jennifer Gilken, is the Deputy Chair and Program Coordinator of the Early Childhood Education program at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Jennifer helps support 3 education programs in the Teacher Education Department, which has approximately 30 faculty members, and over 800 early childhood students. Jennifer began her career at BMCC as an adjunct faculty member in 2001, she was appointed as a full time instructor in 2011 and an Assistant Professor in the spring of 2018.
Claudine Campanelli
Treasurer
Claudine J. Campanelli, Director of Career Services and Higher Education at NY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. Claudine oversees the undergraduate and graduate early childhood programming at CUNY School of Professional Studies in partnership with the Institute. She also leads the Career Services team at the Institute supporting early childhood professionals in their pursuit to obtain qualifications and roles in early childhood throughout New York State. Prior to Claudine’s appointment with CUNY in 2017 she was the director of an International Montessori program offered as a benefit to parents of a Fortune 500 IT company with schools in the United States, India, England and Australia.
Bridget Turner
Secretary
Dr. Bridget Turner has a PhD in Infant & Early Childhood Development with an Emphasis in Mental Health and Developmental Disorders from Fielding Graduate University. Dr. Turner has acquired a MA in Early Childhood Education/Administration & Supervision from New Jersey City University and a BS in Health Education. She is formerly a full time Professor of Education at Essex County College, in Newark, New Jersey. However, she is currently an Adjunct Professor at Essex County College where she teaches education courses. Dr. Turner also is an Adjunct Professor for CUNY teaching CDA courses and CPAC courses. She is currently a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Essex County. She is court appointed to advocate for children and speak up for their best interest in court. Dr. Turner’s passion and focus has been centered on Early Childhood Education and Mental Health and assisting children with developmental disorders.
SeungJung (SJ) Jo
Member, At-Large
Dr. SeungJung Jo is currently an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Education at SUNY Geneseo. Prior to coming to SUNY Geneseo, she has taught teacher candidates in Early Childhood Education at the University of Montana Western and SUNY Buffalo. Before becoming a teacher educator, she worked with culturally and linguistically diverse children in the US and South Korea as a preschool teacher.
Cristina Medellin
Member, At-Large
Dr. Cristina Medelin is the Associate Director of the Straus Center for Young Children & Families at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City and a Teaching and Learning Consultant and Dual Language Content Specialist through the NYC Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. She has a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Medelin has extensive experience with professional development and QualityStarsNY. She is a frequent presenter on topics related to multilingual learners, developmentally appropriate practice, and play. She has written and contributed to numerous publications including Guidelines for Supporting Dual Language Learners and Core Principles for Supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners through the NYC Department of Education's Division for Early Childhood Education.
Jeanne Galbraith
Past-President
Dr. Jeanne Galbraith is an Associate Professor of Inclusive Early Childhood Education at SUNY Geneseo. Prior to coming to SUNY Geneseo, she was an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of Early Childhood at SUNY Cortland. She has taught at public and private institutions and at a community college. She has classroom teaching experience in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education and holds a New York State Teacher Certification in Early Childhood Special Education (PreK-Grade 12). Her primary areas of interest in Early Childhood Education are play, inclusive education, curriculum, the Reggio Emilia Approach, and teacher education. She strongly believes in the importance of organizations like NAECTE and NYSAECTE to position themselves as advocates for Early Childhood Teacher Education.