Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
Co-founder and President of NSCC
jonathancohen@schoolclimate.org

Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D. is the co-founder and president of the National School Climate Center(NSCC), formerly known as the Center for Social and Emotional Education(CSEE). He is also Adjunct Professor in Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; Adjunct Professor in Education at the School of Professional Studies, City University of New York and a practicing clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

Jonathan has worked in and with K-12 schools for over thirty years as a teacher, program developer, school psychologist, consultant, psycho-educational diagnostician and mental health provider. After working as a middle school teacher at the Marianne Frostig Center for Educational Therapy in Los Angeles, he received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the City University of New York, New York, New York and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychology (1979-1980) at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center as well as at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, New York, N.Y. He completed his adult psychoanalytic training at the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of the New York Freudian Society and received child analytic training at the Psychoanalytic Institute, New York University Medical Center. He is a Diplomat in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology (June, 1988).

Jonathan founded and directs the Teachers College Press Social Emotional Learning series, which is published in partnership with the Collaborative for Academic, Social Emotional Learning. He has authored over 60 articles, chapters and books including Educating Minds and Hearts: Social Emotional Learning and the Passage into Adolescence (Teachers College Press and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1999); (with B. Cohler) (1999) The Psychoanalytic Study of Lives over Time: Clinical and Research Perspectives on Children Who Return to Treatment as Adults (co-edited with Bert Cohler; Academic Press; 1999) and, Caring Classrooms/Intelligent Schools: Social Emotional Education of young Children (Teachers College Press; 2001). Both of his Teachers College Press books were awarded the "Best Academic Book" by the American Library Associations Choice in 1999 and 2001 respectively.

He is a co-author (with John Devine) of the recently published volume Making your School Safe: Strategies to Protect Children and Promote Learning (Teachers College Press, 2007).

Dr. Cohen has consulted to scores of schools, districts and State Departments of Education interested in furthering social, emotional, ethical and academic education and positive school climate in America, Switzerland, Israel, and Scandinavia. He often lectures to groups of educators, parents and/or mental health professionals here and abroad. He speaks to educational and parent groups about a range of topics and has presented keynotes at scores of national conferences, State and Federal educational meetings, schools and district professional development forums.

He is the father of two children and has been married for 26 years.

Darlene Faster
Chief Operating Officer, Communications Director
dfaster@schoolclimate.org

Darlene Faster is a seasoned public relations and communications professional, with more than 10 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, focusing on Educational Policy. Her particular research and policy interests include understanding and improving the social and emotional development of students with Learning Disabilities as well as implementing successful transitional supports for students from high school to postsecondary life. Ms. Faster has done preliminary research in urban schools in Chicago and New York, and worked with the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) before joining NSCC. She received her B.A. in English from Hofstra University and her M.A. in English and American Literature from CUNY, Queens College.

Jack Heidgerd
Director of Finance
jheidgerd@schoolclimate.org

Jack Heidgerd joined NSCC in August 2009 as Director of Finance and also currently serves as interim Chief Financial Officer at WNYC Radio. Jack is a graduate of the New York City public school system and received BBA and MBA degrees from Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. After college, Jack spent 25 years working in financial management in the Gannett Company, the largest newspaper publisher in the USA, last servicing as Vice President of Finance at The Journal News in White Plains, NY. In addition to significant accomplishments as a financial leader in Gannett, Jack has served in various financial leadership roles in non-profit organizations including Lutheran Social Services, The Food Bank for Westchester, Koinonia and the Westchester Housing Fund. He lives in Bedford Hills, NY with is wife Ann Marie and two sons.

Alison Dichter
Development Director
adichter@schoolclimate.org

Alison graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in Art History and has been working in Development for the past 7 years. Prior to CSEE, Alison worked in a variety of non-profits, including the arts, health and social services. Raised by a teacher (her mom), Social and Emotional Education is something she was taught and cares very deeply about. A native New Yorker with experience in individual giving, grant writing and event planning, she is eager to help CSEE grow their revenue and find new sources of support.

Shoji Masuzawa
Senior Information Technology Consultant
smasuzawa@schoolclimate.org

Shoji has been in the education community for more than 30 years as a teacher, director of a computer center, and software developer. Educated in Japan, he moved to the US to study philosophy and found a career in technology. Shoji directed the computer center at Riverdale Country School for nearly 10 years and decided to start his consulting company targeting schools and non-profit organizations in 1998. He joined CSEE after having consulted CSEE in IT for a number of years. He specializes in database development and now extends his expertise to management of technology projects.

Nora Rudewicz
Marketing and School Support Manager
nrudewicz@schoolclimate.org

Nora Rudewicz is the Marketing and School Support Manager at CSEE. She is a graduate from the State University of New York at Oswego with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Nora comes to CSEE with years of experience in advertising, marketing and educational volunteer work.  Raised by a principal she has been surrounded by the importance of improving education for most of her life. Nora is dedicated to making a difference in education and working with CSEE team to do so.

Anne-Marie Stehn
Office and Fiscal Manager
astehn@schoolclimate.org

Emily Stork
CSEE Fellow
estork@schoolclimate.org

Emily Stork is a graduate of Harvard University (A.B Phi Beta Kappa). She works on a range of resource development as well as school climate improvement projects.

Kitty Chu
NSCC Intern
kchu@schoolclimate.org

Kitty Chu is an undergraduate student who will enter her senior year at Barnard College in the fall of 2010. Kitty is majoring in psychology and is interested in pursuing a career in school counseling. By interning at NSCC, she hopes to not only gain awareness of the social, academic, and emotional issues currently affecting children in the classrooms, but also to learn about tools used to assess and improve school climates. In her free time Kitty enjoys listening to music and spending time with family and friends.

Olivia Friedlander
NSCC Intern
ofriedlander@schoolclimate.org

Olivia Friedlander is currently attending Hunter College in New York City where she is studying psychology. She plans to get her masters in Mental Health Counseling and wants to pursue a career in school psychology. She works on a range of projects, mainly around the organization of the Summer Institute.