Meet Our Trainers
Amanda Amtmanis has been an elementary physical education teacher in Middletown since 2000. She recently earned her Master's Degree in Education from the University of New England. In addition to her teaching she also has many years of experience working with children as a coach as well as in various after school, vacation and summer programs.
Allison Abucewicz received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Central Connecticut State University and is currently seeking her Master’s in Special Education with a special focus on music. For six years, Allison was music teacher at the John Lyman Elementary School in Middlefield. She was also instrumental in implementing the model and vision of an arts-infused curriculum and in developing the award-winning Hot Readers/Total Literacy program at Lyman. This program builds literacy understanding and skills in children through the infusion of music, movement and visual arts. For the past several years, Allison has worked for IDEAS, where she is a contributing writer for Interactive Arts for Total Literacy I and II; McGraw-Hill’s Share the Music series revision; Science through Song; and Birds. Allison has been involved with the Total Literacy conference and has presented at workshops, class lectures and schools.
Tom Brant holds his BA in Psychology from Western Connecticut State University and Master of Arts with a concentration in School Psychology from Fairfield University. He is currently working on his Certificate of Advance Study in School Psychology, which will allow him to be a certified School Psychologist in the State of Connecticut, along with becoming a National Certified School Psychologist. His areas of interest are Moral Development, Autism and ADHD. Tom currently works at the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut, and has a field-work placement at King Street Intermediate School in Danbury.
Anne Cassady is a holistic health coach and consultant, educated, trained and certified by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She holds both a BA in English and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. Anne is a faculty member of the Humanities Division at Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Connecticut where she currently teaches a course called, “Ten Practical Tips for Better Health.” She also works with individuals and groups interested in improving their health, particularly around eating more nutritionally. Health Snacking, specifically, is favorite topic that works will with school age children. Anne owns a nutritional counseling business called Informed Eating Matters, LLC.
Linda Heidorn has been working with children in a variety of settings for over 20 years. Her diverse experiences include: Elementary Classroom Teacher; School Age Child Care Site Director of an NAA accredited program; Staff Development Trainer and Program Consultant; Ropes Course Director; Camp Counselor for traveling adventure programs; swim instructor and Sunday School teacher. In addition, she has presented at Network conferences for many years.
Diane Gedeon-Martin is the President of The Write Source, LLC, a grant seeking management firm based in CT. After 15 years as a broadcast journalist and corporate marketing professional with Fortune 500 companies, she joined the non-profit sector and, within a few years, began her consulting career. Since starting The Write Source in 1993, her firm has assisted nearly 200 non-profit organizations in 22 states and the District of Columbia achieve their short and long-term grant seeking goals with grants ranging from $5,000 to $5 million.
Peggy Kelley is currently working toward the Connecticut Director’s Credential and the After School Credential. She is a Red Cross first aid and CPR instructor who teaches the Red Cross Emergency Preparedness workshop and the Babysitters Training Program. She is also a Connecticut After School Network Quality Advisor. Peggy is the Assistant Director of the Before and After School Programs at EDUCATION CONNECTION.
Tracey Lay is currently the Director of School Age Programs and Development Services at EDUCATION CONNECTION. She holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Communication and a Specialization in Early Childhood Development. Tracey has been working in the Early Childhood and School Age fields for 20 years, in both hands-on and administrative roles. In her current role, she is responsible for new program development in the Out of School Time field, coordinates 12 school-based, before and after school sites in 7 school districts in northwestern Connecticut, manages training and professional development systems for other agencies and school districts and consults to other early care and education & school age programs. She is a State approved Education Consultant and NIOST (National Institute on Out of School Time) Quality Advisor Specialist, as well as a proficient state & national trainer.
Harry Mangle, currently an educational consultant, provides services to the Connecticut Charts-a-Course “Quality Assurance System” as well as staff training on a variety of topics to Connecticut after school programs. Recently retired from a full time career as a University of Connecticut 4-H Educator, an elementary teacher and principal, he continues part-time work through the University as the editor of the All Children Considered newsletter and is a program planner for the USDA Children, Youth and Families at Risk annual conferences. Mr. Mangle’s formal education includes a Master of Education from Harvard University and Bachelor’s degree in History from Dickinson College. He has wide experience in and knowledge of child development, curriculum, program planning and administration, as well as building positive relationships.
Sarah Moran holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Colby-Sawyer College and a Master’s in Teaching and Foundation from Fairfield University. She is an independent consultant with expertise in both preschool and after school programming, and is the Grant Coordinator for the BASES (Before and After School Enrichment Services) through EDUCATION CONNECTION. In addition, Sarah is a certified ECERS (Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale) rater contracted through the State Department of Education. Though an expert in all aspects of program planning, her niche is curriculum planning and indoor space.
Lawrence Kevin Morrison is the founder and president of Morrison Group LLC. The company was founded on the premise of providing customized training and development to organizations of all types with a focus on “life skills.” Mr. Morrison earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Colgate University. He has appeared on numerous television, radio and newspaper outlets to discuss saving, investing and financial literacy. He is active in many Connecticut community organizations often volunteering his training and public speaking skills. His expertise covers financial literacy, leadership, ethics and investing.
Andrew Oxman, M.Ed., is an experienced workshop leader who holds certification as a Music Improvisation Teacher from the Musicianship and Leadership Program (MLP) of Music for People, an organization dedicated to each participant’s natural musical self-expression. With his joyful and authentic teaching style Andrew creates a fun and encouraging environment for participants of any level of musical experience to explore and discover their unique self-expression. He does this by facilitating musical activities and techniques that serve as melodious and rhythmic springboards for musical improvisations. No prior musical experience is necessary to participate in his workshops. Andrew has taught music improvisation workshops at venues that include the New England Conservatory of Music, the Peace Village Conference Center in New York, the Ferry Beach Camp and Conference Center in Maine and the People’s Music Network Regional Gathering.
Chris Pallatto has been a leader in the Adventure Based Learning and Team Building arena since 1992. As a career YMCA professional, Chris has led hundreds of groups in a variety of energizing activities designed to facilitate teamwork, communication and most of all…fun! All of Chris’s workshops are backed up by years of “real life” experience working with groups from around the world.
Michele Rulnick is the Vice President of Youth and Family Programs at the Middlesex YMCA, and the current Chair of the Board of Directors at the Connecticut After School Network. Michele has been an after school professional for over twenty years, working as a teacher, site director and program director. In addition, she teaches after school education courses at Charter Oak State College. She is a trained Quality Advisor through the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), a gender equity specialist, a trained school age CDA advisor and an endorser for the National After School Association (NAA). She holds a Bachelor’s from the University of Connecticut, and a Master’s in Education from Concordia University.
Tony Sharillo started his career at YMCA Camp Ingersoll, and worked for eleven years at the Northern Middlesex YMCA. He served as a camp/adventure counselor after earning a degree in Child Psychology from the University of Connecticut. He later he became involved with the before and after school program and in a short time became the Associate Director of Child and Camping Services. At the end of the 2006 summer Tony accepted a position at the Greater Waterbury YMCA as the Camp Program Director for YMCA Camp Mataucha and Oakasha. He holds his Director Certification with the YMCA of the USA and is a Quality Advisor and Gender Equity specialist for the Connecticut After School Network. Tony is the Camping Chair for the Connecticut Membership and Program Network and an active member of AYP Chapter 3.
Michele Stewart-Copes is a skilled trainer, consultant, therapist and seminar specialist. She has worked with children, adolescents and adults, addressing a variety of social, human development and curriculum needs. Michele earned two Master’s degrees, one in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, and one in Guidance Counseling from Central Connecticut State University. She has over 22 years of social service, human relations, curriculum development and planning experience. Michele is the co-author of Sexuality and Parenting Curriculum for Young Minority Fathers, and is the founder and co-chair of POWER (Parenting Organization Working to Enhance Resources) a statewide network of 37 organizations. She is currently the President of SEET (System for Education Equity and Transition) Consultants.
Dr. David B. Wangaard is the director of The School for Ethical Education (SEE). Prior to earning his doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Colorado, David was a K-12 school principal in Alaska. He has been applying his character education strategies in schools since 1984. Dr. Wangaard has taught junior high and high school math, sponsored student councils and student led community service projects, coached track, co-lead student foreign travel and led summer wilderness canoeing trips. David has successfully presented at the national meetings of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Character Education Partnership, the National Character Education Convention in St. Louis and the Search Institute's Healthy Communities: Healthy Youth Conference and internationally at an EARCOS Character Education seminar in Bangkok, Thailand. He is an instructor for SEE courses as well as an adjunct instructor for the University of Bridgeport and facilitated regional character education conferences. While working at SEE, he has published two teacher/student workbooks to support character education. Since 1999, David has also been a consultant for the Character Education Partnership (CEP) as an evaluator for CEP’s National Schools of Character Program.
Carole Weisberg is the Coordinator for Early Childhood and Youth Programs at Charter Oak State College. She has an extensive background in school age care, having run a large multi-site program for over fourteen years in Northern Westchester County, New York. She is a founding member and past president of the School Age Directors’ Network, in Westchester, and is a trained National After School Association (NAA) Accreditation Endorser and a National Institute of Out-of-School Time (NIOST) Quality Advisor. Carole holds a Master’s in Education from Concordia University. She is the author of the book, Children of Divorce in School Age Care: A Resource for the School Age Care Professional and Youth Care Specialist.
Kathy Wilby holds a Master’s degree in Education with an Emphasis in School-Age Care from Concordia, St. Paul, and a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Southern Connecticut State University. Her experience includes work in all types of child care settings from licensed family homes to pre-school and school-age care. She has ECERS reliability certification and has been an NAA Accreditation Endorser since 1998.