About NJCIE

Tracy Amerman, a member of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at New Jersey City University. She began her career as a special education teacher in New Jersey and has taught students with disabilities from elementary school age through college. Dr. Amerman has published a number of articles and frequently presents on transition for students with disabilities to post secondary life, inclusion, and assistive technology at the national, state, and local levels. She is currently the president of the New Jersey Council for Exceptional Children - Division of Career Development and Transition and co-coordinator of the New Jersey Transition Coordinator's Network. She also is serving on the advisory board of The Uncommon Thread, an early intervention, non-profit resource program for children with Autism and the Newark Archdiocese Catholic Inclusive Education Task Force. Tracy received her BS and MAT in Special Education from Montclair State College and her Ed.D. in Learning and Teaching from Rutgers, The State University.

Kimberly Andersen, Treasurer of NJCIE's Board of Directors, has worked extensively with non-profit organizations for the last fifteen years. She has served as presidents of Philomusica, a concert choir, and The Unitarian Society, a religious organization, in East Brunswick in addition to being a member of the Unitarian New York Metro District Board. Kim has also served on township committees and was a recipient of the East Brunswick "Women Who Make a Difference" award in 2002. Kim has a background in the arts and holds a degree in Music Theater from Syracuse University, and continues to work as a professional musician. She is currently employed by Perfectway Corporation as financial administrator.

Susan Bonjiorno has been a dedicated supporter of inclusion since she stopped pursuing a nursing degree to nurture support and advocate for her daughter, Sarah, who was born 15 years ago with Dandy Walker Variant. From the beginning, Susan has worked to support Sarah's inclusion from preschool to secondary school. She has used her own experiences and knowledge gained at multiple conferences to mentor and advocate for families with children with verbal apraxia and learning disabilities. Susan's work experiences include being a Supervisor at Bell Telephone and working for the New Jersey Regional Early Intervention Collaborative to put together a Community Mapping brochure for Morris County. Susan resides in Montclair with Sarah and her husband Tom.

Rose Cali, Chair of NJCIE's Board of Directors has devoted hundreds of volunteer hours in leadership and philanthropic roles to organizations involved in the arts, human services and education. As the founder and Past President/CEO of the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center (1997-2005), she oversaw the development of numerous programs which teach children lessons in history and ethics through the vehicle of sports and initiated an inclusive baseball camp which supported children with a variety of disabilities among campers without disabilities. Rose became dedicated to the vision of inclusion after getting to know young people with disabilities who had benefited from being included in general education classrooms in the Montclair Public Schools. Rose serves on several boards including St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, Montclair State University and New Jersey Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Mary Ann Comparetto, NJCIE's Director of Parent Programs, coordinates NJCIE's parent contacts and support activities. As a graduate of Partners in Policymaking in Maryland, a former co-director for the Partners Program and the parent of a daughter with autism who has been included throughout her school career, Mary Ann has developed significant expertise in the area of inclusion and in working with parents, educators and public policy makers. Following her work with the Partners Program in Maryland, Mary Ann helped create a nine-month parent- training course for the Arc of Northern Chesapeake. Mary Ann currently lives in New Providence, New Jersey with her husband and three daughters Laura, Abigail, and Grace.

Amy C. Geoffroy, a member of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board, is President of Network21, a parent-run not-for-profit which connects and supports families with Down syndrome in Central New Jersey. Amy is the mother of two girls, Emily and Abigail. Abigail, who has Down syndrome is included in a typical preschool program in the East Brunswick Public Schools. Amy holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation & Planning. She presently works as an associate in the Dean's Office at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Sue Goldman is Recorder on NJCIE's Program Advisory Board and a Past President of the New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is a now a private consultant having working for 30 years as a speech pathologist in the public schools. Sue has presented workshops on phonemic awareness on the district, county and state level. Sue formerly served as New Jersey's state education advocacy leader (SEAL) to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and was a co-author of the state's Technical Assistance Document: The Evaluation of Speech and Language.

Patricia Haines is a member of NJCIE's Board of Directors. Patty and her husband, Jeff, have raised three children. Their middle daughter, Allison, was born with Down syndrome. A former teacher, Patty worked collaboratively with their school district to include Allison from age 8 through graduation from Bernards High School. She started a special education parent group, was on the Parent Advisory Board for the Morris-Union Jointure Commission and produced the DVD, "Inclusion: Bernardsville Beginnings." Patty is the Vice President for her husband's interior design firm, Butler's of Far Hills, and is on the board of Friends for a Greener Bernardsville and the Garden Club of Somerset Hills.

Maureen Kerne is the Director of the Region V Council for Special Education whose membership consists of 11 school districts in Bergen County. Through the efforts of the Region V Council many schools are able to share services to support students. In her role, Maureen has been instrumental in helping school districts develop the capacity to "responsibly" include students with disabilities through strategic planning and staff development. Maureen is a member of the Bergen Community College Autism Task force whose mission is to expand inclusive community based opportunities for teenagers and adults with autism. It is her passion, that all students leave school with the opportunity to become contributing and productive member of an inclusive community.

Patricia (Patty) Mary Lang, the Vice Chairperson of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board, is an LDT-C in the Perth Amboy School District and certified as a nursery school teacher, an elementary school teacher (K-8) and special education teacher (K-12). Patty has extensive co-teaching classroom experience at almost every grade level, from preschool through high school. She has consulted with both parents and districts, noting that her primary goal is to assist educators and parents to build a better understanding of and enhance their capacity to include children with disabilities in the general education curriculum and classroom. As the parent of three children with developmental disabilities, Patty has a unique perspective and understanding for the needs of families, as well as educators. Mrs. Lang has a BA in special education from the College of Saint Elizabeth and a MA from Kean University.

Paula Lieb, President and CEO, was a member of NJCIE's board when she was appointed as NJCIE's first paid Executive Director in 2003. She is certified to teach kindergarten through twelfth grade and began her career as a secondary social studies teacher, prior to earning her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1993. As an attorney she concentrated in the area of special education law, first with the Public Advocate, (later, New Jersey Protection & Advocacy, Inc.), prior to taking her present position at NJCIE. At NJCIE, Paula provides workshops, consulting and technical assistance in several areas. Since 1999, she has been a member of the state committees focused on moving inclusion forward in the state.

Michelle Lockwood, NJCIE's Positive Behavior Support Specialist, has her masters in counseling psychology from Loyola College with a focus on cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents. Prior to joining NJCIE, Michelle was employed with the Howard County Public School System in Maryland for over 10 years as a Countywide Behavior Specialist. Michelle possesses extensive experience in using the principals of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) to facilitate the successful inclusion of students with disabilities. She has taught school teams how to improve student behavior through the use of the Functional Behavior Assessment process in creating individualized student Behavior Intervention Plans at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. As a mental health therapist with Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Michelle created treatment plans to teach clients the behavioral and social skills necessary for them to continue receiving their education in public school settings. She also oversaw an inclusive social skills program for students with autism spectrum disorders and created the program's social skills curriculum.

Ari Ne'man, a member of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board, is currently studying Political Science and Interdisciplinary Studies as a Sondheim Scholar of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. An Asperger's autistic and an Eagle Scout, he spent time in both out of district and in-district placements in high school, an experience that led to his deciding to become an advocate for inclusion. He is an active member in the autistic community and the founding President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a non-profit advocacy and support organization run by individuals on the autism spectrum. He is a member of the Youth Advisory Council of the National Council on Disability.

Jenni Newbury, a member of NJCIE's Advisory Board, is a junior at Princeton University. In 1990, her younger brother, Jason, was born with Down syndrome. Throughout Jason's school career, Jenni was an active advocate, with her parents, for Jason's inclusion. While in high school, Jenni was the National President of PALS, a student-run high school organization that promotes friendships between students with and received an award from the Wallenberg Foundation Award for her work in promoting the organization throughout the northeast. Since arriving at Princeton, Jenni has continued her work supporting young people with disabilities and inclusive education. As a sophomore, in the fall of 2007 she obtained funding, organized, and coordinated a well-attended conference titled, Turning the World Upside Down, for parents of children with Down syndrome on the Princeton campus.

Gina Simeone, NJCIE's Administrative Assistant, an essential member of the NJCIE team, is highly experienced with years of administrative experience managing NJCIE's office and working with educators, parents and children. Gina works closely with all aspects of NJCIE's work, including such areas as office administration, school and district contact, conference coordination, and materials design.

Bonni Rubin-Sugarman, Chairperson of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board and a member of its Board of Directors, is the Director of Special Services/Child Study Teams for the Haddonfield Township School District. A former elementary general education school teacher and Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant, Bonni also served as Director of Open Hearts Open Doors for 10 years, a continuing program of the JCC Camps at Medford, providing supports to children with disabilities so they may be fully included in a regular eight-week day camp.

Karen Joy Schultz, a member of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board has worked for the Haddonfield Public Schools as both a general and special education teacher. She and her co-teacher have successfully included children with significant educational, communication, and physical needs. Karen is currently enrolled in an Educational Leadership program through the Foundation for Educational Administration and the State of New Jersey.

Elizabeth (Libby) Skinner, a member of NJCIE"s Program Advisory Board, is the Director of Special Services for the Verona Public Schools. Libby has worked for the school system for nearly 25 years; first as a teacher in many different areas, then as a Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant. She has a masters in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Montclair State University. Libby is a founding member of Down Syndrome Parent-to-Parent and is active with the New Jersey Association of Learning Consultants where she has served as President as well as a member of the Executive Board. She is also an Advisory Board member of COPE.

Betsy Smith, a member of NJCIE's Board of Directors, is a role model for why inclusion is important. Betsy, who has Down syndrome, was included in the Montclair Public schools throughout her entire academic experience. Since graduation from Montclair High School, she has attended classes at Montclair State University and adult education classes at Montclair High School. She is employed at the Montclair YMCA as a receptionist and tour guide, lives in her own apartment, and takes public transportation to her job. Betsy formerly served on the Board of the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center.

David T. Smith, a member of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board, is a third grade special education teacher in the full time co-teaching program for the Cherry Hill Public Schools. Having been in special education for over 20 years, his previous experiences include a variety of classroom experiences, ranging from teaching middle school students with behavior disorders to primary students with cognitive disabilities. He also was the Special Education Consultant for the New Jersey Department of Education for ten years at the Learning Resource Center- South. He has presented at numerous regional and statewide conferences focusing on issues in special education.

Joanne Winters, a member of NJCIE's Program Advisory Board, is the Assistant to the Director of Special Services and Alternative Proficiency Assessment Coordinator for the West New York Public Schools. Her work involves overseeing educational and related services for student who have disabilities by observing and evaluating teachers, planning professional development activities and assisting in planning and implementing model projects to increase the number of students with disabilities who participate in general education classrooms. Prior to working in West New York, she was a transition coordinator at United Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey.