OUR ADVISORS
Our board of advisors are instrumental for our continued growth. We believe that having career experts in education has been a vital ingredient in our success. Our advisors are passionate leaders with diverse backgrounds that have been in our corner as mentors, consultants, and educators.
Celi Lippman, Ed. M., MA
Celi is retired after 32 years of service in the educational field, predominantly in New York City. She holds an M.A. in Communications from Western Michigan University and an M.S. in Special Education from Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Her teaching experience ranged from developmentally delayed infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers, to learning disabled high school students. Celi Lippman was a special education case manager with duties that included evaluating students and facilitating Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings.
As a Literacy Coach, she trained teachers one-on-one or in groups. She also trained them through “modelling” by teaching a class while teachers were observing. Celi Lippman was also a specialist in “teaching language arts through performing arts.” Her classes presented puppet shows produced solely by the students, from writing the scripts to making the puppets. She shared this method with other teachers by giving seminars.
Lorraine A. Mulrane, Ed. M.
Lorraine worked with the Federal Government for almost ten years in positions including Operations Analyst and Head Start Program Specialist. Her passion for working with children propelled her to pursue a teaching career. Lorraine worked as a teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada for several years and retired in 2010 as a New York City (NYC) teacher. During her long career, spanning over twenty years, she worked in various positions in the educational field including as an education evaluator and teacher for students on many grade levels.
One of her most fulfilling teaching experiences was as an itinerant teacher for preschoolers for six years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and English Literature from Inter American University, Puerto Rico (Summa Cum Laude), Master’s Degree in Bilingual Special Education from Hunter College, City University of New York and a post-Master’s Certification in the assessment and teaching of Traumatic Brain Injured (TBI) children from Hunter College in conjunction with Mt. Sinai Medical Center NYC. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Maria Leonor Pinargote, Ed. A.
Maria Leonor began her career as a teacher and principal for a small school in Ecuador. After 12 years, she transferred to work as a teacher in a larger school in one of the major cities of Ecuador for an additional 6 years. She moved to the Galapagos Islands and recently retired after teaching for another 20 years in the Galapagos. In total, she has over 38 years of experience working as an educator. One of her biggest strengths and specialties have been teaching reading and writing to children.
Esther Tanner, Ed. M.
Esther Tanner began her teaching profession at Greater New York Academy, a private denominational high school in Woodside, New York. She worked at the United Nations as an ambassador to the public where she conducted guided tours of the UN Headquarters in New York. She later taught English as a Second Language and Spanish at the Berlitz Language Center in New York City. She continued her career in education teaching for the New York City Department of Education where she remained until her retirement 25 years later. During those years, she taught Spanish and French, was a school dean, English Language Assessment Coordinator, and Attendance Coordinator.
In addition, her New York State Special Education license (Pre-K through 12) and passion for teaching, further brought her to a very rewarding experience as an itinerant teacher for preschoolers. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish from Atlantic Union College and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Long Island University.