Project Description Digital Platform
Project Description Digital Platform
With the generous support of a $1.5 million grant (2018-2022) from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Molloy University embarked on an innovative and ambitious project titled "Long Island: How Did We Get Here?" This pioneering initiative seeks to reinvigorate the study of history by infusing its lessons into the realm of public policy on Long Island. By delving into the region's rich historical tapestry, this project aims to illuminate the context and relevance of historical events in shaping contemporary public policy initiatives and debates. Furthermore, the insights will be widely disseminated through diverse platforms to foster community education and engage the public in critical discourse.
Nineteen doctoral candidates, Gardiner Research Fellows, were recruited from Molloy’s School of Education and Human Services. Under the guidance of faculty research and content experts, they conducted empirical research from a historical lens on eight topics – education, land use, poverty & the working poor, institutional racism, criminal justice, healthcare, governance, and Long Islander identify. Gardiner Research Fellows worked in teams of two to conduct research; each research topic explored over a four-semester period. Research protocol included a literature review; the development of a timeline for each topic including key players and events that contributed significantly to each issue; interviews with key stakeholders to understand how the past informs the present culminating in research briefs and “First Look” and “Closer Look” community presentations. They also created local history-based K-12 social studies modules with a social justice focus. This supplements Molloy’s extensive research on issues related to energy and the environment and transportation.
Understanding the historical underpinnings of these subjects allows policymakers and community leaders to grasp the complex interplay of factors that have influenced their development and to envision innovative solutions that build upon historical context, fostering a more holistic and context-driven approach to leadership and decision-making.
Additionally, "Long Island: How Did We Get Here?" actively promotes community education through various platforms. Public forums, seminars, and digital resources will be leveraged to disseminate knowledge and encourage open dialogue among our community leaders, as well as scholars, policymakers, and the broader Long Island community. By fostering public discourse, the project aims to empower citizens to engage meaningfully in critical conversations about the region's past, present, and future gaining a deeper appreciation of the region's historical legacy and its impact on contemporary issues.
Project-related work is archived through Preservica that combines all core functions for successful long-term active digital preservation and secure access into a single, intuitive, and fully supported application aligned to the OAIS ISO 14721 standard. Research products are available to the academic community and the public as part of the project materials.
The "Long Island: How Did We Get Here?" initiative culminated in the creation of a series of impactful videos. These seven videos distill the comprehensive research and historical insights gathered by the Gardiner Research Fellows into a visual narrative that connects Long Island's past with its present challenges and opportunities. By capturing the essence of each subject, these videos serve as engaging educational tools that empower the public, policymakers, and scholars to engage in meaningful discussions about the region's history and its role in shaping contemporary issues.
Leadership Team
Long Island: How Did We Get Here? was a cross-disciplinary project with contributions from the Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities doctoral program, the Sustainability Institute at Molloy, and other University faculty and staff. The leadership team consisted of:
Neal Lewis, executive director, Sustainability Institute (project director)
Angela Zimmerman, director of development & alumni relations (project coordinator)
Dr. Sherry Radowitz, senior director of grants & sponsored programs (funder liaison)
Dr. Allison Roda, assistant professor of education (project faculty research advisor)
Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, Dean & Director, Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities doctoral (Ed.D.) program
Dr. Kathy Maurer Smith, former dean, graduate academic affairs (project faculty liaison)
Andrew Manitt, deputy director, Sustainability Institute (project assistant)
Demo Maratos, communications coordinator, Sustainability Institute
Christine Yu, assistant director of organizational effectiveness (project archivist)
Deborah Waldron, associate director of grants & sponsored programs (grant manager)
Juliana Groder (graduate assistant).
Gardiner Fellow profiles
Research for the project was conducted by Fellows who were Doctoral students in Molloy’s Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities program.
Salamah Adjoua-Mullen currently works as a school library media specialist in the Uniondale School District working with grades K–5. She graduated from Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and earned a master’s degree in library science from Queens College. She also obtained an administration degree from Long Island University. Salamah is a nationally board- certified teacher as well as a recipient of New York’s Outstanding Librarian Award. Her research interests include culturally sustaining pedagogy, social justice curriculum and youth participatory action research.
Alana Andrews is currently serving her 9th year as a New York City school psychologist. Alana earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in African and Puerto Rican studies from Hunter College, CUNY. She earned a master’s degree from Adelphi University in school psychology. She also holds an advanced post master's certificate in behavior analysis with a focus on criminal justice from Saint Joseph’s University. Alana’s research interests include disability studies and critical race theory in education, specifically examining pre-service special education teacher preparation programs.
Florence Barbour was appointed to the position of Executive Director of Harbor Child Care in May 2021. In this role, Florence serves as the chief executive officer overseeing five early childhood education programs. She was the Senior Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development for Harbor Child Care, Inc. prior to this. Over the past twenty-plus years, she has devoted herself to the care and education of young children, first as a teacher and then as an administrator. Florence has earned a master’s degree in psychology from Adelphi University, as well as a master’s degree in public administration and a school building leader (SBL) certification from Baruch College. Her research interest includes how parents of preschool Black girls make sense of disproportionate disciplinary practices in early childhood programs.
Kelly Bare is an instructor in the master’s in public leadership program at the University of San Francisco, and active in the school integration movement in New York City and nationally. Her background is in magazines, book publishing, digital media, and strategic communications. She spent almost a decade at The New Yorker, helping the near-century-old magazine adapt to a digital world, and covered the 2016 presidential election for Bloomberg Politics. Kelly currently consults for organizations such as The National Coalition on School Diversity and New York Appleseed, is on the national parent board of Integrated Schools and the leadership team of Live Here, Learn Here in central Brooklyn, and is active in the NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation (nycASID) as well as community- building efforts in her children’s Brooklyn public schools. She is interested in researching how people build and sustain coalitions across race, class, ethnicity, economic class, social class, and other identities to meaningfully integrate our schools and communities.
Karen Larson Buechner has been teaching English language arts for 25 years at all levels from grades 7– 12. She has taught writing in the Program of Writing and Rhetoric at SUNY Stony Brook and is a fellow of the Long Island Writing Project. Karen has presented workshops on secondary literacy at such venues as the Long Island Association for Curriculum and Development (LIASCD); Teaching of Writing Festival at Suffolk Community College; Long Island Language Arts Council (LILAC); TAC-D Summer Institute at NYU; Long Island English to Speakers of Other Languages (LI ESOL); and the Applied Linguistics Winter Conference at Teachers College. Areas of expertise include literacy education, multi-literacy approaches to student learning, and dialogic discourse. Karen has also been the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to India where she studied language and culture.
Andrea Dell'Olio has been working as an English as a New Language (ENL) teacher for the New York City Department of Education for eight years. Prior to that, she taught English as Foreign Language for four years in Madrid, Spain. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in art history and gender and sexuality studies and earned a master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second or Other Language) for grades K–12 from CUNY Hunter College. She currently teaches high school English Language Learners at a school in downtown Manhattan and previously taught kindergarten through fourth grade ELLs at an elementary school in East Harlem. Her research interests include social justice curriculum, culturally responsive pedagogy, equitable practices in special education and in teaching linguistically diverse students.
Jill DeRosa currently works as a second-grade teacher in the South Country School District, where she is a district lead teacher charged with providing professional development for her colleagues focused on student agency and ownership of learning. She is also an adjunct professor at Long Island University, where she teaches preservice teachers. Jill has 20 years of experience teaching in both private and public school, with a focus in grades K–3. She graduated from St. Joseph’s College with a bachelor’s degree in child study and earned a master’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook. Jill is a co-author of W.I.R.E for Agency: 4 Simple Moves That Transfer Learning and has presented at NCTE on two occasions and at several local conferences. She is interested in research examining factors that best prepare preservice teachers to be culturally responsive as they engage with students.
Signy Emler currently teaches social studies on Long Island, and over the past 18 years has worked collaboratively to introduce a humanities-based, dialogic approach to instruction. Signy received an MA degree in teaching social studies and M.Ed. in organizational leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has presented workshops on social studies standards, discussion-based pedagogy, courageous conversations, and equity literacy. She also initiated a pilot study on the impact of mindfulness and attention training on adolescents and teachers in the Lindenhurst School District. Signy is committed to facilitating equity through pedagogy and political action. Her research interests include dialogic teaching, detracking and critical pedagogy.
Livia Gama Fagundes has been an elementary school teacher in the New York City Public Schools for over 20 years. She is also an adjunct lecturer at Queens College and LaGuardia Community College where she teaches various education courses. Livia received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in literacy from Queens College. She also holds a second master’s degree in educational leadership and is certified as a school building leader. She has presented her work on student writing assessments at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Convention and her research interest is professional development for veteran teachers.
Betyne Farrell is a bilingual school psychologist within the Baldwin School District. Prior to this position, she worked as a school psychologist in District 75 for the NYC Department of Education. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Molloy College and a master's degree from Adelphi University. Her research interests include examining effective practices and training to improve culturally responsive pedagogy.
Nicki K. Gonias has been working as a co-certified mathematics/ENL teacher both for the NYC Department of Education and on Long Island for a combination of 14 years. Nicki attended St. John’s University receiving a bachelor’s in mathematics and a master’s in TESOL. She continued her education in the CITE program through the College of Saint Rose to receive a second master’s degree in educational leadership and an SDL (school district leader) certificate. Nicki has presented at the Long Island English to Speakers of Other Languages (LI ESOL) conference on growth mindset in mathematics for the ENL student and at Long Island Technology & Education Summit (LITES) on the integration of technology for ENLs in the mathematics classroom. At Molloy, she serves as an adjunct instructor for the doctoral level quantitative research course as well as doctoral assistant for the NSF-funded Noyce Ambassadors Program. Nicki’s research interests include ENL/MLL students pertaining to culturally responsive pedagogy and mathematics.
Nadia Khan-Roopnarine is a founding teacher at Spring Creek Community School in Brooklyn. She serves as the chair of the English Department and teaches 10th grade English and advanced placement English literature composition. Nadia received her bachelor's degree in English literature from Molloy College in 2011, and her master's degree in adolescent English education from New York University in 2012. She is a current member of the Paulo Freire graduate student council. In addition to critical pedagogy, her research interests include decolonizing schools, especially in terms of curriculum and instruction.
Tami McElwee is the principal of the Theodore Roosevelt School in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District for the past 8 years. Prior to this position, she served in varied roles across her career including an elementary classroom teacher, reading recovery trained teacher, literacy coach in a Teachers College school and trainer of literacy coordinators for Literacy Collaborative, a school reform literacy model. She earned her BA in English and MAT from Manhattanville College. Tami’s passion and expertise lies in early childhood, literacy learning and professional development. Her research interests include the impact of teachers’ mindsets and beliefs about multilingual learners on their reading development and literacy outcomes.
Sandra Morris-Aarons currently works in the early childhood education field as a teacher. She has been a mentor and inspiration to student teachers, para- professionals, Jumpstart leaders, and members who have worked alongside her. She has earned an associate degree in business administration from Tomlinson College, a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from York College, and a master’s degree in special education from Hofstra University. Her research interests include social justice, and the barriers present for black and brown boys in education; the relationship between parents of cultural and linguistic diverse preschool students and educators pertaining to student’s academic performance.
Kathleen Murray currently teaches English as a new language in an elementary school on Long Island, where she has taught for the past 17 years. She earned her post master’s degree in educational leadership from Stony Brook University, a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from St. John’s University and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Binghamton University. Her research interests include the effects of poverty on schools and the education of English language learners.
Mary Stephens currently serves as the director of English as a new language and world languages. Mary earned her bachelor’s degree in English with a focus on the English language from SUNY Binghamton. She earned a master’s degree from Hofstra University in TESOL. She also holds a certificate of advanced study in educational leadership from SUNY New Paltz. Mary held certification in English as a new language from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Mary’s research interests include an examination of how the racial and ethnic composition of a teaching staff impacts student achievement.
Nicholas Vasiliades has seven years of interdisciplinary teaching experience at St. Anthony’s High School, and serves as a moderator of Equity Club, a student-run organization dedicated to promoting a culturally inclusive environment within the school community. In addition to these responsibilities, Nicholas is a member of the Faculty Incentive Committee, selective team of educators tasked with facilitating the exchange of qualitative instructional practices and fostering a professional learning community at the school.
Jennifer Watters-Delahunt currently works as a general education teacher for the New York City Department of Education in Queens, NY. Jennifer has experience with various roles as a NYC educator for the past 13 years including SETSS teacher, ENL teacher, ICT teacher, curriculum developer, inquiry leader, and reading coach. Jennifer earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the State University of New York at Oswego. She earned her master’s degree in elementary education from Long Island University Post and her school administration certifications (SDA, SDL) from The College of Saint Rose. Jennifer is also the graduate assistant for the NOYCE Ambassadors Program where she works on recruitment, research, and mentorship for the grant. Jennifer’s research interests include dismantling school segregation and implementation of implicit bias and culturally responsive curriculum. To be used for training in pre-service education programs; in-service educator professional development workshops; and creating inclusive curricula for education communities. As a doctoral candidate Jennifer is exploring school quality on Long Island in terms of pedagogy, leadership, and family engagement from the perspective of a successful diverse school community. Jennifer’s research will elevate the voices of various stakeholders in an economically and socially diverse school and community, defined by their own stories and experiences and has the potential to create a more inclusive definition of what a “good” school means in today’s diversifying society.
Robert J. Windorf graduated with multiple honors from Molloy College in 2020 from the School of Education and Human Services with an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities as a member of the doctoral program’s initial cohort. His dissertation is titled, Global Citizens in the 21st Century Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study of Motivational Aspects of Global Awareness. He graduated from Molloy College in 2007 as the Graduate Education Division’s class valedictorian with an M.S. degree in adolescent education. Robert is vice president of the Long Island chapter of the United Nations Association of the U.S., and in 2020 he completed the detailed training (under former VP Al Gore) to become a Climate Reality Project Leader. Robert is a former elementary school principal and tenured teacher within the Diocese of Rockville Centre. He is also a former culinary educator, American and British literature instructor, and youth literacy program instructor within Hofstra University’s University College for Continuing Education. Prior to entering the education field full-time, Robert worked for more than 20 years for various corporations in the global financial services industry. He then worked for seven years as the director of administration and finance for an international not-for-profit social services organization, where he also served as its co- representative at the United Nations. During those two careers, Robert was a university adjunct professor and lecturer on a variety of international disciplines. He graduated from Hofstra University with a CAS in educational leadership, from St. John’s University with a PD in instructional leadership, and from New York University with an MA in Near Eastern studies and a BS in economics and Russian language & literature. Robert is a member of Molloy’s English Language Arts Education Advisory Board and the Special Education Advisory Board. He received the Molloy College Alumni Association’s 2011 Recent Alumnus Award.