Services

Curriculum Design

I take a strengths-based approach to creating dynamic educational experiences that empower participants to make the most of their existing skills and innate abilities. Whether developing a social emotional learning program for underserved high school students, a job readiness course for career service professionals, a theater workshop for at-risk youth, or a presentation skills class for engineers, I have found that the most meaningful learning comes from leveraging students’ prior knowledge in support of new skill development. To that end, I draw on my own broad range of professional and personal experience as an instructional designer, educator, activist, performer, and lifelong learner, to design targeted, innovative curricula-based solutions for schools and organizations committed to the sustainable growth and development of their constituents.

All of my curricula:

• Targets the specific needs of your school or organization.
• Encourages students to take an active role in their own learning.
• Can easily be aligned with standards and assessments.
• Offers real-world relevant, immediately applicable tools & resources.
• Meets students ‘where they are’, teaching to strengths while supporting areas for improvement.
• Is cost-effective.

Consulting

I offer consulting services to help schools, organizations, and businesses develop new, or refine existing, EQ Building, Career Readiness, Social Emotional Learning, Presentation/Communication skills, and Arts-based programs for students, educators, and support staff. I draw on my 15 years of experience and training as an educator, curriculum designer, staff trainer, and consultant to do a comprehensive needs analysis, identify key challenge areas, and create a strategic action plan with easy implementation for immediate and ongoing improvement. Check out Case Studies to get an idea of how I have addressed a wide range of programming needs for clients across industries and departments.

Student Success & Presentation Coaching

Does your child struggle in school in spite of academic aptitude? Do they have trouble making or keeping friends? Do they regularly isolate themselves? Do they have difficulty communicating effectively? Are they being bullied or are they bullying others? Do they simply feel uncomfortably ‘different’ or like an outsider?

Kids are often reluctant to speak to a therapist or school counselor about these kinds of issues for fear of being stigmatized, or made to feel uncomfortably vulnerable. I offer something different. As a coach my focus is on helping your child to identify those attitudes and behaviors that are, and are not working for them, in a comfortable, low pressure way. We then work together to come up with a strategy for leveraging their strengths to overcome whatever social and emotional challenges they’re facing.

Using a wide variety of mindfulness, and social emotional learning tools, I help empower students to become their own coaches, able to motivate and regulate themselves, redirect unhealthy thinking and behaviors, and communicate in thoughtful and effective ways. In short, I help them to build a healthier sense of self, from the inside out.

I do not teach kids to ‘be like everyone else’, to ‘just try to fit in’, or hide those things about themselves that might be considered by peers as ‘uncool’. Rather, I help them to recognize and appreciate their unique qualities, to discover creative ways of turning those qualities into social strengths, and ultimately, into their own distinctive brand of ‘cool’. I encourage students to make intrinsically motivated choices vs. those based on external motivators and validation, which too often have detrimental consequences. This puts them in the driver’s seat of their own lives, as their own greatest ally.

My goal is to see every child walking with their head held high, certain of their value, assured of their place in the world, and confident in their ability to build a life they can feel proud of.

Interview & Presentation Coaching

You can spend your whole career becoming an expert in your chosen field, and yet not be able to communicate that expertise in a confident, credible, and convincing way when you need to. Whether you’re an educator in need of more dynamic lesson delivery; an advocate looking to hone your message; a student or job seeker preparing for interviews; or an artist readying your work for presentation, I will create a customized, one-on-one coaching session that will dramatically improve your presentation skills while enhancing your professional presence. Through the use of demonstrations, targeted exercises, video, and in-depth feedback, I work with you to increase your awareness of unconscious habits, draw out your natural strengths, and leave you with an increased level of confidence and comfort while speaking in any setting.

Programming and Clients

Below are some of the many programs I have designed for my diverse client base:

Character Education, Positive Behavior Supports, Bullying Prevention, Content Development, Presentation Skills for both students and educators, Career Services Enhancement, Social Emotional Learning for Educators, Student and Career Success for Educators, Interview Skills, Job Readiness, ESL,  Academic Writing, Effective Pedagogy, Theater, Songwriting, Elementary Hebrew, Social Emotional Learning for Parents, Presentation Development, Team Building, Communication for Sales Professionals, Active Listening.

Clients include:

Education:
The Cooper Union School of Engineering, The Cooper Union School of Architecture, The Cooper Union Center for Writing and Speaking, Ultimate Medical Academy, MaxKnowledge, Virginia College, Essex Street Academy, National Massage Therapy Institute, Kahlil Gibran School, CUNY New Community College, The Smith School, Baruch College

Business:
Information Builders Inc., Decker Communications, Cisco Systems, HP, Pfizer, Deloitte & Touche, Computer Associates, State Farm Insurance, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Sands Brothers & Co., Ltd., Swiss Consulting Group, Ruskin, Moscow, Evans & Faltischek, P.C.

Non Profit Organizations:
B.E.S.T, AMIKids, Year Up, Youthbuild, Storahtelling, Community Access to the Arts, Hawthorne Valley Farm School, The Woodhull Institute, Artists for a Cause, WNYC Radio, Visions and Dreams, JGirl, Greenworking