The PD Team

The Center for Professional Development and Curriculum Support

450 Mamaroneck Avenue, 3rd Floor, Harrison, NY 10528 | (914) 345-8500 

Secretary to Administrator: Dina Roselli • Reception: Marsha Hurley 
Office Assistant: Angela Carasquillo • Office Assistant: Alice Mullooly

 School Library System • Hudson Valley RBERN • Homeless Student Program

Dr. Mary Beth Wilson is the Senior Director of Professional Development and Instructional Technology. She oversees several CoSer and grant funded programs within the larger Center, including: School Library System, School Safety, Hudson Valley Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network, and Professional Learning for teachers, principals/school leaders, and central office administrators/district leaders from 32 member districts, 187 schools and including 9,280+ educators who teach 78,960+ students each year. The Center’s programs and services are grounded in research and focused on practical teaching and learning experiences and blend academic excellence and expertise in curriculum and pedagogy with transformative professional learning to improve the knowledge, skills, and competencies of educators. The Center’s efforts are realized through strategic partnerships with superintendents, assistant superintendents, and school leaders from our component districts, faculty, and administrators from higher ed institutions, and industry leaders who are committed to the Center’s mission: to prepare and support all educators in providing high quality learning opportunities for all students. Responsibilities include:
• Leading implementation of the PreK-12 New York State Learning Standards through in-district side-by-side instructional modeling, embedded coaching, curriculum development, and professional learning (face-to-face, hybrid, and online).
• Developing and implementing new strategies, programs, and structures (micro-networks of schools/districts, on-line learning, new tools, etc.) to support the professional learning needs of area schools and districts.
• Building the capacity of district teams to leverage assessment and other data to target supports and resources for students, educators, schools, and districts.
• Supporting ESSA implementation in researching, analyzing, and synthesizing data concerning special populations and school support, as appropriate.

Brandon A. Cruz  works to ensure that component districts' safety and building facilities needs are met. He teaches a nonviolent crisis intervention course and leads the Dignity for All Students Act 6-Hour Mandated Course on Harassment, Bullying, and Discrimination. In the School Emergency Planning – Introduction to Incident Command System workshops, he teaches the evolution of school safety and how to use the ICS to work effectively with first responders. He collaborates with Westchester County police to provide Threat Assessment Team training. He served on the Westchester District Attorney’s School Safety Commission as co-chairman of its threat assessment subcommittee. He works to reflect the Threat Assessment Team model, encouraging school officials to work  with law enforcement and mental health professionals to prevent school violence. Previously, Mr. Cruz was a middle school special education teacher, a special education instructional support specialist and, for 10 years, an elementary school assistant principal in the Bronx. He is a graduate of SUNY Albany with a master's degree in special education.

Eleanor Friedman is Supervisor of School Library System for Southern Westchester BOCES.  In this role, she assists librarians in 32 component school districts and 35 independent and parochial schools, to build capacity in school libraries. Ms. Friedman brings over a decade of experience as a librarian. She specializes in supporting librarians to cultivate sustained interdisciplinary collaborations with their school colleagues to implement Empire State Information Fluency Continuum and AASL Standards Framework for Learners. Ms. Friedman is passionate about library advocacy and encouraging librarians to become teacher leaders in their school settings. As a teacher librarian in both public and private K-12 school settings, a reference librarian and coordinator of interlibrary loan and reserve services in an academic library and Chappaqua Public Library Trustee, Ms. Friedman has had broad experience in a variety of library settings in various capacities. Ms. Friedman earned her B.A. in Art History, with a Minor in English from the University at Albany, her M.S.I.S. with a concentration in Library and Information Services from the University at Albany, and School Library Media Specialist certification through Long Island University.  Ms. Friedman is currently enrolled in the M.S. in Educational Administration program at Long Island University.

Tracy Tyler serves as Supervisor of Literacy & Learning at Southern Westchester BOCES.  She supports schools and districts in developing and implementing effective instructional practices resulting in accelerated student achievement.  For over a decade, she has worked with schools across Westchester, the Bronx, and Manhattan to improve teacher pedagogy and design curriculum, with a focus on literacy instruction. Tracy specializes in supporting schools to use data to inform instruction and is passionate about working with educators to develop cognitively engaging lessons and curriculum. Tracy earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education, with a Minor in Linguistics from the University of Delaware, her Master of Science in Teaching Literacy from Bank Street College, and an Advanced Certificate in School Building and District Leadership from Hunter College.