We at Sangha Education Center are extremely honored to have an amazing team with diverse educational backgrounds and experiences who are champions for our youth.
Sangha Founder
Christine Keller, Executive Director, founded The Children’s Sangha in 2005 on behalf of young people with a range of abilities and needs understanding the need for “whole-child” teaching and learning which would address systemic issues impacting our youth. In 2019, Christine established Sangha Education Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located at Historic Malcolm House on the Jericho Preserve in order to expand our programming and reach greater numbers of young people, parents, professionals, and other community members on Long Island and beyond. Her life-long involvement in organic farming and outdoor education is at the center of our program offering.
Christine holds an M.S.Ed., dual certification in Childhood Education and Special Education from LIU (Autism Case Program), an M.A. in Religious Studies from NYU (concentration in Eastern and Western Mysticism), and a B.A. in English Literature from PACE University (with a minor in Film Studies). She has completed CPS Advanced Level I & II Training with Dr. Ross W. Greene, who developed the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach upon which our Community Support Group is based. Additionally, Christine has been trained as a Certified Presenter for NAMI programs including Parents & Teachers as Allies and Ending The Silence, mental health in-service education programs for school personnel and students respectively, to help establish a better understanding of the social-emotional challenges which many young people face.
As an Adjunct Professor at SUNY College at Old Westbury since 2001, Christine teaches courses within the History & Philosophy Department and has taught in both the First Year Experience and Exceptional Education & Learning Departments. She has served as a First Year Experience freshman advisor and Community Action, Learning and Leadership (CALL) program community partner. Campus collaboration extends to various departments in order to provide avenues for student opportunity, success and well-being. Christine has partnerships with other colleges across Long Island and presents for Long Island schools and community organizations.
Operations
Donna Knepple works as a Legal Assistant and a Community Habitation staff member through NYS. She has served as a Teacher’s Aide and Vocational Job Coach for Rockville Centre UFSD. In these capacities, she working with young people on the Autism Spectrum and those with other disabilities. She comes to Sangha Education Center with an array of experience related to education and advocacy, understanding the different abilities and needs of all individuals and strives to raise awareness related to the educational void impacting our youth. Her administrative expertise have lent themselves to working with us in various functions over the years including outreach at conferences and transition fairs as well as assisting with programs and special event coordination. Donna assists with office management for Sangha Education Center and served as interim board treasurer from 2022-2023 handling general financial operations tasks. She now serves on our community outreach committee.
Education Services
Stephanie Gaglione is a Doctor of Pharmacy, receiving her Pharm.D. from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and is a NYS Licensed Pharmacist. In addition to pharmacy consulting work, Stephanie established Biophilia Wellness focusing her experience in integrative medicine to include healing modalities such as reiki, meditation and forest bathing. She is a Certified Nature Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. She works with Nature to co-create a safe space to explore and experience what it is to be human. In these guided immersion experiences lies the opportunity to develop a deeper connection to the natural world and all beings that it encompasses. Healing is not a sought-after goal but rather a common bi-product of the relationship established from these consistent and intentional interactions with Nature. Stephanie offers Forest Bathing experiences as part of Sangha Education Center’s Nature & Wellness Connections programs throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons.
Steeve A. Sproul graduated with a B.S. from SUNY Old Westbury, double majoring in Biology and Religion & Philosophy. She has been working as a STEM teacher over the past couple of years. Steeve has many interests including but not limited to living environment, psychology, holistic wellness, and computer science. Steeve has developed her own website, Sorting Space, with an ecommerce platform to inspire young people and help them to organize. Steeve has been a long-time mentor in our Civic Mentoring program. Her multiple talents have contributed greatly to the success and well-being of Sangha program participants. Steeve developed a Raspberry Pi technology project and inspired the idea for our Medicine Wheel Garden that has been implemented in our Meadow Farm. She has taught a number of creative workshops as part of our Summer at the Sangha program.
Regina Dlugokencky holds a M.S. in Library and Information Science from Long Island University, C.W. Post, and has participated in the Horticulture program at Farmingdale State College. An avid gardener since age eight, Regina has farmed organically for over 15 years for local organic CSAs. She founded Seedsower Farm. LLC, an organic market garden operation, selling organic seedlings, and being committed to the education and promotion of local, sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship. She started the first Seed Library in Nassau County and has developed a range of programs that enable gardeners of all abilities to grow from “seed to seed”. Regina has assisted with Sangha Education Center’s Meadow Farm and teaches Learn & Grow sessions as part of our Nature & Wellness Connections programs. Regina offers gardening programs at public libraries across Long Island.
Diane Kideris holds an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education from Adelphi University. Diane has over 16 years of experience in the field, teaching young people of various ages and abilities. She is passionate about connecting children to nature and the world around them and believes in the saying “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. Her students can be found outside in all weather including rain and snow. Diane loves all animals and at one time her classroom was home to a rabbit, hermit crab and walking stick insects! Diane is a steward of the Earth, loves local farms, Earthing and doing yoga and meditation outdoors so she can take in nature using all her senses. In November 2016, Diane was a facilitator at the Lutheran Schools Association Conference where she presented “Children & Nature: Connecting to Our Natural World Both Inside & Outside the Classroom”. She participates with Sangha Education Center as a consultant teacher in our nature-related Community Programs and and our School Programs.
Kate Landsdorf received her M.S. in Urban Affairs from CUNY Queens College and completed her undergraduate work in Media & Communications from SUNY Old Westbury. She has been an advocate in the areas of education, health and social justice throughout her life. Kate has taught as an adjunct professor at SUNY Old Westbury within the Public Health Department and facilitated workshops at Healing Hands Holistic Wellness. Her involvement with organic food and farming has included an aquaponic farm in Brooklyn. Kate has worked with Sangha for several years in all aspects of our educational offering as program organizer, teacher and mentor to our youth. She has been instrumental in Start Your Own School Garden as a lead teacher. Her creativity has inspired all those with whom she works.
Guidance Services
Dr. Lisa LoPinto is a NYS Licensed Psychologist with a Ph.D. in combined Clinical and School Psychology which she earned from Hofstra University. Dr. LoPinto has over 25 years of experience working with children and adolescents and maintains a private practice in Suffolk County for young people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and behavioral difficulties. She is a Certified Provider and Consultant/Trainer for the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach developed by Dr. Ross Greene, for understanding and helping children with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Dr. LoPinto uses CPS as a primary approach in her practice and trains parents, individual professionals, and school districts on how to implement the CPS model. She also provides specific skills training and cognitive-behavioral therapy to her patients as needed. Dr. LoPinto assists in facilitating our Community Support Group at Sangha Education Center in order to introduce and guide parents and professionals in the use of CPS as a community service.
Trevor Marks received his B.A. in Psychology from Hofstra University and is currently pursuing his M.A. in Community Psychology at Fordham University. He has been working with Sangha Education Center as a supervisor/lead mentor in our Civic Mentoring program. Trevor assisted with the creation and implementation of the Sangha Strategies Guide to train other mentors in methods useful for helping program participants who have a range of abilities and need with skill-building efforts. Passionate about empowering teens and young adults reach their fullest potential, he works in partnership with mentees to identify their interests, utilize strengths, and to build lagging skills. In addition to his role at Sangha, Trevor serves as support staff for individuals with disabilities through local agencies and in prior years as a teacher assistant, tutor, and coach. He believes deeply in thoughtful care, compassion, and collaboration when working with children and young adults. He has been a role model to all those with whom he has worked.
Media & Development
April Zubko is the owner of Zubko Media, where she helps non-profits just like Sangha Education Center communicate their vital message and complete their mission though education-based content, dynamic web designs, email marketing, social media and non-profit donation and event campaigns. In her spare time, she shares her adventure travels with her husband on her YouTube channel Magellan & Greyhound, and gives gardening tutorials and tips on her YouTube channel ReSprout.
John Roslund has completed his studies in Psychology at at SUNY Old Westbury and has moved to Arkansas, currently working remotely for Sangha handling technology functions. John began working with us as an intern and then a mentor in both our Project Stewardship and Civic Mentoring programs. Due to his amazing technology skills, John joined the Media & Development team creating new media outlets to communicate our philosophy and to streamline behind-the-scene’s scheduling systems. John has a strong passion for helping others while learning himself. He has utilized his technology expertise to assist young people on technology projects during Civic Mentoring. And he looked to each Project Stewardship event as a chance to create a friendly environment through which to help, teach and guide our young people. John was our first “Dungeon Master” for Dungeons & Dragons events that he created, impacting the lives of our young people in positive ways.
Our Board
Christine Keller, President/Executive Director
Suzanne Schoenfeld, Secretary
Remi Farnan, Treasurer
Therese Coppola, Development
Craig Saperstein, Director
Kim Keller, Director
Committees
Development & Funding
Therese Coppola, Claudia Newman, and Nina Li
Community Outreach
Donna Knepple, Sinead Alexeas, and Arlene Wishnew