Contact Us
We want to hear from you.
Let us know your needs
The NYS Technical Assistance Centers operate in three regions: Central/Western, Eastern and New York City. Use our interactive map to locate your county and corresponding region.
Central/Western NY

Tara Edmunds
Tara is the incoming director of the TAC at Binghamton University. She has over 6 years experience working with Binghamton University Community Schools in different roles. Tara started her work as a Community School Coordinator and has worked in both public and private school districts. Tara understands the importance of partnerships and collaboration to strengthen community schools for the success of all students and families.
Eastern NY

Rebecca Christner, M.S.
Rebecca Christner, M.S., is Executive Director of the Eastern Region Technical Assistance Center. Rebecca has been involved in school district and community improvement efforts and in executing professional development and technical assistance to educators and school-based Family Resource Center coordinators for over 12 years on the Community Schools model Yale Schools of the 21st Century. Through monthly meeting with Family Resource Center coordinators, she has coordinated and delivered professional development on evidence-based programs and practices on family engagement, including addressing barriers and strength-based approaches to family engagement; engaging families of English Language Learners; engaging families in schools at the secondary level; community engagement; protective factors; the role of the Family Resource Center coordinator; early childhood development and educating the whole child; outcome and evaluation and how to identify and support program quality; evidence-based health services and programming; cultural competency; needs assessments; partnerships; and other community school-related topics.
Rebecca has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education.Rebecca actively serves on the Steering Committee of the New York State Community Schools Network of which she has been a member since its inception. She has honed her leadership skills in a variety of positions, most recently serving as the executive director of Rockland 21C and previously, as director of refugee programs for the non-governmental organization Church World Service for which she liaised with the Department of State and other federal departments as an official representative at meetings and an active partner in tackling complex national and international refugee and immigration issues. Rebecca also served as an adjunct professor for Nyack College.

Jonette O'Kelley Miller, M.P.A.
Jonette O’Kelley Miller is the Director of the Eastern Region Community Schools Technical Assistance Center (ETAC) at Rockland 21 C. Jonette directs TAC projects to provide customized technical assistance and professional development for school and community-based organization leadership.
During her nonprofit career, Jonette has served as the Development Director for the national organization F.O.R. (Fellowship of Reconciliation), along with editing its bi-annual newsletter Witness. As an adjunct, she has taught at both Nyack and St. Thomas Aquinas Colleges.

Dr. JoAnne Ferrara
Dr. Ferrara is an expert in Community Schools. As co-founder of the organization Strategies for Whole Child Education and Community Schools Partners, Dr. Ferrara has had a long relationship with the ETAC, providing technical assistance, coaching, and professional development in Community Schools.
With over 20 years experience in Community Schools, Dr. Ferrara recently retired as associate dean at Manhattanville College and is the author of several books and articles focusing on Community Schools and the whole child. Serving as an ETAC team member, she will provide more in-depth support to districts and schools that are exploring the Community School strategy.
Dr. Ferrara states, “Community Schools create an ethos of ‘pastoral care’ for students, families and communities. In these schools there is a belief that children, regardless of their zip code, deserve access to those opportunities that foster success in life.”
For more information on Dr. Ferrara, visit her website.
NYC

Kevin Coyne
Kevin John Coyne is the Director of the Community Schools Technical Assistance Center (CSTAC) at Fordham University. He leads all activities of the CSTAC’s work with new and existing schools in the New York City Region. The CSTAC provides guidance, support, professional development, and capacity building for leaders within schools and community-based organizations.
Prior to joining the CSTAC, Kevin served as an educator in the Diocese of Brooklyn for seventeen years. He was the founding principal of Our Lady’s Catholic Academy in South Ozone Park, where he established a community school-centered educational experience through the creation of multiple programs and external partnerships. Through collaboration with Crisis Management Systems, he provided cultural bias training for faculty and staff, as well as free parent workshops on anxiety and depression in teens. He extended the school day from 6 AM to 7 PM, maximizing student attendance, as well as providing a wide variety of academic support classes and student activities that emphasized social-emotional development.
Kevin earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as an M.S. in School Building Leadership from Saint John’s University in Queens, New York. He holds New York State Certification in School Building Leadership.

Peter Tinguely
Peter Tinguely is the Resource Specialist for the Community Schools Technical Assistance Center (CSTAC) at Fordham University. Peter supports the Director providing customized technical assistance and professional development for school and community-based organization leadership.
Peter brings a wealth of experience in community schools to this position. He most recently served as the founding Community School Director at the High School for Health Careers and Sciences in Services in Washington Heights.
Working with Catholic Charities Community Services, Peter collaborated with school leadership to establish student and parent leadership programs, as well as building community partnerships with local universities, hospitals and the offices of elected officials. As a result of his efforts, the school’s graduation rate improved and the chronic absenteeism rate decreased.
Peter is a graduate of Lehigh University with a B.S in Mechanical Engineering, he is currently completing his M.A. in Psychology at the City College of New York.