CDA Renewal - Preschool, Part C

Miriam Eckstein-Koas
MS, SpEd

Miriam Eckstein-Koas has years of experience in the field of early childhood education, whether in the classroom or working as a special education early intervention provider with families and caregivers. She currently is an adjunct professor at Touro College Graduate School of Education, where she teaches classes on the Philosophy of Education and Early Childhood Development. She also serves as a Field Experience Supervisor, providing guidance and instruction to future early childhood teachers who are doing their student teaching practicum work. Miriam enjoys hiking, reading, and traveling to new places.

Nefertiti B. Poyner
EdD

Nefertiti Poyner is a National Trainer and Early Childhood Specialist for the Devereux Center for Resilient Children. She started her career as a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teacher in Philadelphia. Currently, Nefertiti delivers presentations all over the country. She develops training curriculum, mentors trainers, and provides both onsite and distance coaching. She has co-authored two books; Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure, which was awarded the Teacher’s Choice Award in 2011; and Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You, a resource written to support adult resilience. Nefertiti’s research interest as well as the passion that guides her work revolves around better understanding how resilience contributes to effective education for children, staff, families, and communities.

Stephanie Goloway
EdD

Dr. Stephanie Goloway is a lifelong advocate for the power of imagination, play, and storytelling. She is a professor emeritus of early education and child development at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to that, she taught in childcare, elementary school, and special education settings. She has been the director of both a college lab preschool and an early intervention center and has worked as a children's librarian and professional storyteller. Stephanie holds an EdD in Early Childhood from Walden University, where she researched how fairytales, storytelling, and Vivian Paley's pedagogy could impact both resilience and emergent literacy in young children, especially those living with substance use disorders and other forms of trauma. She is the author of an upcoming Redleaf Press book about using fairytales to nurture children's resilience in the early childhood classroom.

Barbara Kaiser
MA

Barbara Kaiser is a graduate of McGill University’s Master's Program in Educational Administration and has been working with early childhood educators, children, and their families for over 35 years. She is the co-author of Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Understanding, Preventing and Responding Effectively, 4th Edition (2017), and is presently working on a new text, The Administrator’s Role in Supporting Staff, Children, and Families When Challenging Behavior Occurs, (NAEYC), which is expected to be available early winter 2021. She has taught part-time in the Faculty of Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

In addition to presenting workshops and keynote speeches on the topic of challenging behavior and related issues in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and Mauritius, Barbara was the chief consultant for Addressing Youth Violence: An Intersectoral, Integrated Approach for Western Nova Scotia, and designed a webinar series and guide to help teachers and administrators reduce and respond to bullying behavior for the Nova Scotia Department of Education. She also helped to develop teacher training video programs focused on managing children’s challenging behavior, Challenging Behaviors: Where do we begin? with Family Communications Inc. and Facing the Challenge, with Devereux Center for Resilient Children, (DCRC). Recently she has been presenting webinars and articles to support teachers, children, and their families when returning to school and childcare after COVID19.

Julie Kurtz
MS

Julie Kurtz is an author, national speaker, and expert consulting and training on trauma and resilience. She promotes the concept of optimal brain integration to maximize the human growth potential. Julie is the Founder and CEO for the Center for Optimal Brain Integration.

She is a co-author of: 

• Trauma-Informed Practices for Early Childhood Educators: Relationship-Based Approaches that Support Healing and Build Resilience in Young Children.
• Culturally Responsive Self-Care Practices for Early Childhood Educators (Spring 2020).

Julie Kurtz is the creator of the phone/tablet Application (APP) Trigger Stop: Sensory and Emotional Check-in designed specifically for children ages 3-8 years to promote sensory and emotional literacy and to support self-regulation.

In 2011, she was named as one of the most 100 Influential Woman of Silicon Valley, CA by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.

Kenya Wolff
PhD

Tatiana Rodriguez
MPH

Katie Ryan Fotiadis
MSHROD, CNP

PJ Winters
EdD