Meet Our Team

TWR Team

Judith C. Hochman, Ed.D.
Founder

Dr. Judith C. Hochman is the creator of the Hochman Method and founder of The Writing Revolution. Dr. Hochman served as the Head of The Windward School in White Plains, New York, a nationally renowned independent school focused on teaching students with learning disabilities. She is the founder of the Windward Teacher Training Institute and a former Superintendent of the Greenburgh Graham Union Free School District in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. In addition, Dr. Hochman lectures, presents workshops, and gives courses for educational organizations, colleges, and universities, as well as public and independent schools throughout the United States. Read More

She is on the Advisory Board of Everyone Reads, a national advocacy organization for dyslexia and related learning disabilities. She received the New York Branch Award from the International Dyslexia Association. The Reading Reform Foundation presented Dr. Hochman with the Leona D. and Phillip J. Spector Leadership Award. Dr. Hochman is the author of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing In All Subjects and Grades (along with co-author Natalie Wexler), Teaching Basic Writing Skills, a chapter entitled “Composition: Expressive Language and Writing” in the publication Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, and numerous articles.

Toni-Ann Vroom
Co-Executive Director

Toni-Ann was previously a lead social studies teacher and school-wide writing coordinator at New Dorp High School in Staten Island, New York. At New Dorp, she was responsible for supporting the implementation of the Hochman Method across multiple content areas. Read More

She has developed content for textbooks and materials for The Writing Revolution and she has presented at The Aspen Institute, South by Southwest and The College Board Foundation, as well as many other venues, on the topic of writing. Toni-Ann is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Literacy at St. John’s University.

Dina Zoleo
Co-Executive Director

Dina was previously the Assistant Principal of Social Studies at New Dorp High School in Staten Island, NY where she co-led the effort to bring the Hochman Writing Method to New Dorp by seeding and developing it in her department, and then supporting its adoption school-wide. Read More

She has developed content for textbooks and materials for The Writing Revolution and she has presented at The Aspen Institute, South by Southwest and The College Board Foundation, as well as many other venues, on the topic of writing. Dina is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Literacy at St. John’s University.

Alexandria Chalonec
Senior Faculty & Coordinator of Revolutionary Teams

Alexandria taught middle school language arts and social studies for six years at The Windward School in White Plains, NY, a nationally renowned school for students with language-based learning disabilities. In addition to receiving training in research-based, multisensory instructional methods (notably, The Hochman Method), she received certification by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC). Read More

Prior to teaching at Windward, Alexandria was a special education teacher and department leader at the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women (UASBYW), an all-girls public high school in New York City. As a New York City Teaching Fellow, she received her Master’s in Education with honors in special education from the City College of New York and received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Before beginning a career in education, Alexandria worked in the marketing & communications industry engaged in brand strategy development and corporate public relations.

Shandel Charles
Program Experience Associate

Kirk Clarke

Kirk Clarke
Director of Technology

Kirk comes to TWR with a background in visual communication design and full-stack web development. Over his career, he discovered a passion for problem-solving, which fuelled his love of learning and helping others. He previously worked as the Senior Web Designer / UI Developer for the non-profit cultural and community center, 92nd Street Y. Read More

Before that, Kirk worked for StarChefs.com, an online culinary resource, as a Web Developer. In addition, he’s provided web consulting and training services for over a decade. Kirk earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art concentrating in Drawing and Graphic Design at Binghamton University (SUNY).

Barbara Collica
Finance Associate

Barbara was previously the Purchasing Secretary for the New York City Department of Education at New Dorp High School. She is currently facilitating the billing process for The Writing Revolution as well as several other finance functions. She provides decades of institutional knowledge that have helped enable The Writing Revolutions mission and is passionate about the organization and its operations.

Jessica Creech-Levine
Assessment and Support Services Associate

Jessica was previously the Writing Coordinator and 7th grade Lead ELA teacher at New World Preparatory Charter School, where she supported the school-wide implementation of the Hochman Method. Prior to her tenure at New World Preparatory Charter School, Jessica held a variety of roles within the New York Public Library, including Senior Children’s Librarian, in which she oversaw all children’s library services in Staten Island’s largest branch. Read More

Jessica holds an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute and a B.A. in English from the State University of New York at New Paltz.

Adrienne Dammacco
Finance Associate

Adrienne was previously a Business Education teacher at Rye Neck High School for 27 years and was responsible for implementing and overseeing the Rye Neck Senior Intern Program, in which the entire senior class was placed in internships, as well as the Rye Neck Community Service Program. Read More

Along with these duties, she has taught a multitude of business classes at Rye Neck High School including a SUNY 4 credit accounting class and Managing Your Future in which she worked with eleventh grade students helping them with career/college searches and resumes. Adrienne has served on many boards including the SUNY Purchase Teacher’s Center Board and the NYS School-to-Career Board.

Sydoni Ellwood
Program Experience Manager

In the last decade, Sydoni served as a public Higher Ed adjunct, creating learning and promotional materials for reading and writing workshops, as well as implementing new programs and approaches that encouraged the most marginalized students to embrace academic support services. Read More

She has a Master’s degree in Urban Education and Africana Studies from The Graduate Center (CUNY) which she uses to complete extensive research on the impact of radical care and community-controlled education in both historically and contemporary Black spaces.

Lawrence Feltz
Finance Manager

Lawrence previously comes from the entertainment industry where he operated in a high-level production capacity where he worked alongside several nonprofits. With experience in billing, payroll, human resources, and general operation he has a passion to help push The Writing Revolutions mission across the globe. Lawrence received his B.A in economics from Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Ron Golden
Director of Marketing and Communications

Ron brings a background in omnichannel marketing communications, customer relationship management (CRM), and management consulting to TWR. He previously worked as a digital media consultant for non-profit organizations. Read More

Prior to that, Ron worked in marketing assignments at the New York City government and non-profit 92Y, the birthplace of Giving Tuesday. Ron earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics at Tuskegee University.

Mayra Guallpa
TWR Intern

Mayra graduated from Manhattan Comprehensive Night & Day High School, a TWR partner school, where she learned the Hochman Method.  She is currently in her junior year at Fordham University, majoring in Computer Science with a minor in New Media and Digital Design. Mayra hopes to keep supporting TWR in the future and help more students who were just like her.

Tania Haselwander-Chang
Senior Faculty

Tania held a variety of roles in public, charter, and private schools throughout New York City. She spent many years teaching students with disabilities at the middle school level and has served as a special education coordinator, which involved advocating for students and families and managing Individualized Education Plans. Read More

During her teaching career she served as a lead teacher and developed curriculum in math, science, and English language arts. She continues to teach English to low-income students through the Liberty LEADS program at Bank Street College. Tania completed a double major in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology at Stony Brook University, became a New York City Teaching Fellow, and holds a Master’s in Education from The City College of New York.

Katie Kennedy
Executive Team Assistant

April Laing
Faculty

April was previously a middle school and high school educator with approximately ten years of teaching experience in New York City. Her most recent role was as a lead history teacher at New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science II, where she supported the implementation of social emotional development for 9th grade students. Read More

Prior to working at AMS II, she taught middle school language arts and social studies for three years at the Windward School in White Plains, NY, a nationally renowned school for students with language-based learning disabilities, where she received training in research-based, multisensory instructional methods (notably, The Hochman Method). April holds an M.S. in Childhood Education and a B.A. in Mass Communication from Herbert H. Lehman College.

Kathleen Maloney
Director of Strategic Planning

Kathleen was previously a Literacy Assessment Specialist at the New York City Department of Education. Prior to that, she was the founding Literacy Coach, Title I Coordinator, and 6th grade ELA teacher at New World Preparatory Charter School. Read More

While there, Kathleen supported all teachers to be literacy instructors by leading the school-wide implementation of The Hochman Method and developing a school-wide literacy program, for which she received the 2014 Outstanding Teacher of Literacy Award from the Staten Island Reading Association. Kathleen holds an M.A. in Literacy from New York University and a B.A. in Childhood Education from the Macaulay Honors College at the College of Staten Island.

Madalyn Marcano
Senior Faculty

Madalyn is a seasoned Literacy Coach with over 10 years of teaching experience working with historically underserved populations.  During her tenure, she led collaborative inquiry efforts to investigate persistent problems of practice that resulted in predictable low student achievement outcomes for specific groups of students. She’s directed group collective efforts to generate innovative solutions that teams could use to motivate the most reluctant learners to persevere and strive for success. Read More

Most formerly, at The Renaissance Charter High School for Innovation, she served as the Language Department Chair, where she worked with novice and experienced teachers in the ELA, Foreign Language and ELL/MLLS department to improve their pedagogical practices and student achievement outcomes. She also served as the TWR Coordinator where she developed and oversaw the program’s school-wide implementation. Madalyn holds an M.A. in Adolescent Literacy Education from Hunter College and a B.A. in English/Education from Marist College.

Ailish McDermott
Faculty

Ailish spent the first eight years of her professional career working as an elementary school teacher in Title 1 Schools in New York City. During this time, Ailish held a variety of leadership roles, such as leading the School Writing Team and being a member of the School Leadership Team. While Ailish was teaching at PS 60, Woodhaven, she was trained in the Hochman Method and successfully implemented the method into her own classroom instruction. Read More

Furthermore, during the last two years of her tenure, she served as the school’s instructional writing coach and TWR Coordinator. In this role, she led professional developments for teachers and oversaw the program’s school-wide implementation of The Hochman Method. Ailish received her M.A in Literacy Education from Lehman College and her B.A in Psychology and Special Education from Marist College.

Kiersten Peltier
Faculty

Having dedicated several years to working with teachers and students throughout Louisiana, Kiersten, an enthusiastic education professional and advocate, is a former elementary school teacher and education program consultant. Prior to joining The Writing Revolution, Kiersten served as a third-grade teacher leader at D.C. Reeves Elementary in Ponchatoula, LA. At DC Reeves, she also performed in numerous school leadership capacities while developing ELA and Social Studies curriculum materials for the district. Read More

Following her classroom experience, Kiersten began working as an ELA Education Program Consultant with the Louisiana Department of Education. In this role, she developed curriculum professional development and managed the redesign of the Louisiana ELA Guidebooks project for grades 3-5. Specifically, she collaborated with TWR to integrate writing strategies throughout the units.

In addition, she teamed up with the Louisiana Association of Educators and National Educators Association to provide professional support to uncertified and early career educators. She was instrumental in developing and delivering trainings and courses to prepare educators to take the PRAXIS assessment and to transition into new educational careers.

Kiersten earned a Master of Education with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University, Shreveport, and completed undergraduate studies at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Christine Teahan
Senior Faculty

Christine spent the first eleven years of her professional career working at The Windward School in White Plains, NY, a nationally renowned school for students with language-based learning disabilities, where she received training in research-based, multisensory instructional methods (notably, The Hochman Method). In addition to teaching every subject in almost every grade at the middle school, she directed the Windward Summer Program for 5 years and held a variety of leadership roles.

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Prior to directing the Windward Summer Program, Christine spent four summers as a director of Camp Morty, a sleep away camp for underprivileged children in Westchester, NY. In addition, she spent three years as a trustee on the board of Villages in Partnership, a nonprofit that works with some of the poorest villages in Malawi.
Christine received her B.A. and M.A. in special education from the University of Maryland.