Our Team
Board & Staff
SSND Educational Center is a 501(c )3 nonprofit sponsored ministry of the Atlantic Midwest Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
School Sisters of Notre Dame Educational Center
Meet the Board
Kathleen Cornell, SSND, Ph.D.
Chairperson
Sister Kathleen was a teacher and principal in city schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore before working for 20 years at Loyola University Maryland and Notre Dame of Maryland University as both faculty and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. From 2006 to 2016, Sister Kathleen served on the Atlantic-Midwest Provincial Council. She has a Master’s degree in Humanities from Manhattanville, New York and a doctorate in Administration, Planning and Policy from the University of Maryland. She has participated in SSND governance activities on local, national and international levels, as well as facilitated meetings and planning sessions for schools and religious congregations.
Daniel Esparza
Daniel is a volunteer at Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Woodhaven, where he first discovered SSNDEC. He is honored to be part of such a distinguished organization that prioritizes and promotes the needs of underserved women.
Mary Ellen Freeley, Ph.D.
Dr. Freeley served for 12 years as Superintendent of Schools for three Nassau County Districts. She also mentored upwards of fifty doctoral Dissertations at St. John’s University, where she was an Associate Professor. Dr. Freely became the National President of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development after 20+ years of service. Her book, Become a Leader of Leaders (2015), co-authored with Dr. Diane Scricca, has received wide acclaim for “pulling together research and expert guidance on the core leadership practices for continuous school improvement.”
Jane Loughlin
Treasurer
Jane lives in Woodhaven and serves as a St.Thomas the Apostle parishioner. For the past 8 years, she has volunteered at SSNDEC, and is currently the Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee, which is dedicated to wisely managing the Center’s finances for the benefit of the students. Generous donors support the Center because of such practices. Over the past 8 years, she has met many who have inspired her at the Center. By far and away, however, it has been the women learning English or completing their education who keep her coming back.
Ed Sweeney
Born and raised in Nassau County, Ed has been a registered nurse for 40 years and a Woodhaven resident for thirty-nine years. He is married with five children and four grandchildren. Currently, Ed is retired and taking care of his grandchildren. He is pleased to be a member of SSNDEC team!
Maryanne White
Maryanne has been a resident of Woodhaven for the last 55 years. In addition to serving as a member of the Board of Trustees at SSNDEC, she holds a position on the Development Committee and coordinates basket auctions for all major events. Before joining the Board, she was the Director of Admissions and Insurance at Jamaica Hospital Nursing Home. Prior to that, she was a Real Estate Broker.
Judith Roach
Judy is a lifelong resident of Woodhaven. She worked at Chase bank for 34 years before her retirement. After her time in the workforce, she tried a few volunteer positions, but nothing clicked. When she read that SSNDEC was looking for volunteers 8 years ago, Judy joined the Center’s community and has since witnessed the profound effect that the center has on the students, enabling them to fulfill their dreams. She can’t think of anywhere else that she would rather spend her time. Judy was asked to join the Development committee about five years ago, and has enjoyed every minute of her time working for the non-profit organization.
Kathy Sipes
Sponsor Council Contact
Kathleen Sipes has been an enthusiastic Catholic educator for more than five decades. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and Master’s degrees from both Loyola University and Goucher College. She currently serves at Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she has a variety of duties in the School of Education. In 2020, Kathy received the Distinguished Staff award from Notre Dame of MD University. Before this role, Kathy served in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She has taught both middle and HS English and religion. She served as an elementary school principal, a high school principal, a Pre-K through 12 principal, and as the president of a Pre-K through 12 school program. In 1995, Kathy was awarded the Distinguished Principal Award from NCEA for her work as an elementary principal. In 1996, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, conferred a Papal Award and Honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For the Church and the Pope) for her dedication and contributions to Catholic education. Kathy is an Associate of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and believes strongly in the mission, which embraces unity and inclusion and recognizes the transformative power of education. In recent years, she has served on a team sponsored by the SSNDs and Beyond Borders to train educators on La Gonav Island, Haiti, in a multi-year project to improve Early Childhood and Elementary education. She currently serves as SSND Sponsor Council.
School Sisters of Notre Dame Educational Center
Meet our Faculty & Staff
Executive Director
Francine Poppo, BCC
Francine was born and raised on Long Island, where she currently resides with her husband, three children, and dog, Yogi. Prior to her position as the Executive Director of SSNDEC, she served as a Board Certified Chaplain at Good Samaritan Nursing and Rehab in Sayville, NY. She owned a publishing company, Blue Marlin Publications, for over 20 years. Francine is thrilled to be the newest team member at SSNDEC and the newest community member to Woodhaven! The women who come to the Center every day to learn are truly inspirational, and Francine considers it an absolute honor to be a part of their journeys.
Introductory ESOL
Bernadette Alfieri, SSND
Sister Bernadette grew up in an immigrant Italian family in South Ozone Park, NY. As the seventh of nine children, she had built-in playmates and older sisters who were her mentors. Throughout the decades, she has taught primary grade students who were always a delight. In 2013, she received an unexpected call from her supervisors to serve at the SSND Generalate in Rome as receptionist and hospitality coordinator. She then received an invitation to join SSNDEC, where she currently teaches the introductory ESL course. She also travels to three local Catholic schools to teach in the religion departments.
GED Social Studies and Reading Comprehension
Maureen Blaine
Maureen retired from Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn after serving 16 years as a classroom teacher and 19 years as a principal. She holds a BS from Queens College; 30 graduate credits from Hunter College, primarily in Special Education; and an MS in Educational Administration from Fordham University. She is happy to volunteer at the Center as a teacher of Social Studies and Reading/Language Arts in the GED program. This is her 7th year.
ESOL Level 5
Sister Susan Dean
Sister Susan has worked in education her entire adult life, from elementary to college level. She enjoys working with the women at the Center, teaching ESL Level 5, because they are highly motivated to learn English, and teach her about the culture and country they come from. They also enjoy meeting other women who are in similar situations as themselves. She is proud to be a part of a community where everyone is welcomed and accepted.
ELA Writing /Citizenship Prep
Cathy Feeney, SSND
Cathy called Brooklyn, NY her home for the first eighteen years of her grace-filled life, where she and her brother grew up with a rich Polish/Irish heritage. There were more than 100 children who were their playmates on their block, with the church, school, and convent just around the corner. This was the milieu in which Cathy felt drawn to become a School Sister of Notre Dame. As a member of a religious community, she served as teacher and principal in schools in Connecticut and New Hampshire. When she was working at a culturally diverse parish in Queens, her heart was drawn to do something to improve the situation of immigrant women, a dream that became a reality when she and two other SSND Sisters founded the School Sisters of Notre Dame Educational Center.
GED Math
Theresa Jaffe
Theresa grew up in Woodhaven and graduated from Franklin K Lane High School. After graduation, she attended Queens College, where she received a BS in Mathematics and an MA in Education. Theresa went on to teach 7-12 grade mathematics for 22 years in the NYC public school system. She loves watching students learn. Theresa teaches Math in the GED program at the Center.
GED Math
Steve Forte
Steve holds a B.A. in Economics, an M.S. Computer Science, and an M.S. Ed. in Secondary Math Education. “My early teachers instilled in me the desire to be a lifelong learner. I try to use the knowledge and experience I gained as an I.T. executive and high school math teacher to continue my own personal learning and to pay it forward with my students today.”
ESOL, Levels 3 and 4; ESL Writing
Kathy Locher
Kathy is an ESL Instructor at SSNDEC. She has taught ESL for more than 30 years. She began teaching when she was living abroad, and has taught many different population groups since then. She has been at SSNDEC for 10 years. She is originally from Virginia, but has lived in New York most of her life. She has two sons, one who lives in Brooklyn and the other in Texas. She really enjoys teaching several levels of ESL at the Center because the return rate of our students is very high. This gives everyone the opportunity to see the same students grow and learn over the course of several years.
ESOL Levels 1 and 2
Tehmina Rafeeq
Tehmina has been an English as a Second Language (ESL) Instructor at the SSND Educational Center since 2014. She received her Master’s in International English Language Teaching and Applied Language Studies in 2007 from London Metropolitan University, UK. She also holds a Certificate in Teaching ESOL to Adults with Limited Literacy (TEALL 2023) from the Literacy Assistance Center of New York City and a Certificate in TESOL (2022) from Continuing Education at Hunter College. She served as a volunteer ESL instructor with the Community Impact ESL Program at Columbia University from 2012-2013. Her work experience in her native country of Pakistan includes teaching the Postgraduate Diploma Programs in English Language Teaching both at the University of Punjab, Pakistan, and Government College University, Pakistan between 2007 and 2009. Also, she contributed to the various departments at the University of Punjab as a visiting faculty member from 2007-2010, teaching General English and Academic Writing to both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students of Sociology. Tehmina's educational journey encompasses a Master of Arts in English (2004), a Bachelor of Laws (1999), from the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, and a Diploma in Education (2001) from Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Regarding working at the SSND Educational Center Tehmina says, “I joined the Center in 2014, and since then I have never thought about changing my job!”
Secretary
Francine Scuderi
Francine joined SSNDEC in August 2019 as a part-time secretary to the Executive Director and the Board of Trustees, while simultaneously acting as the primary caregiver to her mother. Francine has an extensive and industry-diverse background in Customer Service, Marketing, Fundraising, Alumni Development and Event Planning. Described as a “gifted writer,” Francine has written for and been published in a variety of mediums.
Curriculum Specialist
Cathy Stare
Cathy Stare, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, is the curriculum director at the School Sisters of Notre Dame Educational Center. A life-long educator, she has taught high school mathematics in the Catholic Dioceses of Brooklyn and Queens; Rockville Centre; and Hamilton, Bermuda; and has supervised student teachers at St. Joseph’s University in Patchogue. At the Educational Center, Cathy provides support and encouragement to students, helping them navigate the path to their GED. When not solving quadratic equations, Cathy enjoys quilting, canoeing, leaning and teaching theology, and doing jigsaw puzzles.
GED Science
Eileen Trainor
Eileen was born and currently resides in Queens. As a Sister of Mercy, she has taught Science in Elementary and High School. As a social worker, she has assisted many women and families. She enjoys teaching Science in the GED program at SSNDEC because the women are always motivated and eager to learn.
Community Relations Manager
Diana Velez
Diana Velez, a Bronx native and accomplished marketing and communications professional with over 15 years of experience, joined SSND Educational Center as Community Relations Manager. Passionate about women’s empowerment, she brings expertise in multicultural marketing and inclusive strategy development. Previously, Diana spearheaded the Historias project at StoryCorps and expanded key partnerships at nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including the Committee for Children, AudioBoom and Latina, the first bilingual magazine for Hispanic women in the U.S. Dedicated to community service, she founded GLOW, a volunteer program enhancing the well-being of Brooklyn seniors. In her free time, Diana enjoys watercolor painting and DIY home projects and will resume her studies at Hunter College in the fall. She is thrilled to be a part of the team at SSND Educational Center!
School Sisters of Notre Dame Educational Center
Meet our Volunteer Receptionists
Roseann Hinchey
Roseann was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY with one sibling. She was educated in the Catholic school system all her life. She has three children and three grandchildren. She worked for JP Morgan Chase for 36 years, and has been retired since 2010. She has been living in Woodhaven for 55 years. Roseann volunteers at the Center because she feels the women are truly happy to be there. They have the opportunity to educate themselves in a safe environment, with a staff who really cares!
Barbara Ramjeet
Barbara has been a volunteer at SSNDEC for many years. She had the pleasure of getting to know the sisters when she attended classes there, and has felt like it is a second home ever since. The center is a warm and inviting environment for women of all backgrounds, who are always welcomed with open arms.
Judith Roach
Judy is a lifelong resident of Woodhaven. She worked at Chase bank for 34 years before her retirement. After her time in the workforce, she tried a few volunteer positions, but nothing clicked. When she read that SSNDEC was looking for volunteers 8 years ago, Judy joined the Center’s community and has since witnessed the profound effect that the center has on the students, enabling them to fulfill their dreams. She can’t think of anywhere else that she would rather spend her time. Judy was asked to join the Development committee about five years ago, and has enjoyed every minute of her time working for the non-profit organization.
Eva Portugal
Eva is a teacher who loves her profession. She is proud to have helped so many children. She has two kids of her own who are both helping her to fulfill her duties as a mother. She enjoys reading books and listening to classical music. She likes to donate her time and serve others. She does what she does knowing that it is the way of God.
Sr Peggy Lynch
Sr Peggy is a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville NY, currently residing in Brooklyn. She is a retired, medical social worker and hospice chaplain. She loves the community atmosphere of the teachers, students, and staff. She has been volunteering with SSNDEC since 2010!
Linda Streppone
I have lived in Woodhaven since I was three years old. I’ve been working in the neighborhood for 30+ years for a chiropractor and dentist. I enjoy being with people, so when I was looking to volunteer, SSNDEC was a good fit!
Lena Maurina
Lena has been serving SSND Educational Center as a receptionist volunteer for over 10 years! She is very active in the community, especially at SSND EC and in her parish of St. Thomas the Apostle. Lena’s favorite part about being a volunteer is standing at the door and greeting students as they come in and asking them how their classes went as they go out!