Summer Institute for Teachers

2025 Guest Speaker

Dr. Adetokunbo Martins is a high school chemistry educator, author, and mother with nearly a decade of experience teaching in New York City public schools. She holds a Doctorate in Education, with research focused on improving the academic self-efficacy of Black and Hispanic students in STEM. 

Her work centers on designing and implementing a STEM curriculum that infuses culturally responsive pedagogy and student empowerment strategies. As the co-founder of her school's Black Student Union and the author of The Class of Smarties, Dr. Martins brings research and lived experience to her mission of creating inclusive and affirming learning environments where al students can thrive. 

2025 Guest Speaker
Dr. Donna Egan is an assistant professor in the Exceptional Education and Learning program at SUNY Old Westbury. She brings a unique blend of professional experience, academic research, and a deep personal commitment to inclusive education. Inspired by her children's diverse educational journeys, she pursued a path in education, earning her M.S. in Special Education and English from Molloy College and later an M.S. and Ph.D. in Literacy from St. John's University.

Dr. Egan has over ten years of experience as an adjunct instructor at St. John's University and SUNY Old Westbury before joining the SUNY Old Westbury faculty full-time in 2024. She has taught in Pre-K through graduate-level settings across traditional, hybrid, and online learning environments. Her doctoral research explored the use of technology as an independent learning strategy to support vocabulary acquisition for secondary students with learning disabilities, and she remains passionate about leveraging digital tools to enhance literacy for academically marginalized learners.

2025  Guest Speaker

Dr. Andre Benito Mountain is an award-winning educator, author, and national thought leader in culturally responsive pedagogy and Hip Hop education. With over two decades of experience in public education, he currently serves as the Director of Education at The Hip Hop Museum and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Education at SUNY Old Westbury.

Dr. Mountain is the visionary behind the nation’s first Hip Hop Literacy Laboratory for elementary students and the founder of DEF-EDucation, a platform that equips educators with culturally affirming resources rooted in equity, critical thinking, and creativity. His published works include The Hip Hop Lit Lab (with Masta Ace) and Writers’ Studio (featuring visual art by Justin Bua).

2025 Featured Speaker

Priscilla Zárate is the President and Founder of Vanguard Leadership Consulting LLC, a NYS, NYC, Nassau, and Suffolk County MWBE-certified educational consulting firm. Previously, she served as Executive Director at the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), where she oversaw services for more than 150,000 English Language Learners (ELLs) across 1,800 schools. In this role, she spearheaded citywide initiatives to expand high-quality bilingual and ENL programs, enhance educator capacity, and shape policies that ensure equity and excellence for ELLs. Through Vanguard Leadership Consulting LLC, Ms. Zárate is dedicated to transforming education by equipping educators and school leaders with strategic tools, research-based practices, and tailored professional development.

2025 Featured Speaker

Richard Bellis had a long and productive career in the NYC Department of Education. Most recently, For more than 11 years, he served as the citywide Executive Director for ELL Data, Policy, and Compliance. During his tenure as the Executive Director, he created many resources and publications that are still in use to this day, including the NYC DOE’s Multilingual Learner Policy and Reference Guide. He also created the NYC DOE’s first ever “At-Risk” system that analyzes 20+ high leverage data points (e.g., academic grades, attendance) to identify students in crisis or potential crisis so that schools can take immediate action. Richard also developed the NYC DOE’s Two-Tier Monitoring System for ELL programs. Prior to this, he was the Regional Senior Assessment Coordinator for half of Manhattan.