Our Project Managers
STEAM Integration
Cassie Horton is a teacher in the Wappingers Central School District. This is her 21st year in the profession and has held different positions in her tenureship with the school. In addition to being New York State certified as a HS English teacher, Reading Specialist and Educational Technology Specialist, she is also a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Literacy. She has been working for the Mid Hudson Teacher Center since 2013 and has been a project manager for four years. Working as the STEAM Project Manager allows her to pursue a passion for planning high quality professional learning for member districts. She enjoys planning mini conferences, EdCamps, and workshops to help local educators refine their craft. In her free time, Cassie enjoys watching her sons at their sporting events as well as planning travel experiences for her family.
Safe and Supportive Learning
Dana Brown
dbrown@mhtc.newpaltz.edu
Ms. Dana Brown is an educational consultant, leading Dana Brown Professional Learning Services, with 24 years of experience as a classroom teacher in a high needs urban district, reading specialist, instructional coach, District Coordinator for English as a New Language, and Director of Humanities. Dana is certified in PreK-6 elementary education, K-12 Reading, and as a District Leader. She returns to schools weekly as an interim building principal and substitute teacher in regular and special education classrooms. This is her first year as the Safe and Supportive Schools Project Manager, and she plans to add to the wealth of instructors that help to support social-emotional learning for all of our special audiences, as well as continue to support the work of the Center in providing professional development to teachers of children on the autism spectrum. In her additional time, she co-parents her blended family, is an avid baseball mom/fan, hikes in the Hudson Valley, reads and writes a lot, as well as works shifts in the food service and small business world.
Mathew Swerdloff has served as an educator in New York State’s public schools for over thirty years. He has held positions as classroom teacher in grades 3 through 8, Director of Technology, Director of Library Media Services, Executive Director of Educational Support Services, and is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at both the State University of New York at New Paltz and at Manhattan College in New York City. Mathew earned his Master’s Degree in Education and his New York State School District Administrator Certification from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and his Doctorate in Instructional Leadership from Western Connecticut State University at Danbury, Connecticut. Mathew’s work for the Mid Hudson Teacher Center is focused on providing professional development for pre-service teachers at the seven regional colleges. He can also be reached at mswerdloff@gmail.com.
Tamara Natoli began teaching Spanish immediately after graduation from SUNY New Paltz. Now retired from Marlboro Central School District, she is back on campus to support other educators in their quest for meaningful Professional Learning. She has always enjoyed history, writing, and theater- even directing Marlboro drama productions for several years. Throughout her career she has worked closely with brilliant, creative teachers and looks forward to continuing to do so in this new role as Humanities Project Manager for the Mid Hudson Teacher Center. In addition to her Spanish credentials, Ms. Natoli is certified to teach ENL and is a trained Teacher Consultant for the Hudson Valley Writing Project. In the latter capacity, she co-directs the HVWP Young Writers Program during the summer. Tamara loves travel, reading, museums, and all genres of music where she can sing along. She also began teaching herself mushroom foraging during the pandemic and hasn't died yet.
Samrat Pathania is a former software engineer who currently teaches mathematics, physics, and computer science at Wallkill High School in Wallkill, New York. He is a New York State Master Teacher Emeritus and co-founder of the Educator Collective for Environmental Justice. Samrat is a passionate advocate for inquiry-based and climate solutions-centered STEM education, inside and outside the classroom. He is co-author of A Full Axiomatic Development of High School Geometry, a graduate level mathematics textbook. Samrat is also a clean energy coach with New Yorkers for Clean Power and has presented many talks and workshops on practical climate solutions. He lives in New Paltz, NY with his family in a net-zero home. For more information about workshops and events check out The Mid-Hudson Sustainability in Education Series.
