Board of Directors

2024–2025 NECTFL Board of Directors

Cheerful bald professional wearing striped tie

Past Chair

James Wildman

Glastonbury High School (RI)
A woman with blonde hair and wearing a floral top.

Chair

Jill Schimmel
NYCBOE (NY)

Short-haired woman smiling against light wall

Vice Chair

Margarita Dempsey
Smithfield High School (RI)

Class of 2022

Smiling woman outdoors with short dark hair

Cynthia Chalupa, Ph.D.

West Virginia University (WV)

A woman with brown hair and a jacket smiles for the camera.

Catherine Ritz, Ed.D.

Boston University (MA)

James Wildman

Glastonbury Public Schools (CT)

Class of 2023

A man with a beard and suit jacket

Georges Chahwan

NYATC Arabic Teachers’ Council (NY)

Woman with bob haircut smiling on white background

Xiaoyan Hu

University of Rhode Island (RI)

Jill Schimmel Sopa

NYCDOE (NY)

Class of 2024

A woman with white hair and glasses smiling.

Joanne O’Toole, Ph.D.

SUNY Oswego (NY)

A woman with red hair and a striped shirt.

Beckie Bray Rankin

Lexington High School (MA)

Portrait of man in suit outdoors

Frank Ruggiero, Ed.D.

Edison Public Schools (NJ)

Class of 2025

A woman with long hair and a white shirt.

Celia Liu, Ed.D.

The College of New Jersey (NJ)

Redheaded woman grinning in studio portrait

Erin Papa, Ph.D.

Rhode Island College (RI)

Studio portrait of blonde woman in glasses

Beth Slocum

Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (NY)

The Board of Directors is the governing body of the Northeast Conference. Each year, three new directors are elected by the NECTFL Advisory Council to a four-year term. The board meets five times per year (three live meetings, two electronic) to tailor its plans for providing service to the profession.

The board is made up of twelve elected directors and three officers: the conference chair, the immediate past chair, and the vice chair. Each year, a new vice chair is selected from the three “graduating” directors in the fourth year of their term.

Each summer, the NECTFL Nominating Committee solicits the Advisory Council members for potential board nominations. The Nominating Committee selects a slate of three candidates, which is then presented to the full board for its approval. Once approved by the board, this slate is voted upon by the members of the Advisory Council.