Please allow us to shine some much-deserved light and recognition upon three of our amazing Program Committee Members:

Suzanne Gespass, Current Chair of our Program Committee, who has been a PYA supporter since the get-go, comes to us from the Department of Teacher Education at Rider University.
Much to the advantage of PYA staff and students, Suzanne is a seasoned teacher, and her research focuses on emergent literacy, teachers’ personal reading habits, and the use of literature circles and in teacher education. Suzanne holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence and her M.Ed. and Ph.D. from The University of Arizona.

Bob Ginsberg, Principal of Johnson Park School, has been a Princeton educator for nearly 20 years.Bob guided the re-opening of Littlebrook School in 1988, and served as assistant superintendent of Princeton Regional Schools, before requesting a return to JP, where he has remained, ably and happily, since. In 1994, Bob served on the committee that recommended the creation of PYA.
In addition to his tireless efforts on behalf of PYA, Bob is also the Princeton Public Library’s second longest-serving trustee. Bob earned his bachelors and masters degrees from Brooklyn College, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Rick Ellis has been involved in the fields of early childhood and elementary education for 33 years. Trained at, and now active as a consultant to Bank Street College and Rider University, he also has served in leadership with the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, and has experience with The Responsive Classroom, The Coalition of Essential Schools, The Courage to Teach, and Reggio Emilia schools. We are fortunate to have Rick’s plethora of knowledge and experience with developmentally appropriate practice.