The Principals' Center
Established in 1985, the Principals’ Center exists to help principals meet the challenges of their role as school leaders and provides a forum for them to meet in a congenial atmosphere and share the skills and practices that have proven successful in the school setting.
The Greater Capital Region Principals’ Center is a dynamic professional resource for area administrators, designed as an oasis of training for improvement and renewal of administrative skills and energies.
Established in 1985, the Principals’ Center exists to help principals meet the challenges of their role as school leaders and provides a forum for them to meet in a congenial atmosphere and share the skills and practices that have proven successful in the school setting. By bringing together new and veteran administrators, the Principals’ Center can help develop and improve on those critical skills needed for effective leadership, including problem solving, decision making, managing resources, and leading by example.
The Principals’ Center serves principals specifically, and administrative groups in general. It is a network for tapping professional knowledge so that the exceptional strengths of those principals in the field practicing daily can be utilized as resources to help and aid others working in the profession.
The programs of the Principals’ Center are run to benefit principals, and, in large part, are run by principals. The Principals’ Center works to strengthen the variety of skills a principal needs to effectively master in order to meet the challenges of the principalship and seeks to establish itself as a catalyst for establishing excellence in those individuals who carry the title “Principal.”
2024-2025 Principals' Center Board Roster
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Michael Laster, Chair
Principal, Farnsworth Middle School
lasterm@guilderlandschools.net
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Erica J. Ryan, Vice-Chair
Principal, Shatekon Elementary School
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Mark Brenneman
Principal, Montgomery C. Smith Elementary
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Francis Cocozza
Principal, Lake George Jr.-Sr. High School
cocozzaf@lkgeorge.org
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Rosalind Gaines-Harrell
Principal, Arbor Hill Elementary School
rgaines-harrell@albany.k12.ny.us
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Amy Hawrylchak
Principal, Tech Valley High School
ahawrylchak@techvalleyhigh.org
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Ian Knox
Principal, Hamagrael Elementary School
iknox@bethlehemschools.org
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Annette Landry
Principal, Berne-Knox-Westerlo Elementary
annette.landry@bkwschools.org
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Gregory Pace
Principal, Tesago Elementary School
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Carrie Phelan
Principal, Knickerbacker Middle School
cphelan@lansingburgh.org
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Shelette R. Pleat
Principal, Hamilton Elementary School
PleateS@apps.schenectady.k12.ny.us
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Brian Reeve
Principal, Greenville Central School District
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Katie Stalker
Principal, Mater Christi School
principal@mcsalbany.org
Laura Tarlo
Principal, Cohoes High School
lttarlo@cohoes.org
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Aaron Thiell
Principal, North Colonie Central School District
aaron.thiell@nccsk12.org
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Melanie Welch
Principal, Frankfort-Schuyler Elementary School
mwelch@frankfort-schuyler.org
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Central Office Administrators
TBD
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Higher Education Representative
Dr. Katie Schiller
Department of Educational Policy and Leadership, Catskill 301
University at Albany
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Dr. Kristen Wilcox
Department of Educational Policy and Leadership, Catskill 229
University at Albany
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CASDA Representatives
Timothy Backus
Executive Director
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Nancy Andress
CASDA Faculty, Liaison to Principal Center Board
nandress@albany.edu
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Bryan Wood
CASDA Consultant
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