Child Care Council Announces New Board Member & Officers

The Child Care Council of Westchester - a nonprofit resource organization that increases access to early education – is proud to announce that Frida Matute has joined its Board of Directors, and that five officers were elected to the Executive Board: Dr. Emily Koelsch as President, Diann Cameron Kelly, PhD as Vice President, Wayne Gosnell as Treasurer, and Nicole Rebori and Julianna Flanagan Thurau as Co-Secretaries. Christie Noelle Krase joins Craig Ruoff as Presidents emeriti.

“I am proud to lead this board of professionals who are dedicated to the Child Care Council’s mission and the early education community,” said Board President Dr. Emily Koelsch. “I look forward to working with them and the Council staff to expand our impact even further.”

New Board member Frida Matute, M.A. CCC-SLP is the Founder of The Indy Lab, a Preschool and Parenting Center with two locations in Westchester as well as a private speech-language pathology practice called Indy Speech Services serving Westchester and NYC. Frida is a long-time advocate for the Science of Reading (SOR) and is certified in several programs that teach children literacy skills through SOR methods. She started her career at NYU Language Medical Center’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine before moving to Hospital for Joint Diseases. From there, she ran the pediatric outpatient speech and language clinic at Bellevue Hospital while starting her private practice called Indy Speech Services in 2014. Frida founded her private speech practice to offer a unique therapeutic experience but became focused on the issues she saw in early education while practicing in preschools. Frida opened The Indy Lab preschool in 2021 to marry her medical knowledge of child development with educational knowledge.

Emily Koelsch, MD has been a pediatrician with Pediatrics of Sleepy Hollow, a division of BCHP, since July 2009. Thru her work with BCHP, she also provides patient services at Green Chimneys School in Patterson, NY which is a Residential Treatment Center for children with disabilities who engage in animal therapy as well as attend school and live on campus. She precepts first year and third year medical students in her primary office.

Diann Kelly, PhD, LMSW is Associate Provost for Student Success at Adelphi University. She authored several articles on civic engagement and service learning. In addition to these articles, she is also the editor and author of Treating Young Veterans, a book on ways to service the veteran community. She is a former Fahs Beck Fellow, in which she explored the social components of the Civil Rights Era and the influence of these components on civic engagement. Dr. Kelly is also a member of several community organizations where she contributes her service.

Wayne Gosnell is a partner at Clayman Rosenberg Kirshner & Linder LLP, where he litigates complex, high-stakes white collar criminal and civil cases in federal and New York state courts. Wayne is a member of the American Inns of Court at the Federal Bar Council, the Criminal Advocacy Committee of the New York City Bar, and the New York Council of Defense Lawyers.

Nicole Rebori has worked at Arch Insurance Group since 2002 where she has served in underwriting and governance roles. While growing up on Long Island and attending college at Fordham University in the Bronx, Nicole enjoyed various volunteer opportunities with community youth groups.

Julianna Flanagan Thurau is an economist and data practitioner passionate about supporting families. Her dedication to inclusive economic growth has driven her career across the nonprofit, financial, and international development sectors. She holds a MSc in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Leeds in England and a BSc in Economics from American University in Washington, DC.

“These leaders are all very passionate about helping make early education more accessible for families, ensuring that child care professionals are fairly compensated, and building a child care system that supports the growth of our local economy,” said Child Care Council of Westchester Executive Director Kathy Halas.

For more information about the Child Care Council of Westchester, call (914) 761-3456 or visit www.childcarewestchester.org.

About the Child Care Council of Westchester

The Child Care Council of Westchester is a 501c3 nonprofit resource organization that champions the healthy development of children, families and communities by promoting quality early care and education. A unique, “one stop” agency for child care, the Council offers parent referrals, training, information, technical assistance, reports on the industry, and public education for parents, child care programs, governmental organizations and the business community. Since its inception in 1968, the Council has grown to become the premier authority on child care services throughout Westchester County. The Council has attained Quality Assurance, national recognition award by Child Care Aware® of America, establishing it as one of the nation’s leading Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs).