PSYCHOLOGY PANELISTS:
LINDA DE MOTTA: Linda De Motta is currently the owner of Bridge College
Consultants, LLC--a college consulting and academic coaching service for high
school, college and adult learners. She is also the Learning Specialist for the
Stony Brook Medical School and the Stony Brook Masters of Physiology
Department. Ms. De Motta was the Director of the Program for Academic
Learning Skills (PALS) at Hofstra University and taught in The School for University
Studies and New College. She continues to teach at the University as an
adjunct professor and continues to supervise independent studies and
internships. She graduated with her BA in Child Study and her MA in Learning
Differences. She has permanent NYS teaching certification in elementary
education N-6 and Special Education N-12. Over more than 30 years of
teaching, Linda has taught in a broad variety of education settings and work
with a wide span of education populations.
DR. ROBIN A. FLATON: Dr. Flaton is an Associate Professor of Psychology who
earned her BA from Hofstra University in 1981, a master's in Social Service
Administration from the University of Chicago in 1983, and graduated from St.
John's University School of Law in 1986. While an attorney she worked in
Manhattan Family Court bringing child abuse and neglect cases on behalf of
the State of New York and in a private law firm handling commercial real estate
transactions. In 1999 Dr. Flaton, received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology
from Teachers College, Columbia University and has been working at Hofstra
since 1996.
Dr. Flaton created a Court internship program in which students who are
interested in pursuing a career in law can learn about their chosen field through
hands-on experience working in a judge’s chambers. She anticipates that the
internship program will be extended to students who may be interested in
working in other aspect of the criminal justice system ( i.e. probation/social work)
and that placements will soon be available in divergence/specialty courts, such
as drug treatment and mental health courts.
ELLEN MILLER: Ellen Miller has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of
Science in Counselor Education, and an Advanced Certificate in Educational
Administration. Currently, she is completing her doctorate in Educational
Administration at Hofstra University. Ms. Miller has held a variety of positions at
the University including Director of Part-time Studies, Assistant Dean of the School
of Communications, and currently, Associate Dean of the Center for University
Advisement. She has worked as an academic advisor with various student
populations including: adult learners, pre-professional students, transfers, and at
risk students.
LIA MULLIGAN : Lia Mulligan earned her Bachelor's Degree in Social Science
magna cum laude from Hofstra University in 2007. While at Hofstra, Ms. Mulligan
became a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was the President of Pi Gamma Mu
Honor Society for Social Science. She also completed an internship at Queens
Criminal Court under Judge Joseph A. Grasso where she learned about criminal
procedure and observed arraignments, pre-trial hearings and jury selection.
After graduating, she worked as a field organizer for the New York Civil Liberties
Union before attending Boston University School of Law. During her time at BU
Law, she was a Note Editor for the American Journal of Law & Medicine,
President of the BU Women's Law Association, and a lead advisor for the Student
Advising Program. Ms. Mulligan also was specially selected for an internship at
Children’s Hospital in Boston with the Chief Counsel for Research Affairs where
she focused on intellectual property conflicts and ethical issues in genomic
medicine.
After earning her Juris Doctor degree in May 2011, she accepted a position with
a mid-size general practice firm in Orange County, NY. Lia is admitted to
practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is soon to be admitted to
practice in her home state of New York.
SAL TRINGALI: Sal Tringali has been with Northwestern Mutual since June 2011.
Since he has a background in finance and sales, Mr. Tringali decided that he
wanted to take control of his future and develop a new financial services
practice. His goal is to help clients develop and secure their own financial
future, taking time to understand people’s needs and goals. He has a
bachelor’s degree in marketing from St Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and
lives on Long Island with his fiancée Melissa.
CHERYL DAVIDSON: Cheryl Davidson graduated with an undergraduate degree
in Psychology and a graduate degree in Professional Studies. She began her
career working in the management training program of EF Hutton Investments.
She then went on to teach computer applications (Lotus version 1) at ADP and
became the Training Manager. This led to a position at Northrop Grumman in
their Training Department and Strategic Planning. During this time, she became
an adjunct Dale Carnegie Trainer, which led to a position as Economic
Development Specialist at the Long Island Association (LIA). When the LIA
formed the LI Works Coalition to build collaborations between business and
education, Cheryl became Executive Director and remained there for 13 years.
She recently became Director for Workforce Readiness at North Shore LIJ Health
Systems.
Moderator:
KRISTIN WEINGARTNER: Kristin Weingartner is an Assistant Professor of Psychology
at Hofstra University. She received a BS in Biochemistry from SUNY Stony Brook in
1998 and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from SUNY Binghamton in 2004. In 2006
she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst. Dr. Weingartner's teaching interests are in the areas
of cognitive psychology, research methods, and the psychology of language.
Her research interests are in the general areas of text comprehension and
memory. Dr. Weingartner has published her findings in journals such as Discourse
Processes, The Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Memory & Cognition, and the
Journal of Memory & Language. She is a member of the American
Psychological Association, the Psychonomic Society, and the Society for Text &
Discourse.