NORTHAMPTON – Desiree Lalbeharie-Josias, the new Director of the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) Early Childhood Programs, has a vision for enhancing educational and wrap-around services for children and families.
“I am committed to empowering teachers, caregivers, and parents so that they may create engaging, nurturing, and rigorous educational environments for children to be successful in school and beyond,” she said. Lalbeharie-Josias added that her goals for the Programs align well with the values of CES.
She brings 11 years of leadership experience to the position. Her previous positions at the MSPCC-Springfield Early Intervention Program and the REACH Early Intervention Program involved training, supervising, and mentoring clinicians who specialized in working with young children and their families.
CES Executive Director Joan Schuman said “We are delighted to have Desiree join us. She brings such depth in working with very young children, from birth to 3 years of age, as well as experience in training and mentoring early childhood providers.”
Schuman added that the Early Childhood Director plays a critical role at the agency, leading initiatives that nurture the healthy development of children in this important and formative time in their lives, and improve the quality of programming for this age group.
Lalbeharie-Josias has an Ed.D in Special Education with a focus on Early Intervention and Early Childhood Development. She graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Education and Child Study, and an M.Ed in Education of the Deaf/Hearing Impaired, and has significant experience teaching college level classes at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Greenfield Community College.
She takes on the role from her predecessor, Barbara Finlayson, who recently retired after fifteen years in the position.