Professionals Offer Direction and Support
Northampton Community College offers associate degree programs in early childhood education and special education that prepare teachers for inclusive programs. For more information see http://www.northampton.edu/
Rebecca Gorton
Early Childhood Program Director
E-mail: rgorton@northampton.edu
Rebecca Gorton is professor of early childhood education at Northampton Community College and project director for Art As A Way of Learning®, an innovative method of teaching developed at NCC and now gaining popularity across the country as a means of enhancing the cognitive development of young children. She earned a bachelor of arts degree at Muhlenberg College, a master of science degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and certification as an elementary school principal at Lehigh University.
Before joining the faculty at Northampton Community College, she was a Head Start director, a child care advisor and a pre-kindergarten teacher.
Active in the community and in professional organizations, she has served on the advisory committee of Community Services for Children and on the boards of Lehigh Valley Child Care and the Volunteers of America Children’s Center. She is a past president of ACCESS, the national Association of Associate Degree Early Childhood Teacher Educators, and of LANAEYC, the Lehigh and Northampton Association for the Education of Young Children.
Robin Cunconan-Lahr, Esq.
Special Education Program Coordinator
E-mail: rclesq@aol.com
Robin Cunconan-Lahr is an adjunct faculty member at Northampton Community College where she teaches early childhood education. She has been employed with the college since 1994. She is also a lawyer with her own private practice specializing in adults, children and families with disabilities. She received a bachelor’s in special education and elementary education from the University of Iowa, a law degree from Drake University, and a master’s from Iowa Sate University.
Susan Stifel
Assistant Coordinator - BICC
E-Mail: sstifel@northampton.edu
Susan has been employed by NCC since 2003. She has taught special education courses both on-campus and via distance learning. Susan has several years of teaching experience, both in the U.S. and overseas in international schools (Switzerland, Thailand and Madagascar). She received her B.A.(Drama) and B.Ed. (Primary-Junior) from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada and received her M.Ed (Special Education) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Trieste Kennedy
Assistant Coordinator - BICC
E-Mail: tkennedy@northampton.edu
Trieste Kennedy teaches special education at Northampton Community College. She earned a B.S. in Education from Bloomsburg (PA) University and a M.Ed. from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA. In addition to teaching, Trieste has drawn upon her personal experiences as a parent of a child with a disability to support families and to train professionals at the state and local levels on issues related to disability, collaboration, and inclusion.
