15th Annual Leaders in Education Awards Dinner

Brenda Almendarez-De Bello ’06M.S.Ed., ’19Ed.D.
Principal
Tamarac Elementary School

Dr. Brenda Almendarez-De Bello serves as Principal of Tamarac Elementary School in the Sachem Central School District. With over 20 years in education, she has dedicated her career to building strong school communities where every child feels valued, supported, and empowered to succeed. A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Almendarez-De Bello earned her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany, becoming the first in her family to complete a four-year degree. This achievement reflects her lifelong belief in the transformative power of education.

Upon graduation, she began her professional career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Defined Benefits Administrator. After five years, she experienced a defining moment that redirected her path back to her roots and into the classroom. Through the New York City Teaching Fellows Math Immersion Program at St. John’s University, she began teaching middle school mathematics at I.S. 93 in Ridgewood, Queens, as she simultaneously earned her Master of Science in Education. During her eight years there, she served as a staff developer and curriculum writer, and she piloted and established a Dual Language Math program. After starting her family and relocating to Long Island, she joined Lawrence Road Middle School in the Uniondale School District as a bilingual math teacher, further deepening her commitment to multilingual learners and equitable instruction.

Dr. Almendarez-De Bello went on to earn a Post-Master’s Advanced Certificate from St. John’s University, completing the Project LEADER program with dual certification in School Building Leadership and TESOL, followed by a doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision. Her dissertation, A Place for Me: An Analysis of Latinas' Journeys into Educational Administrative Positions on Long Island, highlights the need for greater Latina representation in educational leadership and serves as a resource to support and inspire future leaders.

A product of a single-parent household, Dr. Almendarez-De Bello credits her mother for instilling in her the belief that education is the key to breaking cycles of adversity. She strives to model for her students that children from all walks of life can achieve anything they are willing to work for. Every decision she makes is rooted in what is best for her students, ensuring that school remains a safe, loving, and academically rich environment. She is deeply grateful for the unwavering support of her husband, sons, mother, in-laws, and siblings who are her greatest cheerleaders. Dr. Almendarez-De Bello is both humbled and honored to receive this award and takes immense pride in the journey that brought her here.

Alicia Calabrese ’94SJC
Principal
Floral Park Memorial High School
 

Ms. Alicia Calabrese is a proud graduate of St. John's University as well as CUNY at Queens College. She is a 29 year veteran of the Sewanhaka Central High School District, beginning her career as an English teacher at Elmont Memorial High School. In 2001, she was named Elmont Memorial's Teacher of the Year and was recognized by the New York State English Council with the Educator of Excellence Award. She was promoted to English Department Chairperson in 2004 and in 2005 was part of a team that presented at The Education Trust's National Conference. Ms. Calabrese served as an adjunct professor in the St. John’s School of Education from 2004-2005 working with cohorts of NYC teaching fellows. In 2005 Ms. Calabrese was interviewed by the Long Island Journal of the New York Times for an article entitled “Battling Stereotypes with High Test Scores.” In 2006 she was recognized as a “superb staff member” in the United States Congressional Record. Ms. Calabrese was promoted to Assistant Principal in 2007 at Elmont Memorial High School and joined the administrative team at Floral Park Memorial High School as Assistant Principal in 2018. In 2023, Ms. Calabrese was promoted to Principal of Floral Park Memorial.

Throughout her career, Ms. Calabrese has immersed herself in all aspects of middle and high school education including master scheduling, Regents, NY State and AP testing, middle school teaming, curriculum development, staff development, shared decision making and student activities. She is a proven instructional leader having served as a liaison to every department between the two buildings. She has been a staff development presenter at both the building and District level and has served on numerous District Committees, most recently, Portrait of a Graduate.

Ms. Calabrese and her husband Richard, also a St. John’s University graduate, are parents to two wonderful children, one in high school and the other in middle school. She is an active member of her local parish, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, serving as a Lector and the chairperson of the Stewardship Committee.  Ms. Calabrese is very proud to be the Principal of Floral Park Memorial and is grateful to work with exceptional educators, wonderful students, and a supportive community each day.

Christopher E. Fisher, Psy.D. ’14M.S.Ed.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Director, Behavioral Health
Zucker Hillside Hospital
 

Dr. Christopher Fisher is trained and licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in the state of New York. He currently serves as the Director of the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Department, which consists of the Adult Outpatient Mental Health Center, Behavioral Health Crisis Center, Rapid Access Center, and Clozapine Clinic at The Zucker Hillside Hospital of Northwell Health. He holds a faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. In addition, Dr. Fisher treats, supervises, and consults out of his own private practice in Rockville Centre.

He is a former Clinical Instructor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a former Adjunct Professor of Molloy University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s program. Dr. Fisher earned his earned a MS.Ed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from St. John's University, and his PsyD and MS degrees in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University.  

Through his experiences, he has accrued a wealth of knowledge working in a variety of settings with teens and adults diagnosed with a broad range of psychological disorders, with specialized training in the treatment of personality disorders. Dr. Fisher has also committed to advancing the field of psychology with his involvement in research. He has presented posters and served on several panels and symposiums at both national and international conferences.

Lastly, he publicly speaks on various topics of mental health to communities, organizations, and local school systems. He has been featured in the media as a subject-matter expert on several platforms including People, Fox News, NY1 Spectrum News, NY Post, ULFN News, and Long Island’s Newsday.

Darius Penikas ’08M.S.Ed., ’19Ed.D.
Principal
Archbishop Molloy High School
 

Dr. Darius Penikas was born and raised in Long Island and attended Chaminade High School and earned my bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University.  I majored in history and economics and an internship in the legal field provided the inspiration to pursue a career in education.  Having always loved history, and being interested in how people, nations, and organizations interact and relate to one another teaching social studies was the easy choice for me. During his time as an undergraduate he was a member of the school’s crew team and was offered a position coaching the Varsity women’s crew team after graduation.  His desire to teach coupled with this offer led to his decision to stay at Binghamton to pursue his M.A.T. in Social Studies teaching for grades 7-12. 

After completing his student teaching at Binghamton High School and earning his degree, Dr. Penikas started his career at West Hempstead High School.  There he taught a wide array of courses and continued gaining experience teaching summer school through Nassau BOCES.  Following West Hempstead, he spent eleven years at St. John’s Prep in Astoria, Queens, where he taught a wide array of social studies courses, coached basketball and baseball and served as Dean for six years.  It was during this time that he enrolled at St. John’s University and later earned his M.S. in Educational Administration and his School Building Leadership certification.

With his new degree and certification, he accepted a position at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip as the Assistant Principal for Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Activities and the principal of their summer school.  At St. John the Baptist he made the decision to return to St. John’s University to pursue his doctorate.  After working in his new position for several years and completing his doctoral coursework, he was offered the incredible opportunity to serve as Principal of Archbishop Molloy High School where he has been for the past 11 years.  It was during his early years at Molloy that he completed his Advanced Certificate in School Building Leadership and, subsequently, his Ed.D. in 2019.

Since completing his education at St. John’s University, Dr. Penikas has continued serving at Molloy and had the fortune to oversee the creation of new initiatives, courses, programs, and departments. He also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the St. John University Graduate School of Education for several years and currently work in the same role at Molloy University.  In addition to these professional pursuits, he coaches CYO basketball, serves on the CHSAA transfer committee, and continues to look for opportunities to share his experiences, learn, and grow.  The biggest blessing in his life is his family; his incredible wife Megan and their two wonderful children, Finn and Liam, who have provided Dr. Penikas with incredible support and love and bring him tremendous joy every day. 

Victor Visconti ’68ED
Retired
 

Victor Visconti ’68Ed, has been an alumnus for 30 years. He graduated with a BA in English from The School of Education and was very active in Student Government, Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity and the Italian Club. Travelling and going to the gym were his favorite hobbies, but he enjoyed his fraternity where he served as vice president and treasurer.  The Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity was founded in 1965 as a social fraternity chartered to promote social and intellectual communication among its members, to identify students and alumni more closely with their college, and to cultivate a spirit of loyalty to their school.

In reflection, one of his favorite professors was the late Jack Franzetti, Ph.D., who he believed truly cared about his students.  Victor’s funniest moment at St. John’s were freshman orientation and the wearing of the beanies. His most memorable moment was graduation day.  After graduation his worked as an educator at several public schools in the Massapequa School District and Middle Country Central School District.  Victor also worked as an Adjunct Instructor at SUNY Old Westbury, where he was the longest serving adjunct instructor in the Department of English and Education.  He was also President of the School of Education Alumni Association, but most notable, he is a proud member of The McCallen Society, and his entire professional career has been based around education. Victor is currently retired and has two wonderful adult children and three grandchildren.

Outstanding Faculty Honorees

Xiaojun (June) Chen, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
St. John’s University
 

Dr. Xiaojun Chen, Professor and Ph.D. Program Coordinator in Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, is a New York State Education Department (NYSED) Virtual Implementation of Teaching and Learning (VITAL) Educator and St. John’s University Technology Fellow. Dr. Chen’s scholarship, supported by the National Science Foundation and other sponsors, explores the intersection of extended reality (XR), human-centered AI, immersive STEAM education and cross-disciplinary team learning. In teaching, Dr. Chen designs hands-on, inquiry-driven experiences that equip pre-service and in-service teachers to ethically translate emerging innovations into learner-centered practice. Dr. Chen’s work has been recognized through awards, conference leadership, and collaborations with universities and communities. Over the past two years, Dr. Chen has contributed her expertise to the New York City Public Schools AI Advisory Board, shaping responsible AI use in K-12 schools. Through her research, teaching, and service, Dr. Chen advances equitable, future-ready learning for students and educators.

Seokhee Cho, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership
St. John’s University
 

Dr. Seokhee Cho is a Professor and Director of the Center for Gifted Education at St. John's University. Since joining the university in 2007, she has secured over $7 million in grant funding as Principal Investigator across five projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. A prolific scholar, she has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and 15 books spanning gifted education, creativity in STEM, underrepresented gifted populations, and family processes.

Dr. Cho earned her B.A. and M.A. in Educational Psychology from Ewha Womans University, South Korea, and her Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, Canada. She was a Fulbright Senior Researcher at the University of Connecticut. She has also served as President of the Asia Pacific Federation of the World Council for Gifted Children and Member of the Korean Presidential Committee for Educational Innovation. In 2004, she was honored with South Korea's Mokryun Medal for Civil Service Merit.

Ming-hui Li, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Counselor Education
St. John’s University
 

Dr. Ming-hui Li is an Associate Professor of Counselor Education at St. John’s University. His research focuses on stress coping and resilience, with publications in leading counseling journals such as Journal of Counseling & Development, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, and the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. He has frequently presented at the annual meetings of the American Counseling Association and the American Educational Research Association. He was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on Mental Health and Human Resilience in London, UK, and served as an international panelist at the Global Awareness Society International Conference in Budapest, Hungary. He was also awarded the 2024–2025 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct resilience research in Taiwan as a visiting researcher at Tunghai University.

Olivia G. Stewart, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Education Specialties
St. John’s University
 

Dr. Olivia G. Stewart is an Associate Professor of Literacy at SJU, where she also serves as the Literacy PhD Program Coordinator and mentors doctoral students. Her equity-focused scholarship centers multimodal literacies, critical digital pedagogy, and critical, empowering applications of AI. She examines how integrating multimodal composition and thoughtful digital tool use expands traditional literacy frameworks, particularly for academically marginalized students, while humanizing online learning and challenging print-centric academic norms.

A central theme in her work is criticality and social justice in literacy education. Dr. Stewart argues that multimodal and critical digital literacies create opportunities for students to express complex ideas, engage in culturally sustaining practices, and critique systemic inequities. She has developed theoretical and pedagogical frameworks, including multimodal assessment frameworks and a critical AI media literacy framework for interrogating bias and power within AI systems. Her research advances teacher education and instructional design toward more equitable, accessible literacy practices.