Legislator Solages honored

ence in Administration and Supervision from Touro College, and an Advanced Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Molloy College.

Tedesco, a resident of Rockville Centre, has been appointed as the assistant principal for Hillside Grade School and Manor Oaks School. Since November 2021, she has served as an assistant principal for 277Q in Woodside. Through her role there, she supervised staff and students across three buildings and facilitated the successful implementation of various literacy-based programs to improve student achievement. Additionally, she partnered with district literacy coaches to support teachers’ literacy practices. Tedesco also has experience as school leadership team member and classroom teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing. She is trained in Fundations, American Sign Language and has Applied Behavior Analysis Experience.

Tedesco received a Bachelor of Science in Special Education (Deaf Education and Comprehensive Disorders) from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Arts in Deaf education from Columbia University and completed the CITE Educational Leadership Certification Program at the College of Saint Rose.

Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages (D–Lawrence) was honored to receive the Leadership Award from the Gift of Giving Foundation’s Sewanhaka School District Student Ambassador Program during a special presentation at their Multicultural Expo on Saturday, June 17.

Featuring an array of community resources and local vendors, the special event is a celebration of the rich cultural tapestry that makes Elmont such a unique and vibrant community within Nassau County.

This diversity was illustrated in part through cuisine provided by local restaurants, including Chandi (Pakistani), Salvatore’s of Elmont (Italian), Mama Philo African Cuisine (Nigerian), Yardies (Jamaica), La Empanada (Latin) and Le Spot Café (Haitian).

Following the presentation, Solages joined a group of the student ambassadors for some friendly competition playing Uno (complete with a little bit of sisterly teasing from New York State Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages).

“It was incredibly gratifying and a great honor to be recognized by the outstanding student leaders from the Sewanhaka School District,” Solages said. “Thank you to everyone who made this year’s multicultural expo such a success, and to Gift of Giving Foundation founder Elizabeth Forbes for all you do throughout the year to give back to our community. I am looking forward to having students from this program serving as interns in my law office this summer!”

The Gift of Giving Foundation’s Student Ambassadors program was designed to help students realize their vision of their future by connecting them with local business owners to establish relationships and develop workforce skills that will give them a head start on future success — all while being a mentor and colleague to other students as the faces of the community events under the gift of giving Foundation.

The five-week program runs every fall and spring, and students earn up to 15 to 20 hours of community service credit while alternating between various businesses. Visit https://giftofgivingfoundation.org/ to learn more.