Creative Design and Development Committee - The “Friends from Sunshine Center” is a dynamic and still growing accumulation of efforts of many creative individuals who share there talents with us to make a difference in the lives of children.

Carol Carter – Founder, Creator/Coordinating Author. Carol first began her work with children as co-founder of Sunshine Prevention Center in 1992, due to her personal experiences with the affects of alcohol and drug addiction on her family and to be an advocate for other children facing these challenges.  Carol completed her graduate work in October 1998, earning a Masters of Science and concentrating on the needs of those most at-risk.  Carol is currently pursing her Ed.D  in Children, Youth and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University and specializing in the areas of curriculum development and family services.   In November 2000, Carol earned her C.P.P. Credential (Credentialed Prevention Professional) through OASAS (NYS Office of Alcohol & Substance Abuse Services).  Carol began writing children's stories, puppet scripts and creating tools for teaching children in the area of prevention. In 2005, she incorporated Prevention Through Puppetry as a way to assist schools and communities in the area of prevention and character education. Carol is married to her high school sweetheart, Greg, who is an inspiration and supporter of all her work.  She is the mother of three girls (Holly, Candice, Amber), who all help in the design and creation of programs and products and who Carol hopes will one day take over the businesses to continue making a difference in the lives of children and families.  Carol can be reached at shine1@optonline.net

 

Amber Carter – Youth Participant/Writer. Amber was one of the inspirations behind the founding of Sunshine Center.  She has been involved since its beginning in 1992 as a participant in the prevention programs, summer workshops and children’s groups.   Amber volunteers her time at all the fund-raisers and community events, and is always willing to give back to others.  Currently Amber is a member of the Leadership Council.  She attends the annual Peer Leadership Conference through the Town of Brookhaven, is active in the teen groups and also lends her experience as part of the design committee for developing new programs and services for children and teens. Amber used her own experiences as an inspiration for writing some of the stories.  She hopes to give back to other children and make their challenges a little easier by knowing that others have gone through the same situations.

Acknowlegement to:

Annie & Dominic Chiuchiolo - Singers and Songwriters for Sunshine Center Song. We are currently working on songs to compliment the Promoting Peace stories.

Shaun Barker - Recording Artist and Song writer

Sue Redding - Creative Design for special projects

Janice Buckner - Singer Songwriter for special projects

Paul, Janice and Shaun will be working on contributions for a special music component coming in the near future

Sara Sia – Character and Children’s Books Illustrator.

Feel free to email Sara at ssia81@gmail.com

Olesya Ianovitch - Webdesigner/webmaster. Olesya is a Studio Art/(concentration Digital media) student at Stony Brook University. Please feel free to email about the website.

the following reviewers enlisted by Sunshine Prevention Center for their helpful suggestions and constructive criticism.

Sharon Smith has a Professional Diploma in School District Administration, a Masters of Science in Special Education, and an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education.  Sharon served as an Assistant Principal for Eastern Suffolk BOCES in the Inclusive Transitional Program and recently was promoted to Principle at the Jefferson School in Port Jefferson, NY.  Ms. Smith services special education students’ educational/social needs in the local school districts throughout Suffolk County.  Prior to school district administration, Ms. Smith was a special educator for nine years with Eastern Suffolk BOCES in a highly specialized Intensive Counseling Program for high school students with intense social/behavioral/educational needs.  Before entering the field of education, Sharon was a Project Coordinator for Economic Development with the Long Island Area Development Agency.  Prior to that she served as an Administrative Assistant to the Deputy Suffolk County Executive.

Roz Doctorow – Ed. D. Nova Southeastern University
Roz has been involved in the education of young children for over 35 years in Canada and in the U.S. and now advises thesis students for Nova Southeastern University . In addition, Roz trains early childhood educators and elementary teachers in order to ensure that they are providing a developmentally appropriate curriculum to the children in their care. Roz believes that our children are our future and need to be provided with the care they need to grow to be caring adults who contribute to our society. Prevention programs,
such as those undertaken by the Sunshine Prevention Center , are crucial to ensuring that children have the tools they need to cope with problems in their lives.

  Professor James Banks is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker of the State of New York with over 20 years of service to the community. He runs his own private practice called The Institute for Family Harmony and Personal Growth. Professor Banks is currently functioning as The College wide Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs of Suffolk County Community College where he also teaches. He is advisor to The African American Student Union, The Latin Hispanic Student Union, The International Multicultural Affairs Club, and several other clubs. As a published poet, he is also the coach and advisor to the Suffolk County Community College Poetry Team that competes in the CUPSI National Poetry Slam annually. Professor Banks has recently functioned as the Director of Public Relations for The African American Educational and Cultural Festival of Long Island and is an active member of the Board of Directors. He is also a member of such professional organizations as, One Hundred Black Men of Long Island, Brookhaven NAACP, and The Eastern Long Island Black Educators Association. In 2005, he received the Suffolk County Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Public Service and the Suffolk County Anti Bias Task Force Award for Diversity Leadership.

John Venza –LCSW is a trainer and student advisor at the Outreach Training Institute, which is the largest C.A.S.A.C. program in the NYS. John’s private consulting practice focuses on training and education for schools and community-based programs, specializing in adolescent development, treatment and substance abuse. Currently John provides the Violence Prevention Certification Course at Stonybrook University. He developed a preteen and teen prevention curriculum for Sunshine Prevention Center, which was implemented in the summer of 2001. The core components for the curriculum are centered around alcohol, drug and violence prevention. John also runs individual, group and family counseling through Sunshine Prevention Center and provides a variety of educational workshops and staff trainings throughout the year. John’s specialization is adolescents and he has been working with adolescents and their families for the past 16 years. His work has been both in and outside of NYS in a variety of settings, which include community treatment programs, the juvenile system and school. In January 1998, John was featured on the NEWS 12 television series, “People Making a Difference” for his work with teenagers and their families on Long Island

Holly M. Carter - Holly was one of the inspirations behind the founding of Sunshine Center in 1992.  She has been involved in the program, support groups, and fund-raisers.  Holly is a student at St. Joseph’s College where she is pursuing her degree in Teaching/Special Education.  Currently Holly is working for Sunshine Center, as Administrative Assistant, and lending her expertise for program and curriculum development.

John Roth - John has worked in the mental health field since 1999 specializing in children and adolescent treatment.  Devoted to working with children and families, John moved back to Long Island where he began his life-long mission, at Sunshine Center.  Currently John is the Program Direction at Sunshine where he brings his experience and creativity as an Art Therapist to the facilitation and development of all programs and services.

Hilary B. Vidair - Hilary B. Vidair is a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical and School Psychology at Hofstra Univerity, and is currently working on obtaining her New York State Certification as a School Psychologist. She has been affiliated with the Sunshine Center for five years and enjoys working with children of all ages and backgrounds, as well as their families.

Paul Rodriquez - Paul Rodriquez graduated from the Pratt Institute with his B.S. in Fine Arts.  Paul is a BOCES-Arts-in-Education Member and is the creator of his own Character Education series, RODRO which is utilized to teach children of all ages about the dangers of drugs, dealing with bullies, and other important topics.  Paul has been instrumental in the development of many programs at Sunshine since 1996.  He teaches and instructs role plays and dances for over 60 children during our annual Grand Finale performances each summer.