Board of Directors
We put the pieces together...
AMIT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
KATALIN PETRECZKY | Co-President
Katalin Petreczky was born and raised in Hungary she lives on Long Island, New York. Katalin is a co-founder and co-president of AMIT, American-Hungarian School's Association Inc. Her three children are members of the Hungarian Scouts Troop in Manhattan.
Katalin worked as a teacher and was a principal for 5 years at the Manhattan-based Arany János Hungarian School. Katalin currently works as a German as a second language teacher at Deutsche Sprachschule Long Island and at North Shore Public Library.
Katalin is a member of the diaspora council and she is also a Hungarian language representative at the National Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language School Conference.
Dr. JUDIT KEREKES | Co-President
Professor and Head, Department Of Mathematics, City University of New York
Author and coauthor of academic books, and a novel. Author of several scientific publications, lectured and presented at various accredited international conferences in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Invited lecturer by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. As a professor, she assists the work of young American Hungarian scientists. Founder and Executive Director of the conference ’Matematika Connection Conference’.
Hungarian schools: Teacher at Arany János New York School, Scouts Official (cserkész őrsvezető) and Leader of assistant scoutmaster leadership workshops (segédtiszti), Adviser / Professional Instructor for Széchenyi Magyar Iskola (Széchenyi Hungarian School) for 5 years, Deputy Principal of Szent István Magyar Iskola (Szent István Hungarian School) for 5 years, Principal and Camp Director of KMCSSZ Nyári Magyar Iskolatábor (KMCSSZ Hungarian Summer School and Camp) for 10 years. Founder and Chair of the Első Amerikai Magyar Nyári Egyetem (First American Hungarian Summer University), American Hungarian Collegium. New York Hungarian Theater: Vice-President and Actor for 2 decades.
Main organizer of János Áder, President of Hungary, visit to the US. Országépítő Díszoklevél, Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars
ESTER GAGNON | Head of Organizational and Product Development
Ester Gagnon, MBA, has joined AMIT in the fall of 2017. Her experience in the business world and interest in pedagogy has been a natural fit to guide organizational development, contracts and technology implementation projects at AMIT. Currently, she is leading a global team of 50+ to develop a path-breaking science based foundational heritage language program and corresponding software.
Previously, Ester had held the post of the President of the Hungarian Club of Raleigh for ten years and served as Diaspora Council Member. During her leadership, the small group became a vibrant community. She has reached out to other Hungarian communities and was among the first to comprehensively digitize the global presence of Hungarian organizations. She established Hungarian instructions for children prior to Triangle Hungarian School.
Her continued interest to share experiences with both American and Hungarian students was rooted long ago when she led a troop of youngsters, „kisdobos”. Later, as an American Girl Scout Leader, then as a Junior Achievement volunteer where she fostered entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. Ester was also a logistics-supply chain instructor at the program start at Forsyth Community College.
In 2018, the Hungarian Consul General has presented Ester with a Certificate of Honor for her continued dedication to the preservation of Hungarian cultural values.
BERNADETT CZETTISCH | Digital Communications Lead
Betty was born and raised in Hungary, where she has graduated in economics. Immediately after her arrival in the USA, she joined the Hungarian community. She became a member of the Board then secretary of the Minnesota Hungarians Association, in addition, she led the Minnesota Hungarian Children's Club for five years. She actively participated in establishing the Misi Hungarian School, where she was the assistant principal for four years, and from 2018 became the director of the institution.
She has proven her leadership and motivational skills on numerous occasions in connection with the youth programs of Hungarians in Minnesota and AMIT conferences and events. Quoting director of the MISI Hungarian School, Éva Kish: “Betty is the captain of the school, who steadily steers the MISI (Hungarian School) ship in the right direction. An excellent teacher who makes lessons more colorful with the most creative ideas. Betty is driven to try new elements to enrich the curriculum. She is an excellent leader." Betty sought and received approval, only second in the US, from the local Department of Education for ECL degree in Hungarian.
Since 2018 she has served in the AMIT Board and a driving force ever since. Betty is at the forefront of finding and introducing new teaching methods and tools. Under her magic touch newsletters are issued and AMIT's Fbook is updated with the latest information. She has introduced the Padlet interface to the Hungarian weekend school communities, where per-screened recommended materials are posted to save time and reduce preparation for other teachers.
TAMAS MARSHALL | Director of Teaching
Tamas Marshall is AMIT's Director of Teaching and Learning. He is an elementary principal in Paramus, NJ, and founder of Littogether Learning Communities, a professional learning organization for teachers, instructional coaches, and principals.
He is a former literacy staff developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University, where he provided professional development for teachers and principals in nine states around the US in reading and writing workshop methodology. His annual literacy institutes are attended by hundreds of teachers each July, and he is the founder of Littogether Learning Communities, an organization that supports over 300 teachers and school and district leaders in quality instructional practices.
He is the recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)'s Innovative Leadership Award and the author of Reclaiming the Principalship: Instructional Leadership Strategies to Engage Your School Community and Focus on Learning (Heinemann 2018).
BIRÓNÉ, dr. ÁGNES VÁMOS | Finance Lead
Agnes was born in Hungary. After graduating from Semmelweis University, she became a pediatrician, worked at MRE Bethesda Children’s Hospital then at a pediatric clinic followed by several years in clinical research. She is a mother of three young children who are members of the Garfield Hungarian Scouts. Agnes is an active member of Regnum Marianum Catholic Community (RMCC) since her youth where she first lead groups then fulfilled a leadership role in the organization. Currently she is an active member of RMCC's adult community. Agnes has joined the AMIT team in 2021 assisting in the area of finance.
SUBERTNÉ HAÁLA JUDIT | Advocacy Director
Judit Haála is an active member of Hungarian communities. She has moved to Washington DC with her family in 2012. Two of her four children are members of the József Bátori Hungarian scout team. Judit has more than 25 years of teaching, international management and 5 years of radio experience. She is the founder of the Turning Fate Foundation and a board member of several non-profit foundations. Since her arrival in America, she has worked as a high school mentor, teacher, and life coach in the private sector. She is an innovator, an entrepreneur who established J’s Way Consulting LLC. and BrickPower LLC. yet she finds time to volunteer. Judit wholeheartedly supports the co-operation of the Hungarian communities. She spends her free time with her family, organizing cultural and musical programs, translating and continuing her studies.