Board of Directors

Nancy Rose is the Executive Director of New England Early Childhood Associates (NEECA) an organization providing a variety of outreach services to individuals and organizations serving young children and their families in the New England area.

In addition to a BA in distributed studies, Nancy Rose holds a Masters degree in special education and teaching certificates from both the American Montessori Society and the Association Montessori Internationale. She has served as a faculty member and has been a guest lecturer at several colleges, universities and teacher training programs and has been involved in all facets of early childhood education for more than 50 years.

Nancy has conducted numerous  professional and parent workshops. She serves as a consultant to teachers, school systems and local community agencies and has served as a board member of the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children, the American Montessori Society and the Rocky Mountain Montessori Teachers Association. In addition, Nancy is a social activist working to ensure civil liberties and social justice for all members of society and has been a board member of the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU, the Alliance for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights and Youth Pride Inc. Nancy has lectured extensively on topics of social policy and advocacy,  parenting, education and child development at local, regional, state and national venues.

Lisa Berry Barbosa brings over 20 years of progressive management experience in the human resources discipline. Previously, she served as vice president of human resources at Commonwealth Care Alliance in Boston, MA, and vice president of human resources at Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital. Lisa was director of organizational development and diversity programs at Foxwoods Resort Casino, where she focused on talent management strategies, industrial education, and organizational behavior. Lisa also served in the United States Army Reserves, where she received an honorable discharge. She holds an MS degree from Johnson and Wales University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Boston University.

Karen Deinzer is a certified Infant Toddler Credential Montessori Teacher with 36 plus years  experience in established Montessori schools both in Rhode Island, and New York City. Karen has 8 years experience as a Teacher Educator Program Instructor for adult learners attaining an Infant Toddler Montessori Credential both in NYC and China. Karen founded, owned and operated Cornerstone Montessori in North Kingstown, RI for 9 years which consisted of two toddler  environments and one early childhood environment. For the past 4 years, Karen has  traveled extensively overseas training adult learners in Montessori Schools to be credentialed, along with giving  workshops at conferences both in the US and overseas. Karen is the 2s  Coordinator of a well established Montessori school in New York City. Karen has one daughter  who resides in NYC and owns and operates her own Art Gallery.