Family Center
The Neighbors Link Family Center is a high energy hub for three main areas of learning: 1) parent education; 2) early childhood development and academic support for children; and 3) gateway for linking families to related community resources. Information about our Family Center programs is below. For more information, contact Stephanie Rosado, Family Center Director, at srosado@neighborslink.org or 914-661-6906.
The Family Center Philosophy:
- Parents are their child’s first teachers
- Bicultural children benefit from parenting that respects both cultures
- All children benefit from a community that includes, supports, and celebrates the values and culture of all families
The goals of the Family Center are:
- To support parents in preparing their children to be school-ready, excited to learn and able to reach their full potential;
- To close the achievement gap between immigrant children and their peers;
- To ensure all children graduate from high school and are college-bound or career-ready.
Family Center Programs
Parent Child Together (Adelante Juntos)
Our Parent-Child Together (Adelante Juntos) program is designed for parents with children from birth to age 4. The focus is on positive parenting skills, early childhood development and school readiness. In a group setting, parents are provided with facilitated peer-to-peer learning opportunities and parent education. Children classes are structured and include circle time, reading, music and movement, during which children learn colors, shapes, letters, numbers, and pre-literacy concepts that reflect age appropriate developmental milestones. Classes are two hours long and are offered in all three locations. To register, please contact Ana Vinansaca at 914-893-7320.
Mount Kisco
Mondays from 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm (0-4 years of age)
Thursdays from 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm (3 and 4 years of age only)
Fridays from 10am-12pm (0-4 years of age)
Ossining
Wednesdays from 1pm-3pm (0-4 years of age)
Yonkers
Tuesdays from 10am-12pm (0-4 years of age)
Learning Links
Our Learning Links after-school program provides rigorous academic support and enrichment to children of low-income families, onsite at the Mount Kisco Elementary School. The program runs Monday through Friday from 3pm-5pm from September through June. To register, please contact Beverliz Gillert at 914-752-3058.
Summer Links
Presented in partnership with Mount Kisco Elementary School, our Summer Links program focuses on academics including math, reading and writing, as well as enrichment activities for over 100 children of low-income families. The program runs for five weeks from end of June through end of July from Monday through Friday, 9am-12pm. Summer Links is open for all children within the Bedford Central School District. Registration opens in March. To register, please contact Beverliz Gillert at 914-752-3058.
Parents As Teachers Collaboration
Parents As Teachers (PAT) is an effective curriculum for parents of preschool children. Through this collaborative program with the Bedford Central School District, registered families receive weekly or biweekly one-on-one parent education, developmental information and support through personal home visits to promote the healthy development of children from pregnancy to kindergarten. Parent Educators utilize the nationally recognized and evidenced based home visiting Parents as TeachersTM model to deliver quality home-based early childhood education, developmentally age appropriate parent resources and effective child-parent interaction techniques. Families receive developmental screenings and are referred to early intervention services, internal programs and/or community resources, as needed. To qualify, families must live in the Bedford Central School District. For more information, please contact Stephanie Rosado, Family Center Director, at srosado@neighborslink.org or 914-661-6906.
Pipeline Scholars Program
The Pipeline Scholars Program is designed to help students with social-emotional or academic challenges and their parents make the transition from elementary to middle school and high school. The families involved have all agreed to be guided together as a group, from 6th through 12th grade, by a collaboration involving Neighbors Link, the Bedford Central School District, the Mount Kisco Police Department and the Boys & Girls Club. All partners are committed to mentoring the students to a successful high school graduation. Registered families meet biweekly in the evenings from 6pm-8pm. To register or for more information, please contact Stephanie Rosado, Family Center Director, at srosado@neighborslink.org or 914-661-6906.
Family Night Program
Families gather at Neighbors Link for a communal meal, social networking and community-building opportunities. The evenings include workshops on topics critical to their success such as navigating the school system, healthy families and financial literacy. Children and youth participate in enrichment activities. The program runs twice monthly on Friday evenings from 6:30pm-8:30pm. To register or for more information, please contact Stephanie Rosado, Family Center Director, at srosado@neighborslink.org or 914-661-6906
Childcare Program
While parents attend select programs at Neighbors Link, their children are provided supervised learning and enrichment activities in nearby classrooms. To register children in our childcare program, the parent or guardian of the child or youth must be registered in a Neighbors Link program. For more information about this offering, please contact Stephanie Rosado, Family Center Director at srosado@neighborslink.org or 914-661-6906.
Family Center Staff
Stephanie Rosado first joined Neighbors Link in 2010 and worked closely with the Worker Center and families through our Client Support Services and Adult Education programming for 7 years. She returned as the Family Center Director in September 2021. In her new role, she supports the Family Center staff in implementing programming across all Neighbors Link locations, manages program goals and outcomes and establishes and strengthens relationships with community partners with the overall mission of supporting and empowering clients and their families. Stephanie earned her Bachelors of Arts in sociology from SUNY Purchase and her Master of Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. She is licensed by the state of New York as a Licensed Social Worker (LMSW). Stephanie has experience in case management, program management, crisis intervention, group work and psychotherapy with adults and children, community organizing and community outreach. She has a particular interest in working with immigrant adults, children and families. Stephanie currently lives in the Bronx with her partner and 11-year-old Lhasa Apso, Snoopy. In her spare time, Stephanie loves spending time in the outdoors hiking or cycling, volunteering in community gardens and spending time with friends and family.
Patty Blanco joined Neighbors Link in July of 2023 as the case coordinator for the Migrant Assistance Program. She received her Bachelor’s in Social Work from Western Connecticut State University in 2021 and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Houston. She currently provides case management services for families who are seeking asylum from the New York City shelters. She previously worked at Catholic Charities of Fairfield County in the Community Advocacy Program and the Immigration Program to assist lower income families and individuals in need or experiencing homelessness. In her free time she enjoys watching movies and spending time with her family.
Jodi Katz joined the Neighbors Link staff in 2023 after many years as a volunteer. Jodi is thrilled to be part of the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) team, helping asylum seeking families build new lives in our neighboring communities. Jodi provides case management and logistics support for MAP. Earlier in her career, Jodi was a Director of Strategic Planning for The Mount Sinai Health System, and has a Master’s degree in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. In her free time, Jodi loves travel, exploring the Hudson Valley, and time spent outdoors with her family and rescue pup Bodhi.
Genesis Mayancela joined Neighbors Link in November 2022 as one of our child care staff members. In January 2023, Genesis was promoted as our Parent-Child Program Facilitator. Genesis
Guadalupe Miranda-Castellon joined the Neighbors Link family in December of 2023 as a Case Coordinator for the MAP program. In her MAP role, she provides case management services to asylum seeking families from New York City. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Health Care Administration from Monroe College and is currently working towards obtaining her Master’s degree in Social Work. Guadalupe has a long background in the medical field, child care, and advocating for the disabled community. She was born in Mexico and raised in Yonkers, NY, however understands first-hand the obstacles of moving to a new country. During her free time Guadalupe dedicates herself to being a mother, running a small business, and enjoying life with her family.
Mercy Quezada joined Neighbors Link in 2016 as the Parent Home Educator for our home visiting program, Parents as Teachers (PAT). Mercy was recently promoted as one of our Case Coordinators, supporting immigrant clients and families to help stabilize their lives in times of crisis, and provide ongoing case management support. Mercy connects individuals and families with community-based resources such as medical, mental health, legal and other social services throughout Westchester County to address critical needs. Mercy has a Social Work Masters degree from Fordham University. She was born in Ecuador and attended ESL classes at Neighbors Link before continuing her education. Mercy’s background has helped her understand and empathize with people facing the challenge of moving to a new country and new culture and learning a new language. Mercy has a passion for the work that she does and for helping families navigate through challenging times.
Evelyne Velez joined Neighbors Link in August 2022 as a Parent Educator for our Parents as Teachers program (PAT). In her role, she provides one-on-one support via home visits during a child’s earliest years in life from prenatal through Kindergarten. Evelyne provides ongoing support targeting the parent’s role as their child’s first teacher, positive parenting, early childhood literacy, and school readiness. Evelyne has a background in psychology and child development. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Mercy College. She has a Master’s in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology from Capella University and is now working towards her second Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy through Touro University. Evelyne lives in White Plains and enjoys traveling.
Ana Vinansaca originally joined Neighbors Link as a client and then began volunteering in several departments in 2015. Ana is now a Child Care Coordinator in the Family Center and she works with children of all ages across various Family Center programs. She is originally from Ecuador and is bilingual. She loves her work, especially working with children.
Margarita Zambrano first joined Neighbors Link as a volunteer in 2015 working in different departments. In 2016 she started her journey as a Parent-Child Program Facilitator. In 2021 she started working as the Client Support Services Coordinator and she is now our MAP Case Manager. She is supporting families find affordable apartments, working with partner organizations to furnish those apartments; and providing an array of support services to each family, such as, legal aid, job assistance, school enrollment, and transportation to name a few.
Beverliz Gillert first joined Neighbors Link in 2014. In her role, Beverliz is responsible for supervising our Learning Links staff, registering families in our program and scheduling enrichment opportunities, including financial literacy, STEM workshops and sports, for the elementary school children in our after-school program at the Mount Kisco Elementary School. In her free time, Beverliz enjoys nature walks, traveling and spending time with her family.
Graciela Postigliono first joined Neighbors Link in 2007. Graciela has been a true leader in the start of our Learning Links after school program. After seeing a need in our community in the early 2000’s, Graciela reached out to Neighbors Link for support in developing a rigorous academic enrichment program that served our low-income families. Now, Graciela is one of two coordinators to oversee the day to day operations of our Learning Links after school program at the Mount Kisco Elementary School. In her free time, Graciela enjoys spending time with family.