Meet the Team
Workforce Education & Academic Pathways is a team of learning professionals with more than 30 years of experience and expertise!
Tyre Bush
Tyre is our Senior Director of Workforce Education & Academic Pathways and brings with her more than 25 years of experience in higher education. Tyre is focused on coordinating and expanding our Open Enrollment options, guiding the efforts of our Program Coordinators as they seek to better serve our region's companies, agencies and businesses with their training needs; developing the Prison Education Program (since Corning Community College recent took over the program from our partnership with Cornell), and overseeing the ACE concurrent enrollment program which serves 37 high schools and approximately 2,400 students. Recently, Tyre led one of our six teams for Middle States accreditation, and was just selected for the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Professional Service.
Dawn Marie Castellana
Dawn Marie is our New Executive Director with over 35 years of experience in the local area business sector. Her interaction within the community has afforded her a robust network which will lend itself well to the Workforce Education and Academic Pathways (WEAP) department at SUNY Corning Community College, which she oversees. The WEAP department is responsible for non-traditional education classes offered through CCC. Dawn Marie works specifically with the Public Safety and Transportation sectors.
Amber Cloke
Amber is our Program Coordinator and has more than 10 years of experience working in higher education, primarily in academic advising and career coaching. She is responsible for managing customized training for businesses within the healthcare, financial, hospitality, & retail sectors in our area. Amber also coordinates our WEAP department marketing, social media marketing by sharing tips, upcoming courses, and so much more - follow us on Facebook & Instagram to find out what’s new, what’s coming, and what’s happening within Workforce Education and Academic Pathways!
Katie Crowe
Katie is the Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director and has more than 18 years with SUNY CCC; most of this time being spent in Workforce Education and Academic Pathways. Her duties include all the behind the scene work on corporate contracts, liaison for Keuka College for bachelor/masters degree classroom rentals, Assistant to the Executive Director, and Perkins Grant support person.
Jeanne Eschbach
Jeanne is our current Executive Director and has more than 30 years of experience working in higher education in both credit and non-credit. She is responsible for overseeing Workforce Education & Academic Pathways. She also manages customized training for businesses in the following sectors: manufacturing, transportation, and public safety. Jeanne will be retiring at the end of August 2023, where she will be enjoying traveling and spending time with friends and family.
Wendi Hammond
Wendi is our ACE Assistant and brings with her more than 13 years of experience in the education field including elementary, high school and now higher education. She is responsible for providing administrative support to the Director of ACE, maintaining databases for dependent tuition credits, ACE instructors, STEM Academy and ACE student records. She coordinates the approval process for ACE faculty hires and assists in the recruitment of ACE students and prepares educational plans.
Ericka Lehman
Ericka is our Program Coordinator and has more than 23 years of experience in local advertising, marketing, and new business development within the radio and broadcast television industry within Southern Tier New York and Northern Tier Pennsylvania. Currently, she is responsible for customized corporate training for businesses within the non-profit, human services and manufacturing sectors within our area. In addition, Ericka also helps coordinate the WEAP department marketing, social media marketing on LinkedIn and any updates or changes within the Workforce Education and Academic Pathways website.
Darael Ann Mahoney
Darael Ann is is our Program Coordinator and brings over twenty years of experience
working in higher education both at Cornell University and with SUNY CCC. She
previously worked as an academic advisor at the Elmira Center, but has recently
returned from Colorado where she has been working as policy analyst for the Colorado
State Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing. Darael Ann will be working on
the
Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS) grant to develop a sustainable model
for long-term career pathways aimed at strengthening and growing the healthcare workforce.
Megan Mletzko
Megan is our ACE Enrollment Specialist and has more than 12 years of experience in higher education, primarily in enrollment management along with student affairs (New York and Pennsylvania). Her time is spent providing prospective students and their families with information about all aspects of the ACE program and its opportunities. Megan focuses most of her time on creating Academic Plans for ACE students and enjoys working with them in an advisory role.
Kim Perkins
Kim is our Director of ACE and has more than 20 years of experience in education, with 9 years in higher education. She is responsible for the expansion and administration of our ACE course offerings available to high schools in both New York and Pennsylvania. She also assists with ACE recruitment efforts as well as completing educational plans for students.
Laura Prestigiacomo
Laura is our Testing Center Coordinator and has more than 16 years of experience in higher education; 10 years in a breast cancer lab, and 5 years working with students with disabilities. She oversees all placement testing and assessments for incoming students, all accommodated testings for students with disabilities and make-up testing for SUNY CCC students. Additionally, the testing center proctors other testing such as CLEP, in-person for online courses for non-CCC students, and testing for PSI.
Nancy Riesbeck
Nancy is our Office Manager for Academic and Workforce Development Center (Elmira Center) and Airport Corporate Park locations as well Administrative Assistant to the Director of Workforce Education. Nancy has more than 33 years of experience working for SUNY CCC; working in a variety of departments and joining Workforce Education and Academic Pathways in June 2007. She assists with the open enrollment process, adjunct pay processing, facilities management, and room rentals at both locations.
Mikki Yesesky
Mikki is our Perkins Research Analyst, who brings 8 years of experience in data management in the marketing and higher education fields. She is responsible for Perkins Grant data tracking, collection, and state reporting. She supplies data to major effort leaders, local improvement plan implementation team, and local advisory council for reporting and activity planning purposes.