Advisory Board
Dr. Gail Cheramie
Dr. Gail Cheramie is the director of the nationally approved School Psychology program at UHCL. In this capacity she is responsible for curriculum oversight and development, ensuring that the UHCL program continues to meet national training standards. Dr. Cheramie is a licensed psychologist, licensed specialist in school psychology, and a nationally certified school psychologist. Her area of specialization is assessment for students exhibiting developmental, academic, behavioral, and emotional difficulties. Dr. Cheramie teaches assessment courses at UHCL and is the instructor/supervisor for the school psychology practicum conducted in the UHCL Psychological Services clinic. In this latter capacity, she oversees and participates in the assessments of students referred to the clinic for comprehensive evaluation. Dr. Cheramie consults with public school districts throughout the state of Texas on matters pertaining to special education, including assessment, eligibility, and IEP development. She participates on multidisciplinary evaluation teams in conducting assessments in public schools for certain cases. She also serves as a consultant to the Region 4 ESC on the multidisciplinary evaluation of autism spectrum disorders and is involved in a three-year project training school-based teams on conducting such evaluations. Dr. Cheramie is a frequent presenter at local, state, and national conferences, and conducts training workshops throughout Texas on “best practices” assessment.
Dr. Agnieszka M. Dynda
Dr. Agnieszka M. Dynda completed her doctoral degree (Psy.D.) at St. John's University School Psychology Program with the Bilingual Extension. She is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists and American Psychological Association. She holds a diplomate in School Neuropsychology from the American Board of School Neuropsychologists, NASP's National Certification in School Psychology, and New York State License in Psychology. Her research interests include cognitive assessment and nondiscriminatory assessment of culturally-linguistically diverse children. She has co-authored several articles and chapters regarding CHC theory, Cross-Battery Assessment, cognitive and neuropsychological assessment, nondiscriminatory assessment, and response to intervention. She currently works as a school psychologist in a district on Long Island, New York and is Adjunct Associate Professor at St. John's University teaching courses in cognitive and personality assessment and supervising graduate students in psychoeducational assessment practicum.
Dr. John M. Garruto
Dr. John Garruto has been a school psychologist for the Oswego City School District since 1999 and an adjunct professor with SUNY Oswego since 2006. He is currently President of the New York Association of School Psychologists (2018-2020) and sits as an At-Large member of the National Association of School Psychologists Ethical Professional Practices Board. He has historically taught courses in cognitive assessment. Professional interests include the assessment of children with suspected learning disabilities and the professional practice of school psychology. He has presented at the local, regional, state, national, and international levels and has authored or co-authored various publications.
Dr. Marlene Sotelo-Dynega
Dr. Marlene Sotelo-Dynega, Psy.D., ABSNP, NCSP has worked with children with special needs in many capacities for nearly 20 years. Although she currently works as an Associate Professor for the School Psychology Program at St. John's University, she is also credentialed as a Bilingual (Spanish/English) School Psychologist, a Diplomate of the American Board of School Neuropsychology, and Licensed Psychologist in the State of New York. Since beginning her tenure at St. John's University, Dr. Sotelo-Dynega has become interested in the neuropsychological assessment of specific learning disabilities, especially as they relate to weaknesses in orthographic processing. In addition to her teaching and research, Dr. Sotelo-Dynega also provides highly comprehensive assessment services to children, teens and young adults. Her professional experiences, combined with her research have enabled her to help many parents and school personnel better understand why children are struggling academically and how to help them.
Page last updated 2:51 PM, September 13, 2023