Each year since 2003, the Child Care Council presents the Champions for Children Awards to individuals and organizations who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to bright futures for children by creating or funding life-changing programs and initiatives. At the same event, the Council presents Joey Awards to professional care providers and community leaders who make outstanding contributions to child care and quality of life for children and working parents.
Dr. Jennifer Canter is a board-certified pediatrician with sub-specialty training and certification in the field of Child Abuse Pediatrics/Forensic Pediatrics. She has been Director of the Child Abuse Pediatrics programs at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network; the Westchester Institute for Human Development; and New York Medical College since 2002, including the Forensic Acute Care Team (FACT); a regional pediatric and adult collaborative practice SAFE program. She serves on Westchester County’s child fatality review team, is Co-Principal Investigator for Safe Babies New York, an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at New York Medical College and oversees Child Abuse Pediatrics related educational activities for medical, law enforcement, child protective services and community agencies within various Hudson Valley counties and for New York Medical College.
Cecilia McKenney is the Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: FTR), a Fortune 250 company serving 10M customers in the U.S. She leads the Consumer and Small Office division, a $5B business with full P&L responsibility including leadership for product development and pricing, brand, media and digital marketing, channel sales and distribution, customer care, the customer experience and insights team and leads the Frontier Secure division. McKenney joined Frontier in 2006 from The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) where she was Group Vice President, Headquarters Human Resources and played a leading role following PBG’s spinoff from PepsiCo. She has served on the Board of the Child Care Council of Westchester since 2004.
The Ossining Union Free School District serves about 5,000 students from Ossining and Briarcliff Manor in six schools. Ossining sets high standards for students, embraces diversity and believes all children can learn and become informed and responsible citizens. The district implemented a full-day pre-kindergarten program in September 2014. It offers Spanish/English dual-language classes from students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The district has strong partnerships with community organizations, including First Steps early literacy program for children from birth to age four.
