"We are very lucky to have these four incredible professionals on our team, helping the Council make quality child care more accessible to every child in our county," said Child Care Council of Westchester Executive Director Kathy Halas. "Each of them has tremendous passion for helping children and building a strong child care system to support our local economy."
Emily Koelsch, MD has been a pediatrician with Pediatrics of Sleepy Hollow, a division of BCHP, since 2009. Through her work with BCHP, she also provides patient services at Green Chimneys School in Patterson, NY which is a Residential Treatment Center for children with disabilities who engage in animal therapy as well as attend school and live on campus. She precepts first year and third year medical students in her primary office. Emily is also active with the Increase Miller Elementary School PTO and Religious Education with St. Mary's church in Katonah. She attended college at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, IN and medical school at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, OH.
Christie Noelle Krase spends most of her time advocating for access to life-changing, high-quality early childhood experiences for all young children and for supporting funding programs on local, state, and federal levels. Her academic research efforts focus on the effects of high-quality early childhood care and education for rural communities and for children in poverty. She has a master's degree in Education Policy and Social Analysis, as well as a master's degree in Elementary Teaching and Curriculum from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her undergraduate degree was in Organizational Behavior and Marketing from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Christie is also a Board Member for the Friends of Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.
Tom Posillipo has more than 15 years' experience in financial services, and currently works in Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. As Operational Risk Officer in Corporate & Institutional Solutions, Tom's area of focus includes mitigation as well as business process and control enhancements.
Samantha Vecchiolla is a real estate agent with William Raveis and part of the Regional Leadership for Master Networks Inc, a local business networking organization. She has been a multimillion-dollar-producing real estate agent for five years. She fundraises regularly for the Michael J. Fox Foundation and served previously as a founding Board member of the Yorktown Teen Center.