School Administrators Association Welcomes New Director of Government Relations

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Cynthia Gallagher

ALBANY, NY (12/15/2016)(readMedia)-- James (Jim) Viola, director of government relations for the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) has announced his retirement effective December 30. Jim has been a zealous advocate for New York's school administrators and their students since 2008 when he joined SAANYS. However, SAANYS Government Relations efforts are in good hands, with the addition of Cynthia Gallagher as the new director of government relations.

Cynthia (Cindy) joins SAANYS from Educational Vistas, Inc. where she was the coordinator for early childhood systems and APPR. Prior to joining Educational Vistas, Inc., Cindy was a senior manager for the New York State Education Department (SED). At SED, her areas of responsibility included early childhood programs such as prekindergarten, Even Start, Reading First, Striving Readers, Kindergarten – Grade 4, and preschool special education. She provided a leadership role in creating a vision of early education as part of the P-16 system. She was also a part of an advisory group to the National Governor's Association and Council of Chief State School Officers for the Common Core Standards for birth-age 5. At the state level, she was a co-chair of the Advisory Board to the Governor's Children Cabinet and state representative on the Cabinet.

SAANYS represents nearly 7,200 school administrators, supervisors, and coordinators. As a professional association, SAANYS is committed to providing direction, service, and support to the membership in their efforts to improve the quality of education and leadership in New York State schools. SAANYS is affiliated with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

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