left to right: Last year’s Kennedy awardee, Julie Kotler-Snider, this year’s awardee Hope B. Weinberg.
Manhattanville College presented its annual Ethel Kennedy Award for Human Rights Leadership to doctoral recipient Hope B. Weinberg for her work on cultivating climates of belonging for LGBTQ+ children and adults in school communities.
Weinberg, who graduated from Manhattanville with a doctorate in Educational Leadership in May, is the assistant principal at the Concord Road Elementary School in the Ardsley Union Free School District. Her work on LGBTQ+ inclusion includes a presentation to regional education leaders about cultivating climates of belonging; moderating learning chats; podcast appearances; and delivering a keynote speech at Manhattanville College School of Education Dean’s Symposium.
“We are delighted to announce that Hope Weinberg is this year’s recipient of the Ethel Kennedy award during our national observance of Pride Month,” said Susan Iverson, Ed.D., director of the Doctoral program in Educational Leadership at Manhattanville. “Her work with LGBTQ+ families in school environments is paving the way for advocacy and positive social change that will benefit all students and enhance educational equity. Hope’s accomplishments are a tribute to Ethel Kennedy’s commitment to equity and social justice.”
The Ethel Kennedy Award for Human Rights Leadership honors Manhattanville alumna Ethel Kennedy by recognizing students who have a shared passion for promoting human rights, particularly within the field of education.
“In the doctoral program, my chair, Dr. Susan Iversen, asks this about your work: Who would you like to have sit at your dinner table to talk about your research? I want to tell Ethel Kennedy about it because I want her to really know why I chose to do what I do, what I believe in, and how I hope to carry on her legacy of being a social activist,” said Weinberg. “My son is 4, and I think about what his experience will be like walking through a public-school space having two moms.”
Weinberg, of White Plains, earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Monmouth University, and her master’s degree in Literacy from The College of New Rochelle. A native of West Nyack, she began her education career as a fifth and sixth grade teacher. She went on to serve as a district literacy coach for grades K-8, a supervisor of instruction for grades K-5 and an interim assistant principal in a PK-8 building. She received certifications from Manhattanville College for both District and Building Level School Leadership.
Last year’s Kennedy awardee, Julie Kotler-Snider, also graduated in May with a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership. Kotler-Snider, of Briarcliff Manor, received the award for her research and advocacy of inclusive practices in special education. She has extensively researched teacher diversity, specifically Black teacher retention in public schools. Kotler-Snider has worked as a special education administrator and school leader for 18 years and a special educator for 24 years.
Kotler-Snider said that conversations she had with Black teachers she hired, about being the only Black teachers in predominantly white schools, along with the racial reckoning after the death of George Floyd, helped to focus her doctoral research.
“I’ve devoted my entire professional career to serving the underserved or historically marginalized, whether it’s students with disabilities or teachers of color,” said Kotler-Snider. “This award is a wonderful recognition of my life’s work.”
The Ethel Kennedy award at Manhattanville was established in 2020, through the generosity of Joanne Marien, Ed.D., a professor in the doctoral program who works with RFK Human Rights and has played a long-standing role in promoting human rights education in K-12 schools. The award was established as part of the tenth anniversary celebration of the Doctoral Program in 2020, recognizing Ethel Kennedy with an honorary doctorate and celebrating her life’s work and the efforts of educational leaders who share the passion for promoting human rights in the field of education. The inaugural award was given in 2021 to educator Jennifer Wesolowski, Ed.D.
