Cara Kronen has dedicated her entire professional life to public service: in the field of education, and, for the last nine months, as Tuckahoe Village Trustee. We are pleased to announce that she is seeking a full term as Trustee. She will be joined on the ballot by Oracle executive and first-time candidate for public office Nicole Englebert.
Dr. Kronen is currently helping to prepare the next generation of educators as the Deputy Chair of the Teacher Education Department at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, part of the City University of New York. A tenured Associate Professor, she has wide-ranging leadership duties – serving as program coordinator of Secondary Education Programs and as co-director of the Comprehensive Educator Empowerment program.
In addition to instruction and research, Cara is responsible for department budgeting, resource allocation, and the hiring and supervision of part-time faculty. Her experience and skill as a grant writer led to the successful funding of several research projects focusing on crucial issues facing educators today, including the development of urban teachers, segregation and integration in public schools, and the challenges parents face when choosing schools.
She is the co-editor of Foundations of Education: Essential Texts and New Directions, to be published later this year by Routledge.
Cara was born and grew up in the Bronx. Her mother, who emigrated from Egypt, raised Cara and her two brothers alone on her meager teacher’s pay. Cara met her husband, Quinn, while they both were teachers at a Hunts Point high school. Quinn has taught English and ESL for more than 20 years.
Cara and Quinn longed to live in Tuckahoe ever since she began teaching at Yoga Haven in the Village in 2007. They were impressed by the many assets that foster the Village’s unique quality of life – its walkability, restaurants, green initiatives and more.
They moved to Tuckahoe with their two children in 2016. Their daughter, Selene, is a 15-year-old sophomore at Maria Regina High, while son Zan, 9, is a fourth-grader at the Anne Hutchinson School in Eastchester. Life in the Kronen home is never dull, thanks in no small measure to their lively little corgi, Parker.
Appointed as a Board Trustee early last year by Mayor Andino, Cara has already tackled an array of Village projects and initiatives amid the pandemic – connecting with the business community and providing child-friendly activities and community service opportunities for families. She is entrusted as the Board’s liaison for Tuckahoe Schools, Tuckahoe Seniors, and the Environmental Sustainability Committee.
Cara began her career as an educator in New York City’s schools. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies at Hunter College, her Master’s in Secondary Education and Social Studies at the City College of New York, and attained her doctoral degree in Urban Systems at Rutgers University.
With education always playing a central role in her life, Cara is a member of three PTAs locally. She serves on the PTA Parent Communication Advisory committee, the Juneteenth and Black History Month committee, and volunteers with the Friends of the Tuckahoe Library.
Cara is a member of the CUNY Professional Staff Congress, and was elected last year to the union’s Delegates Assembly.
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