About ECS

Professional Staff

Dr. George J. Posner, CEP
Consultant, Founder, and Director of Eastern Services.

Dr. Posner has a B.S. in Psychology (1965), and a masters degree in Physics Teaching (1970), both from Union College, and a doctorate in curriculum and educational psychology (University at Albany, 1972). He has been a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association since 1996. For more than forty years he has been teaching and advising youth. He has been on the faculty at Cornell University since 1972 (currently retired and Professor Emeritus of Education), where he served as both Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in Education and Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Posner has been an award-winning faculty member while at Cornell, the principal author of three major textbooks used around the world and more than thirty articles on teaching and curriculum. In addition, Dr. Posner recently served on the National Advisory Board of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Study (an independent evaluation of the DARE program) and has previously served on the Board of Education, Ithaca City School District (Ithaca, New York). He has also served as a consultant to schools, universities, foundations and states throughout the country and in several countries abroad on matters of curriculum, teaching and teacher education. This extensive background has provided the expertise needed to evaluate schools and programs and to assess their appropriateness for his clients. At Cornell and within the Ithaca community, Dr. Posner has always advocated for students with emotional and learning challenges. This commitment drew him to educational consulting and, in particular, to a focus on students with special needs. He lives in Ithaca, NY, with his wife, Adrienne, and has two married daughters, both mothers, one a veterinarian living in Rochester, NY, the other, a special educator living in White Plains, NY. He is an avid skier and is thankful for his wonderful grandchildren, who are the highlight of his life.

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Sarah Finney, MS, LMFT
Consultant, Director of Western Services, and Supervisor of Home-Based Services

Sarah Finney is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a B.S. in Social Psychology and master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University. Sarah is a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association and a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She has been working with adolescents, young adults and their families since 1992. Sarah has been a therapist and treatment team director in a variety of special-needs settings including an acute care eating disorder program, a therapeutic boarding school and a residential treatment center for adolescents. She has always been an outspoken advocate for families and has facilitated numerous parent training and support workshops throughout the country. Sarah is a repeat presenter at the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. Her dedication, reputation and passion for helping teens, young adults and their families are her hallmarks. Sarah and her husband Rod have a son and a daughter. In addition to cherishing family time, Sarah enjoys her network of close family and friends, skiing, reading and traveling whenever possible. Sarah and her family live in Salt Lake City.

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Dr. Betsy Grigoriu
Consultant

Dr. Grigoriu earned a B.S.E. in Secondary English Education (1989), an M. A. in Clinical Community Psychology (1993), both from Mansfield University in PA, and a doctorate in the field of Educational Psychology (Cornell University, 1998). She is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association. Dr. Grigoriu has worked in public school systems as a teacher at the high school level and a therapeutic counselor at the elementary school level. Her experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and couples in clinical and school settings involved conducting individual and family therapy, psychological assessments, treatment team meetings with school psychologists, principals, teachers, and parents, and individual and group counseling with students. She has taught educational psychology undergraduate courses in adolescent development and learning processes, in the areas of cognitive, emotional, moral, and social development. She has taught graduate courses in adult development and program evaluation and has conducted numerous program evaluations in school and clinical settings. Dr. Grigoriu's research, conducted as a doctoral student, in cognitive-emotional development informs much of her work in analyzing the psychological needs of clients and formulating recommendations for placement. Her strength lies in helping families sort out a large amount of information to determine their options and make well-informed decisions. When she is not helping families as a consultant, she finds a lot of joy in her family, flying as a private pilot over New York Finger Lakes, hiking in local woods and streams, and traveling all over the world with her spouse. She lives in Ithaca, NY, with her husband, Mircea, a Professor at Cornell in Engineering. They each have a grown son and a daughter-in-law who live nearby.

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Adrienne Posner

Co-founder, Placement Associate

Co-founder of ECS, Adrienne Posner assists with all placements in the Eastern office. Adrienne earned an Associates degree from Bennett College in dance education (1967), attended The Ohio State University in dance, and earned a BA in theatre from the University at Albany (1970). She has served on the faculty at Skidmore College and also taught at the University at Albany. For 35 years she has choreographed for theatre productions at the New York State Theatre Institute, winning international awards and traveling with her productions to Russia, Jordan, Canada, France, Italy, and Israel. Her works have also been performed at the Kennedy Center and on Broadway. The focus of all these efforts has been on arts education for children. As a result of this training and experience, she is particularly attuned to the creative dimension of children. Her work in the arts combined with her own experience as the mother of two (now adult) daughters provides a significant contribution to the placement process at ECS, both in her understanding of children and, also, in her ability to help parents through the difficult process of out-of-home placement.

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Peg Huey
Administrator, Eastern Office

Peg is in charge of the day-to-day operations in our Eastern Office. She is the initial contact for families and assists our consultants in data management and providing updates on student progress. Peg earned a BS in French Education from SUNY at Plattsburgh (1975) and a Certificate of Civilization from the University of Paris at the Sorbonne (1974). While her husband was serving in the US Navy, she held positions as a substitute teacher, an administrative assistant at a veterinarian's office and as Ombudsman for the squadron. Arriving with her husband at his last duty station in Tampa she served as the administrative assistant for the local state representative. Prior to joining ECS, Peg was the Director of Admissions at Tampa Catholic High School for 10 years. These experiences have brought an expertise in multitasking, organizational skills, and the ability to relate and interact with children, parents and professionals. As Director of Admissions she marketed the school through presentations, newsletters, and tours as well as placed accepted students in courses suitable for their academic level. She lives in Tampa with her husband, a retired Naval Officer and former Biology teacher, who coaches rowing at Tampa Catholic. They have one son and three wonderful grandchildren.

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Dr. Jennifer P. Wisdom
Clinical Psychologist

Jennifer P. Wisdom is a licensed clinical psychologist and health services researcher. She does ECS psychological assessments in the New York City area. Her education includes a PhD in Clinical Psychology from George Washington University and an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Oregon Health and Science University. She is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Medical Center and Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Wisdom’s primary research projects focus on the organization and evaluation of treatment services for addictions and mental illness, particularly for adolescents and individuals with co-occurring mental illness and addiction problems. Dr. Wisdom has published more than a dozen articles in refereed scholarly journals.

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