Since 1975, the Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE) has made a difference in the lives of thousands of students from New York City schools, not to mention affecting many of our faculty, staff, and post-graduate trainees. Through our wide range of education pipeline programming, we open doors for underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged students. In so doing, we are changing the face of science, medicine, and other health care professions.

CEYE Education Philosophy

All CEYE programming relies on the real-world classroom of the Mount Sinai Health System, with plenty of activities and interactions with faculty and staff. As a CEYE student, you maintain a logbook, take pre- and post-tests, and complete a final paper and presentation. We have aligned all anticipated outcomes with New York State Standards of Education.

Lloyd Sherman, EdD, educational innovator, developed CEYE’s educational philosophy. He initiated our outreach initiatives in 1968 and established and directed CEYE for nearly 40 years. Before coming here, Dr. Sherman was a secondary school science teacher in Kenya, where he determined that people learn best when education is relevant, functional, and carried out in a class arranged in dyads, or pairs of two, assigned at random. This conviction has shaped all of the CEYE programming and continues today.

Dr. Sherman developed his approach to dyad pedagogy to maximize learning across the cognitive, affective, and social domains. He arranged students into pairs for an entire semester, performing all activities as a single learning unit for which each member receives the same grade. This method has been adopted by a wide range of educational organizations from public schools to colleges and universities to less formal educational settings.

Leadership

The Center for Excellence in Youth Education is housed in the Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs, which is directed by Gary Butts, MD. Leadership includes:

Ann-Gel Palermo, MPH, DrPH
Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in Biomedical Education; Associate Professor, Medical Education & Pediatrics

Kenya Townsend
CEYE Program Director

Alexander Joseph, MA
CEYE Program Manager

Tristan Franz, MA
CEYE Program Coordinator

Elisha Pinker
CEYE Teaching Assistant

The CEYE Advisory Council oversees all programs and is co-chaired by Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, Director of the Friedman Brain Institute and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience, and Ray Cornbill, MBA, CMCA Consultant. The council includes our trustees, senior leadership in biomedical and clinical departments, nursing and social work, medical students, and a principal from a longstanding public school partner of CEYE.

The Center for Excellence in Youth Education and its activities are supported, in whole or in part, by a grants from the Pinkerton Foundation, the New York State Education Department, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Scholarship Opportunities are provided through generous contributions from Serve and Rally and the family of Roy N. Barnett.