Nancy Villarreal de Adler

Nancy Villarreal de Adler
Executive Director

Nancy Villarreal de Adler assumed the position of NYSABE’s Executive Director on September 1, 2008.

In 2004, Nancy retired after 34 years of service in the field of Education. Prior to her retirement, Nancy had served as the Director of the Office of Bilingual Special Education Services-Citywide Programs, New York City Board of Education. Her administrative experiences also include: Director of Magnet School Programs, District One; Director of the Bilingual Multicultural Institute, and Director of the Office of Bilingual Special Education Funded Programs, New York City-Board of Education.

Nancy initiated her teaching career in Syracuse, NY, as an ESL teacher. As the Syracuse School District developed its Bilingual Education Program in 1972, Nancy became the first bilingual teacher in central NY. With the growth of the program, Nancy became a staff developer, curriculum specialist, and coordinator of the Bilingual/ESL program in Syracuse. When she married Jack Adler and moved to New York City in 1985, Nancy re-initiated her career as a bilingual teacher and Bilingual/ESL staff developer. Later on, she joined the Division of Special Education, New York City-Board of Education, as Coordinator of Title VII Funded Programs for Bilingual Special Education.

A native of Peru, Nancy is a proud graduate of the Instituto Pedagógico Nacional de Mujeres-Monterrico, (formerly known as “Escuela Normal de Mujeres San Pedro”), in Lima, Peru. It was here where Nancy forged her vision and sense of mission as an educator. Thanks to the guidance and support of her parents, dedicated teachers, friends, and classmates, Nancy’s clear notions of equitable and high quality education, social responsibility, and justice laid the foundation for her advocacy work on behalf of the educational rights of multilingual learners.

Thanks to scholarships and fellowships, Nancy was able to come to the USA and pursue post graduate studies at Syracuse University. In addition, she had the opportunity to participate in numerous institutes and professional development programs such as the Harvard University Summer Program on Multiple Intelligences and the NY Institute for Educational Leadership. Nancy is the recipient of numerous awards, among them, the 2006 NYSABE’s Gladys Correa Memorial Award and the 2017 NYS TESOL’s Outstanding Professional Award.