Meet Our Staff:
Executive Director and Founder
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Maria Corse (pronouns: she/her) is a seasoned facilitator, mentor, and self-directed educational consultant with over twenty years of experience in alternative educational settings. Determined to provide a safe, non-coercive, self-directed learning option in Northern New York where young people can freely choose their own unique paths, Maria founded Deep Root Center in January 2014.
Maria firmly believes that learning is an individual pursuit - driven by curiosity, interests, and aspirations. And, within that, education is a collaboration, which includes a supportive community, mentor-ship, mutual respect, trust, deep conversations, questions, hands-on experimentation, and playfulness. |
Born and raised in Northern New York, Maria left for twelve years. In that time, she earned a Fashion Design degree from Cazenovia College, worked as a nanny and then in retail (managing a cookware store) in the greater Boston area, moved to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and married her husband, Mike, (also from the NoCo) in Denver. They returned home in 1995 to raise their two children. She went back to college when her kids were young and earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from SUNY Potsdam in 2003. She also received her certification in mental health first aid in August of 2020.
A writer, Maria, produces a weekly blog post for Deep Root Center that includes an original creative mediation haiku. She has also written two children's chapter books - both of which have been self-published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
Maria is also the lead staff person at DRC-Canton and is at DRC-East on occasional Wednesdays to support the DRC- East staff.
A writer, Maria, produces a weekly blog post for Deep Root Center that includes an original creative mediation haiku. She has also written two children's chapter books - both of which have been self-published through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
Maria is also the lead staff person at DRC-Canton and is at DRC-East on occasional Wednesdays to support the DRC- East staff.
Canton Staff
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We are delighted that Christopher Raymo (pronouns he/him) has returned to the DRC family. He is a musician and NoCo native who grew up in Raymondville. His return has been seamless - he spends his days at DRC with the Seedlings Crew and in the music room facilitating musical adventures.
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Junior Apprentices
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Holland Foster is a DRC Teen Member who joined in January 22. She has shown extraordinary capacity for working with our Seedling members and will be helping them this coming year.
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Acadian is also a DRC Teen Member. His kindness and compassion for the people around him guide him to be a wonderful facilitator and mentor for members younger than him.
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DRC-East Staff
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Karen Gagne, DRC-East's Lead Staff and Mentor, (pronouns she/her) first joined the DRC board in 2014, and from that moment, she has been our most vocal and passionate supporter. In 2017, she left academia after over twenty-five of teaching, mentoring, and advising young people to move home to Vermont. Nonetheless, even after moving out of state, Karen maintained her head cheer-leading role from a distance.
Karen comes to us with a BA in Social Science (from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA - the school both of Maria's children attended), a MA, and a PhD in Sociology (from SUNY Binghamton), along with a plethora of experience working with youth of all ages. |
Meet our Board of Directors:
Virginia Galligan, is the DRC Board President. She was raised in Lisbon, NY but now lives in Massena, NY with her teenage son. She has a B.A. in English Literature from SUNY Potsdam and a M.S. in General Human Services from Capella University. She enjoys crafting with yarn and has a YouTube channel called Simply Intertwined. She also enjoys creative writing, reading and photography. When it comes to education, she believes in finding the best method that works for the child. She currently homeschools her son and is a regular volunteer mentor at DRC-East.
Tiffanie Jacob is the DRC Vice President & Secretary. She is a NoCo native; born and raised in Massena. Married with five children, one furbaby, and one grandchild. Her youngest son is a member of our DRC-East Center. Her number one priority is her family. She believes in advocating for children; especially ones that are not listened to or unable to advocate for themselves. She is her children’s loudest advocate. If you need her, she would be there to advocate for your child as well. She has studied Early Childhood Education and plans to continue to grow her education in the Mental Health field.
When she is not tending to her family, she has three passions. First being Photography. She runs her own business in the Massena area. Her children are thrown in front of the camera when creative ideas spark. Her second passion is dogs. If she had the room, she would be running her own rescue. Lastly, DRC has become a passion of hers. Joining the board, she is helping bring ideas and fundraising help. She loves the aspect of Self-Directed learning, as that is one of the main reasons why her son is now part of the East Center.
When she is not tending to her family, she has three passions. First being Photography. She runs her own business in the Massena area. Her children are thrown in front of the camera when creative ideas spark. Her second passion is dogs. If she had the room, she would be running her own rescue. Lastly, DRC has become a passion of hers. Joining the board, she is helping bring ideas and fundraising help. She loves the aspect of Self-Directed learning, as that is one of the main reasons why her son is now part of the East Center.
Susan Foster, of West Stockholm, is DRC's Board Treasurer. Her first role will always be "Mom" to her seven kids - six are members at DRC-Canton. Susan is another native of the NoCo. She graduated from Norwood-Norfolk Central and then went to SUNY Canton to get her associate's degree in Business. She worked for the hospital as well as several banks and was the head tell for a few years. She has been a stay-at-home Mom since her first son was born. Susan has been deeply involved in supporting DRC since her children joined in Jan. '22. She is a welcome addition to the Board.
Candace Cowser, of Canton is a DRC Veteran Board Member - joining in 2014.
Candace is a local entrepreneur who grew up in the Syracuse area and moved to Canton in 1994. She opened her hair salon, Shapes and Colors by Candace, in 1997. She is the eldest of nine children, eight girls and one boy, and was homeschooled from 7th - 12th grade. She taught for a major hair product manufacturer for seven years. Those who know her would not be surprised to learn Candace is a skydiver. She currently lives in Canton with her two sons, an outdoor enthusiast and a fifteen year old chef, who prefers to cook sans shirt and shoes.
Candace is a local entrepreneur who grew up in the Syracuse area and moved to Canton in 1994. She opened her hair salon, Shapes and Colors by Candace, in 1997. She is the eldest of nine children, eight girls and one boy, and was homeschooled from 7th - 12th grade. She taught for a major hair product manufacturer for seven years. Those who know her would not be surprised to learn Candace is a skydiver. She currently lives in Canton with her two sons, an outdoor enthusiast and a fifteen year old chef, who prefers to cook sans shirt and shoes.
