Instructor Biographies

Charlene Mara

cmara [at] qcc.mass.edu
508.854.4447

Charlene Mara, the Faculty Coordinator of the Early Childhood Program,  has been associated with Quinsigamond Community College for more than 30 years.  As a graduate of the Early Childhood Education Program at QCC, Charlene has worked as a teacher in the Laboratory School, been the center director and taught a variety of courses in the department.   In addition Charlene has had experience working with Head Start, School Age, and Community Partnership Programs.  Most recently Charlene was selected as Co-Chair of the Department of Early Education and Care Core Competency Committee.  She holds an AA degree in ECE from Quinsigamond, a MA in Urban Studies and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Worcester State College.  Charlene and her husband David live in Worcester and have four children.

Nancy Knight

nknight [at] qcc.mass.edu
508.854.2810

Nancy Knight is the Director of the Quinsigamond Community College’s Children’s School and an adjunct faculty member. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Cambridge College. She has held various positions in her career of early childhood education including a state Child Care Licensing Specialist, Director of Program Development and Program Director and instructor. Nancy is actively involved in supporting centers with accreditation and is on the Worcester Area Association for the Education of Young Children (WAAEYC) board.

Renee Gould
rgould [at] qcc.mass.edu
508.854.4447

Renee Gould holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College in Boston, MA.  She has worked with young children and their families in a number of ways, first as a public school kindergarten teacher and later as owner-director of Longmeadow Children’s School in Westborough, MA, a position she held for 22 years.  Renee was a member of the faculty at Wheelock College from 1973-1980.  She became an adjunct faculty member at Quinsigamond Community College in 1998, teaching early childhood courses in the Evening Division.  She joined the day faculty at Quinsigamond Community College in the fall of 2002 as a field placement supervisor.  In the fall of 2004, she was appointed to her present position as full time faculty in the Early Childhood Program where she supervises student teachers in their field placements and teaches Curriculum For Young Children I and II.  Renee also is involved with teachers in the community, doing curriculum workshops for the Worcester Public Schools, Head Start and the Community Partnerships.

Meghan Martin

mxmartin [at] qcc.mass.edu
508.854.4436

Assistant Professor Meghan Martin is the newest fulltime faculty member.  Meghan began with QCC six years ago teaching in the evening.  Meghan holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology from Framingham State College and Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Anna Maria College.  Meghan is a member of NAEYC and the current Treasurer for the Worcester Area AEYC Board.  Meghan has over 15 years of experience working with children and families.  These experiences have included: Infant/Toddler and Preschool classroom teacher, Education Director for a Boys and Girls Club, Family Advocate, Grant Administrator and Director of a child care program. Currently Meghan teaches multiple courses in ECE and works directly with teachers currently working in the field of Early Childhood Education.

Greg Mullaney

gmullaney [at] qcc.mass.edu
508.853.2300 ext 4820

Greg graduated Bridgewater State College with a dual undergraduate degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. He left education after a few years of public school work. With the birth of my second child I began a career as a family childcare provider that spanned 20 years. Greg attended Lesley University, to obtain a Master’s in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction and became the president of the Association for Family Child Care Providers of Massachusetts for two years. Greg served as the Co-Chair of the Charles River Community Partnership for Children for several years, establishing a collaborative relationship between the family child care providers, center based providers, and public pre-school teachers in our communities. In 2007 he completed my doctorate in Child, Youth, and Family studies at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and continued to operate my childcare business while working part time at Quinsigamond Community College. While at QCC he began doing work for NAEYC as program reviewer for colleges seeking to get their Associate Degree programs in Early Childhood Education accredited and in 2014 he was hired as full time faculty. 

Karen O'Neill

koneill [at] qcc.mass.edu
508.854.2808

Karen has worked in the field of Early Education and Care for over 30 years. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in ECE from Rivier College in Nashua, NH.  Karen began her career as a preschool and toddler teacher in community based child care programs in NH.  In 1991, she moved to Massachusetts and joined the YMCA of Central Massachusetts where she spent nearly 20 years working with children and families of all ages.  In her role as Child Care and Family Services Director at the YMCA, Karen was responsible for managing multiple sites including infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten and school age programs and camps. She provided leadership and guidance regarding health and safety, curriculum development, family engagement, staff development, licensing and accreditation. During her tenure at the YMCA, Karen served as faculty for the YMCA of the USA Child Care Certification program.  She has been actively engage in many community boards and committees including the YMCA of MA Public Policy Committee, Community Partnerships for Children, Together for Kids, WAAEYC and the QCC Early Childhood Advisory Board.   

In 2011, Karen joined QCC as the Associate Director at the Children’s School while pursuing and completing her Master’s Degree in ECE from Lesley University.  Additionally, Karen has volunteered and worked as a substitute in Shrewsbury Public Schools.  She has worked as a consultant for Edward Street Child Services and for Head Start regarding early childhood transitions, alignment and NAEYC accreditation.  Karen earned her Master’s degree in May and began teaching in the Early Childhood Department as Adjunct Faculty in August, 2013.  She is very excited to become the newest fulltime member of the ECE Faculty this fall.