Board Members

Craig Taylor (President)

Craig D. Taylor teaches music and movement PreK - 5 at PS 452M where he leads beginning band and fret ensemble and is on the School Leadership Team. Originally from upstate NY, he has an affinity for (rubber) chickens, cows and snow. He holds a BM in Music Education and Bassoon Performance from The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam College and a MM from Five Towns College. Currently Craig is a DOE Music Facilitator and President of the NYC Orff chapter. Craig holds certification in Orff, Kodaly and Levels 1 &2 in Emotional Intelligence from International Society for Emotional Intelligence. Craig completed his apprenticeship at the San Fransisco International Course under Sofia Lopez-Ibor, and has attended the Orff Afrique and the International Summer Course in Salzburg. He was a founding member of SoLI and regularly performs with his recorder quartet. In his spare time Mr. Taylor enjoys boxing and baking.

Lorene Phillips (Vice President)

Lorene Phillips is a 10 year veteran of the NYC Department of Education and the founding Music Teacher at Dos Puentes Elementary in Washington Heights (M103). Previously, she has taught Middle School and HS Choral Music in the Syracuse City and Fulton City School Districts. She is a member of NafME, NYSSMA, NATS and AOSA. In addition to education, Lorene is an independent producer and has worked on such projects as @Hyprov, River Dreams (formerly Lord Tom) and was a co-creator - founding producer of ContemporaryMusicalTheater.com / @mustheatertoday. She maintains a private voice studio and prepares students for auditions, performances and tours. Lorene is a graduate of Indiana University and Syracuse University and is currently completing her Kodaly and Orff Schulwerk certifications. Lorene is a contributing writer to Lessons from a Bilingual School published by Multilingual Matters, upcoming Fall 2024.

Karie Brown (Secretary)

Karie Brown teaches music at P.S. 148 in East Elmhurst, Queens. She holds a Master’s Degree in Music and Music Education from Teacher’s College, a Master’s Degree in Opera from The Curtis Institute of Music, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Loyola University College of Music in New Orleans. As a music educator, Karie has taught at public schools, charter schools, independent schools, and community music schools in NYC. She was formerly the founder and director of Uptown Music, an early childhood arts program providing music, visual art, and developmental movement classes in upper Manhattan. As a classical singer, Karie performed leading mezzo-soprano roles at opera companies throughout the U.S. and Germany. She’s the proud mother of a brand-new college student who also loves to sing.

Emily Crowe Sobotko (Treasurer)

Emily Crowe Sobotko is a Brooklyn based music educator, conductor, and instructional leader. Emily is the Senior Manager of Music Programs for Uncommon Schools, a high-performing charter school organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap in urban schools. Overseeing fourteen K-12 music programs, Emily coaches elementary, middle and high school music teachers, develops general and instrumental curriculum, leads professional development, and manages the strategic growth of music programming for the network. She is the associate conductor of the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus’s Treble Ensemble and choir director at the Brooklyn New School. Emily completed her Orff levels through the NYCAOSA certification program.

Kate Phillips (Membership)

Kate Phillips teaches general music to grades PK-5 at Grant Avenue Elementary School PS 449X in the Bronx. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education (Wartburg College), a Master of Arts in Music Education (Teacher's College), and a Therapeutic Crisis Intervention in Schools Certification in addition to oodles of professional development hours with NYCCAOSA. Her 15-year teaching career has spanned across several schools in the NYC Public Schools system where in addition to teaching she has served as a professional development facilitator and new teacher mentor. Kate is an avid musical theatre lover, having written and produced multiple musicals for her 5th grade performers and collected nearly 100 playbills as an NYC theatergoer.

Liban Gómez (Past President)

Liban was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and has been teaching for 13 years at The School of Higher Expectations P.S. 66 in the Bronx, New York City. Liban previously taught grades 2 and 5 working particularly with the English Language Learners. He has been teaching General Music, Music Through Literacy, and school violin to students from Pre-K - 5th for over 10 years. At The City College of New York, he received his Bachelors’ Degrees in Childhood Education, Italian Literature and Language, and Mathematics followed by a Master’s in Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL). He is certified in Orff-Schulwerk. Liban frequently and actively attended numerous workshops offered from different parts of the world. Liban is a polyglot and has traveled around the world to learn and explore other cultures. He loves and enjoys teaching, movement, sports, traveling, and photography.

Jimmy Zenger (Past President)

Jimmy has been teaching elementary and middle school music in NYC public schools since 2013 and has been a member of NYCCAOSA since his first year teaching. He received his bachelors of music education from Ball State University and masters of music education from Teachers College at Columbia University in addition to completing his Orff certification at DePaul University. When not in the classroom, Jimmy loves writing and performing and most of all spending time with his family. Jimmy lives in Ridgewood, Queens with his wonderful wife, adventurous son and rambunctious dog.

Pauline Huang (At Large)

Pauline Huang currently teaches music to students in grades 3K through 5 at PS 184m, Shuang Wen School in Manhattan, New York. She holds a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Taipei, Taiwan, as well as both a Certificate in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages and an M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. When she's not teaching music, she enjoys playing jazz, dancing, watching performing arts shows, acting, running, reading, composing, and spending quality time with her family and friends!

Becki Tarby (Past President)

Becki Tarby currently teaches 3rd-5th grade general and vocal music at James Madison Intermediate School in Edison, New Jersey. She has served NYCCAOSA as Treasurer, OCP Treasurer, and Vice President. As a second generation Schulwerk educator, Becki completed her Levels training right after college at Belmont University, NYCOCP, and ETM. Becki has been a member of NYCCAOSA since 2016. She lives in Woodbridge, NJ with her husband Kyle, daughter Livia, and their dog Sunny.

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