Candida Cucharo
MSW, MBA
Co-President
Candida Cucharo, is the former Executive Director, Treasurer, and founding Director of the New York State Association for Infant Mental Health (NYS-AIMH). As a consultant with the Institute for Parenting at Adelphi University she researched and wrote the Feasibility Study Addressing the Implementation of Infant Mental Health Competencies in NYS which became the basis for the founding of NYS-AIMH. While at The Institute for Parenting she worked with child care providers and parents to address the impact of trauma on child development and ways to build resilience in young children who have experienced a traumatic event.
Candida worked for ten years as Senior Program Director at Tuesday’s Children, a family service organization providing programs and services to children and families impacted by traumatic events of September 11, 2001. She developed and implemented programs for individuals who experienced trauma and traumatic loss, initiated an international program for teenagers impacted by traumatic loss, and acted in a consulting capacity in creating the Newtown Resiliency Center in Newtown, Connecticut. She has consulted on the development of the Long Term Healing Model for Tuesday’s Children.
For over 20 years prior to working at Tuesday’s Children, Candida was a Human Resources professional and Management Consultant specializing in Training and Development and Organization Development within the Financial Services Industry. She has a BS in Psychology, an MSW with a clinical specialization in trauma treatment from Fordham University and an MBA in Management from the Stern School at New York University. She is Board Chair of Abilities, Inc. at The Viscardi Center in Albertson, NY, and President of the Gristmill Foundation.