Lori-Ann Mangal
Infant & Family Development and Early Intervention/Dual Degree with Hunter College School of Social Work '14
Bank Street is rooted both in reality and in what could be, always pushing for educators to really see the system for what it is and then do more than just fit into how it is.
Lori-Ann Mangal was just beginning her professional journey as a volunteer research assistant at Stony Brook University when a mentor suggested Bank Street Graduate School of Education’s Infant & Family Development and Early Intervention/Dual Degree with Hunter College School of Social Work. Lori-Ann decided it was a “no-brainer” because the combined expertise from Bank Street and Hunter College would make her exceptionally marketable. Her mentor’s suggestion that the program would “pay for itself” proved true when Lori-Ann secured a full-time position in 2013, well before her graduation.
Lori-Ann earned her MSEd and LMSW in 2014, and today she is an early childhood social worker with New York City Public Schools, supporting 10 to 12 public schools and early learning and pre-K centers across Queens. Her work involves balancing support for teachers, leaders, and families to build capacity in family engagement, social-emotional development, and positive behavioral supports. She credits Bank Street’s focus on reflective supervision as the foundation of her practice.
She said, “It’s so important to have the kind of foundation Bank Street provides and to understand how content, the theory, and practice all align. In class, I heard the mantra I carry with me today—you don’t learn from experience; you learn from reflecting on experience. I tell that to everybody in my current work.”
During her supervised fieldwork at the Bank Street Family Center, Lori-Ann learned to connect classroom theory with real-world interactions. She remembers a moment in her conference group when she was corrected for leaving a crying child during a separation. While she initially thought walking away was the right move, collaborative reflection helped her understand what was truly necessary for a child to feel safe.
Lori-Ann said, “When that child was crying, I was still learning and I thought that was the best thing to do. That experience, and then recalling with my teacher what I was learning in class, changed my understanding about what is necessary for a child to feel safe—I was the primary caregiver, and me leaving was not the best thing for that child. But this is how you learn.”
This commitment to reflection and authenticity now defines her approach to supporting other educators. In her work, Lori-Ann navigates the “push-pull” between academic requirements and social-emotional needs, understanding that a strong emotional foundation is required for academics to be effective. By creating “pockets of peace” where the caregivers she works with can reflect, she helps them provide nurturing environments for their students, noting that a leader’s ability to create safe spaces trickles down to the children.
“I help them see what they’re doing and how it is not an extra ask to marry the social-emotional with the academics, which can sometimes be a struggle for teachers. Together, we work to first create a safe and predictable environment for these little ones, and then they can learn what we want them to learn.”
Lori-Ann is also an adjunct instructor and advisor at Bank Street and remains deeply embedded in its community.
“Bank Street is rooted both in reality and in what could be, always pushing educators to really see the system for what it is and then do more than just fit into how it is. We need to make it better and constantly seek a better tomorrow. There is no better place to do that work than at Bank Street.”