Meet our Faculty
Carmen Cartagena – AHWD
Carmen Cartagena is a broker/owner, public speaker, and consultant with 21 years in the field of real estate. She has extensive educational and teaching experience in the areas of fair housing, diversity training and real estate practice. Teaching appointments include NYSAR Instructor, NAR Approved Instructor for At Home with Diversity certifications and Bias Override, and Baruch College-CUNY. Her educational background consists of BA in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University and an MA in Urban Affairs from Queens College.
Gerald “Jerry” Cibulski – ABR, CRB, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, Fine Homes & Estate Specialist, RSPS, SRES
Instructor and Associate Broker, Jerry Cibulski is an award-winning REALTOR® and educator living in the North Fork of Long Island specializing in luxury properties. Located one and a half hours from Manhattan, the North Fork area is known for beaches, vacations, and the North Fork Wine Trail.
Jerry has been a recipient of the CENTURIAN Sales Award five years running – an honor earned by only the top 1% of CENTURY 21 Agents and Teams in the World.
Linda D’Amico – ABR, AHWD, e-PRO, GRI, MRP, PSA
35 years as a top producing broker associate in Long Island, gives Linda insight into what it takes to succeed in real estate. “My experience enables me to share my expertise with students. My classes are fun and lively, packed with usable information, and, more importantly, not boring!” Linda managed two offices for NRT – National Realty Trust, was the director of education for a 1,400-agent company and taught classes for NYSAR for over 10 years. “Helping new and experienced students gives me the opportunity to give back to an industry I love. I hail from a large family. Helping is what I do!”
Matthew Dean
Matt Dean is Senior Home Energy Score Mentor, NAR Green Designee and NYSAR Trainer and BPI Proctor. Matthew has taught over 5000 students and has over 10,000 hours experience training classes. His specialization is in home energy training, auditing, modeling, and program implementation. He is the chief spokesperson for the Home Performance with Energy Star Program.
An industry leader, he has been involved in over 1000 energy audits of 1-to-4-unit buildings and over 300 multifamily building QCI inspections. Clients include NYSERDA, Con Edison, National Grid, NYPA DOE Rikers Island, and New York property owners.
Jeffrey Decatur – AHWD, C2EX, CBR, E-Pro, GRI, MREI, PSA, SRES
Jeffrey Decatur from the Capital-Saratoga Region of NYS brings decades of real estate sales, class development, and training experience to every course. His dedication to the profession is demonstrated with multiple designations and committee work keeping a pulse on the industry. He combines wit and humor with real-life scenarios, creating an interactive, engaging, educational experience. His lively style inspires, educates, builds confidence, and will ultimately increase your bottom line.
Katheryn DeClerck – ABR, ASR, AHWD, CBR, e-PRO, GREEN, GRI, Luxury Home Sale Specialist Certification, MREI, NCP, PSA, SFR, SRES
Katheryn DeClerck is an active, licensed real estate broker and leader in her industry, serving the Lower Hudson Valley of New York and Pennsylvania. She combines her passion for technology with the skills she has acquired over the past 23+ years practicing real estate to create and deliver highly effective and engaging training programs designed to help her participants navigate the rapidly changing industry to achieve their own goals. Her students find her relatable and valuable because she “walks the walk”. Katheryn stays current and relevant because she truly lives her motto – “Never Stop Learning”.
Roseann Farrow – ABR, AHWD, CDEI, CIPS, CRB, e-PRO, GREEN, GRI, MREI, PSA, RSPS, SRES, SRS
With over 40 years in real estate sales, training, course development, management and consulting, Roseann has trained and coached thousands of agents, managers, brokers and other trainers lifted by her passion, humor, high energy and dedication to the industry. A REALTOR® Emeritus, National REBAC and REBI trainer and Master Instructor at NYSAR®, she teaches ABR, AHWD, CBR, CRB, GREEN, GRI, PSA, RSPS, SRES, SRS, ITI (Instructor Training Institute) and CDW (Course Development Workshop), is a Certified Distance Education Instructor (CDEI) and is NYS Liaison to The CE Shop. She regularly helps schools and publishers develop or review real estate courses and books widely used in the industry. She resides 60 miles from Manhattan in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley and holds an Associate Real Estate Broker’s license at Smitchger Realty in Cornwall, NY. Roseann also offers independent training, coaching and consulting nationwide as Roseann Farrow Seminars.
Al Fazio, Esq.
Al has represented clients in all aspects of litigation and transactional work arising from his extensive real estate practice. He is general counsel to several REALTOR® organizations and was appointed an Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association where he is assigned cases involving real estate brokerage commission disputes, making him well versed in real-world experiences that he shares with his students with clarity and authority.
Lin Fields – GRI, AHWD, e-PRO, HOMES, MREI, MRP, SFR, PSA
Lin, co-author of the brokers’ textbook “New York Real Estate of Brokers” brings enthusiasm, knowledge, and dedication to her courses along with the experience of teaching real estate since 1982. Lin’s commitment to her students and the real estate profession is evident by the 30 real estate continuing education courses she’s authored and the vast array of state and local board committees she serves on.
Neil B. Garfinkel, Esq. – SRES, CDEI
Neil B. Garfinkel, Esq. is managing partner of Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP, and is in charge of the Real Estate and Banking Practices, focusing on all aspects of commercial and residential real estate and banking law. He serves as Broker Counsel to the Real Estate Board of New York (“REBNY”), NYC’s leading real estate trade association. In addition to counseling REBNY members on laws and regulations that affect the real estate brokerage community, he hosts the REBNY Legal Line, a hotline provided exclusively for REBNY members, and authors the REBNY Legal Line Question of the Week and Fair Housing Fridays. He and his firm are Counsel to the Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association and the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers. Mr. Garfinkel enjoys teaching and speaking about a variety of real estate and lending topics. Certified by NYS DOS as an instructor of real estate courses, he teaches at REBNY and real estate broker offices.
Linda Lugo – ABR, CIPS, CRB, CRS, GRI, SRES
Linda is a licensed Real Estate Broker who lives on Long Island’s north shore in Huntington, 35 miles east of Manhattan. She has over 34 years’ experience in management, training, course development, and she was the 2016 President of the New York State Association of REALTORS®. She believes that education opens the door to success!
Nancy Mosca – ABR, AHWD, BPOR, CBR, CIPS, CNE, EHO, e-PRO, GRI, MRP, PSA, RENE, SFR, SRES, SRS
Nancy Mosca is a REALTOR®, a Licensed New York State Broker and a New York State Certified Real Estate Instructor. Her experience as a Broker adds a unique dimension to the courses she teaches. She has developed personalized training programs for various corporations and groups based on their individual needs. A believer in Realtor® education, Nancy has earned innumerable designations and certifications. Additionally, she has earned her Certification as a Human Behavioral Consultant and is a recognized member of the National Speakers Association
Ifoma Pierre – GRI, DMSM, E-Pro, PSA, SRS
A licensed real estate associate broker out of Queens, NY, Ifoma specializes in helping agents achieve their goals in real estate through mastering the art of Sales, Marketing and Branding, Advance Social-Media, and Lead Generation Strategies. In 2018, Pierre was named one of the Top 20 Rising Stars in Real Estate under 40 by the Long Island Board of REALTORS®. He has been an International Corporate Trainer; has acquired numerous designations and certifications including the RRC Digital Marketing: Social Media certification and is a John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Trainer and Coach.
Mike Smith – AHWD, ABR, C2EX, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, HFR, SFR, SRES, MREI, and CPRES
Mike Smith has been a DOS approved instructor for over 25 years and licensed for almost 45 years, with a broad range of knowledge and experience working with diverse properties and people. He has authored more than 20 continuing education courses on a wide range of subjects from the Code of Ethics to commercial real estate, environmental issues for residential property, and multiple offers. An associate broker, REALTOR® Emeritus, Mike has served on numerous NYAR and NAR committees and was NYSAR President in 2015.
Randy Templeman – ABR, AHWD, CRB, CRS, e-PRO, Green, GRI, HOMES, PMN, SRES
Randy, a REALTOR® and highly sought-after educator, changes lives by empowering agents with his ability to increase their productivity, professionalism, and profits. Having been named REALTOR® of the Year by two different Boards of REALTORS®, Randy knows the business from the inside out and wakes each day with a yearning to share his expertise.