Carmela has a BA in Education, an MS in Speech-Language Pathology, and was awarded a Certificate of Clinical Competency in Speech Pathology. She is also a licensed teacher, with an additional license as a teacher of the speech/hearing handicapped.

In her thirty-three years in the field she has experience in both mainstream and special educational school settings and provides supervision of special educational programs for both preschool and school aged children. She has developed a new NYS approved Special Education Program for preschoolers which promote inclusion in the typical preschool settings. This model has also been generalized and used in school-aged programs. She has owned and directed a successful early childhood center for eight years and is currently the owner and director of Humanistic Consultants, Inc., which has offices in Mineola, NY and in a private school on Long Island. She is also the director of the not for profit organization P.A.C.E., (Parent And Child Education, Inc.) which provides parenting workshops and seminar programs throughout the state.