Cherie Becker

Cherie Bikowsky serves as Director of Special Education Student Services for a Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) agency in New York. With three decades in the field, she began her career as a paraprofessional between her bachelor's and master's degrees, which led to a master's in special education. After nine years as a special education teacher, she moved into administration as a supervisor of special education in several school districts before assuming her current directorial role nearly 20 years ago. In this position, she supports special education classrooms, related service providers including speech, occupational and physical therapy, vision, and deaf education services, as well as nursing and medical care programs and career and technical education initiatives across 10 component districts in the western New York region. Bikowsky earned her Ed.D. in Education from Syracuse University in 2010. She maintains active memberships in the New York State School Board Association, the Association of Career and Technical Education Administrators (ACTEA), the Statewide Network for Special Education (NYSNSE) where she serves as regional representative for the western region, and the New York State Network for Career and Technical Education. She attributes her success to her passion for serving children in need and supporting other leaders in bringing innovative ideas to life.