Barbara McNiff named Hewlett-Woodmere human resources head

Longtime Hewlett-Woodmere educator Barbara McNiff was appointed executive director of Human Resources by the school district’s Board of Education at the Jan. 15 meeting.
McNiff, whose appointment becomes effective July 1, will assume the human resources portion of the duties currently assigned to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Student Services Kathleen Anderson, who will retire June 30.
Chairwoman of Hewlett High School’s Business Education Department, McNiff joined the district in 1978 as a business education teacher and has taught a variety of business and marketing courses.
Chairing the department since 1998, she is responsible for staffing, developing courses and scheduling, the Business Marketing Honor Society, and fostering relationships with Syracuse University, LIU Post, Farmingdale State and Molloy colleges that create college credit opportunities for Hewlett High students.
McNiff has supervised the Virtual Enterprise Team — a group of students create a virtual business, then compete against peer teams at competition — and led the Working in Support of Education financial literacy program for high school students.

“As executive director of Human Resources, I look forward to further developing working relationships with the staff and being able to foster a healthy working environment,” McNiff said.
An adjunct instructor for the Syracuse University Project Advance and Farmingdale, she is a member of several educational and business organizations, including the School Administrators Association and Long Island and Business Teacher Associations, both statewide organizations.
Her experience includes serving as the district summer school principal since 2007, when she is responsible for hiring teachers and support staff, creating databases and schedules, and maintaining communication with Pupil Personnel services and the high school’s administration.
She received a professional diploma in Education Administration from LIU Post, a master’s degree in business administration in accounting from St. John’s University and a bachelor’s in business education from Pace University. McNiff also holds state certifications as a school district and school administrator and supervisor, and business teacher.
“Barbara is an excellent communicator and a creative problem-solver dedicated to finding fiscally responsible solutions that are best for students and staff,” said Superintendent Dr. Joyce Bisso.
A decision has yet to be made on McNiff’s replacement.