Our passion is providing
exceptional services to the
to children and families. 

Founder, Executive Director

With over 40 years of experience as a pediatrician, researcher, and lecturer, Dr. Cecelia McCarton is among the world's leading experts in diagnosing and treating children with developmental disorders.

In 1998, Dr. McCarton founded The McCarton Center for Developmental Pediatrics, a diagnostic and treatment center dedicated to childhood developmental disorders. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of The McCarton Foundation for Children with Developmental Disabilities, The McCarton School for children with autism, and the Children's Academy for children with speech and language delays.

Early in her medical career, Dr. McCarton developed an affinity for children who displayed special needs. After completing her residency in Pediatrics at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, where she also served as Chief Resident, she received two prestigious post-doctoral research fellowships from the Department of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Rose F. Kennedy Center for Research in Mental Retardation and Human Development at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Since finishing her formal training in 1977, she has served as Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Rose F. Kennedy Center and Director of the L.I.F.E. (Low Birth Weight Infant Follow-Up and Evaluation) Program. Her research experience includes national studies developmental complications in infants with low birth weight, infant health and development, and the prevention of mental retardation. Dr. McCarton has also taught pediatrics for over 25 years and is currently Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Throughout her career, Dr. McCarton has received numerous honors including grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has published over 50 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Child Development, Journal of Pediatrics and Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology.

A New York City native, Dr. McCarton received her BA from the College of New Rochelle and her Medical Degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics (1988) and a member of many professional societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Behavioral Pediatrics, Society for Research in Child Development, the International Neuropsychology Society and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.

Chief Executive Officer

In his role as CEO, Whitney Loy works closely with Dr. McCarton to advance and execute McCarton Foundation’s mission to change the course of lives by providing exceptional treatment and services to children with autism.

In 2014, Dr. McCarton and Whitney decided it was time to take the foundation in a new direction. They wanted to build a program that would bring the exceptional clinical and educational model developed at Dr. McCarton's other private non-profit schools and centers to children and families in underserved communities. Taking the lead on this project, Whitney was named the foundation’s first Managing Director in 2015. Under his leadership, the foundation launched an initial capital fundraising campaign which raised the $4 million necessary to launch McCarton’s first public program. Then, in 2017, Whitney took on the role of Chief Executive Officer as the foundation geared up for the launch of McCarton Center Bronx.

From 2012-2015, he served as the Director of Development & Communication for McCarton Foundation, McCarton School (now Keswell School), and Children’s Academy. During this time he increased fundraising revenue for each program, expanded their Board of Directors, and further developed each organization’s unique brand through both traditional and digital channels.

Prior to joining the McCarton team, Whitney served as the Director of Events and Sponsorship for Rodman & Renshaw, a leading investment bank. While there, he played a key leadership role in planning and executing Rodman & Renshaw’s international investment conferences in Beijing, Shanghai, London, Monaco, New York, and other cities across the globe. Mr. Loy also built the bank’s conference sponsorship program, which generated millions in revenue. His creative decision to add a cause-related overlay to the conferences by brining on charity partners resulted in positive media attention and a significant increase in sponsorship revenue. Rodman & Renshaw continues to have charity partners for conferences and events and has donated hundreds of thousands to its nonprofit partners. In 2011, McCarton Foundation became the bank’s charity partner. Whitney was so inspired by the work of Dr. McCarton and the mission of the foundation, he left the financial industry to join the McCarton team.

Prior to working with Rodman & Renshaw, Mr. Loy served as Director of Development for Ragtag Cinema, a nonprofit organization operating one of the country’s most innovative art-house film theaters and host of the True/False Film Festival, one of the country’s largest and most prestigious documentary film festivals. There, he was responsible for managing the completion of a multi-million dollar capital campaign, doubling the size of their Board of Directors, and successfully redesigning their membership program.

Program Director

Vielka Ramirez-Espinal is the Early Intervention Program Director for the Bronx Center. Vielka has over 17 years of experience in Early Intervention. She graduated in 2001 from City College of New York with a Bachelor degree in Psychology. Vielka's dream has always been working with children and helping them to gain their full potential with quality services.

Vielka has gained most of her experience from two well known institutions prior to becoming part of the McCarton Foundation. She worked for St Mary Hospital for Children for 13 years where she started as an Early Intervention Service Coordinator for medically fragile children in the Bronx and then supervised the department for over 9 years. She later worked as Early Intervention Program Manager for City Pro Group for 4 and a half years with children with ASD.

Vielka has dedicated her career to helping children in need and assuring their families have the best options possible. She has a unique passion for children and her goal is to assure that every child that enters our programs achieves their highest possible dream.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart and if after 17 years working with families in need and they are still touching me and inspiring me, then I am where I need to be, I am in the right place".

Speech Therapy Supervisor

Occupational Therapy Supervisor

Yasmin Betances is the Quality Assurance Speech Therapist/CF Supervisor of the Bronx Center. She graduated in 1998 from Sacred Heart University with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Spanish. She continued her studies in Long Island University while completing her Master of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders. 

Yasmin is a skilled bilingual speech pathologist who has over 14 years in providing speech and language services for children with disabilities. Her mission is to provide individualized, high quality services to children while addressing their individual needs. Yasmin has worked with close collaboration with families, caregivers, and other professionals for many years at special education preschools in the Bronx.

She also served as a Speech Supervisor for seven years and ensured that best practices were implemented in the school to effectively address children and family needs.

Dr. Rust’s educational background includes Bachelors in Occupational Therapy from the University of Durban Westville, South Africa.  She received a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Chatham University.  Her doctorate capstone examined the impact of occupational therapy training and consultation on teachers’ competence in providing pre-writing instruction.  Dr. Rust is certified in Sensory Integration and Listening Therapy.  Dr. Rust has also served as an independent evaluator in a research study examining the efficacy of sensory integration intervention in autism.  As a practitioner Dr. Rust has worked primarily in pediatric occupational therapy with a focus on early childhood practice.  She has over 15 years of managerial and clinical supervisory experience.  Dr. Rust is a full time faculty member at Dominican College since October 2017. 

Director of Service Coordination

Rosemary Almonte is the Supervisor for the Service Coordination Department at McCarton Center Bronx. Her main role is to lead, train, and ensure that the Early Intervention Policies and Procedures and State Regulations are being followed by the service coordinators.

Rosemary has a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Psychology through the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic and has worked in early intervention for over 17 years. She began her journey in early intervention as a Service Coordinator and moved on as a Quality Assurance Manager overseeing a department of 21 service coordinators.

Rosemary feels passionate about providing quality work to the families she works with and being a part of helping and making a difference in each child’s life.