Joan A. Gillman (MA ’82) Named 2025 Top Educator of the Year

The International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) recently selected Joan A. Gillman (MA ’82, Childhood Education) as the 2025 Top Educator of the Year. Selected honorees are chosen based on qualities including their professional accomplishments, longevity in the field, and contributions to their communities.

Currently in her 43rd consecutive year as an educator, Gillman came to NYU Steinhardt after earning her undergraduate degree in education, summa cum laude, from Felician University (then Felician College) in Rutherford, New Jersey.

“I had my initial certification to teach K–8 students in all subjects, but I found out that I had to get a master’s degree to stay certified,” says Gillman. “I figured that since I was still used to going to school, I might as well keep going.”

Gillman was interested in education for Deaf children, learning American Sign Language (ASL) as part of her Steinhardt degree. One of her best experiences was student teaching at a junior high school, working with seventh through ninth grade science students who were profoundly deaf.

“During that time, I learned that the average Deaf student after 12 years of schooling was reading at a 4.3 grade level because they’re in essence learning two languages—ASL and written English,” says Gillman. “My co-teacher had a wonderful version of hands-on learning to bridge this gap, and it helped students understand these complex scientific principles in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise. This kind of project-based learning was so memorable to me and became a big part of who I am as a teacher.”

Since graduating from NYU Steinhardt four decades ago, Gillman has taught elementary and middle school students in a range of subjects in the New York and New Jersey area. Currently, she teaches second, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade science at The Browning School on the Upper East Side in New York City. There, she also runs the Green Team, an environmental conservation group for students.

“I do what I do because I truly love being with children,” says Gillman, who has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, The National Digest, and more. “I think being a teacher is perhaps the most important job because we’re preparing the next generation, and they need to understand how the world works so they can make wise decisions.”

Gillman is passionate about lifelong learning, for her students and herself. Her professional development activities include becoming a National Geographic certified educator; becoming a Modern Classroom Project educator; and taking courses at the Museum of Natural History, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (where she got to see the James Webb Space Telescope before it was launched in 2021), and the Cornell Ornithology Lab, to name a few.

Gillman also began taking violin lessons as an adult and “took to it like a duck to water.” She currently plays with multiple renowned orchestras, including the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the North Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and The August Symphony Orchestra.

Gillman and other IAOTP honorees will be celebrated at the organization’s annual awards gala in Las Vegas this December.