Executive Leadership
Jeffrey J. Guenzel, MA, LPC, DIR-Expert, Chief Executive Officer
Ekaterina Sidor, MA, DIR-Expert, Deputy Director
Jeffrey Guenzel has been the leading ICDL since 2013. Before joining ICDL, Jeff held key leadership positions in state government and served as an executive director of a very successful not-for-profit. Jeff is a professional counselor that has been providing mental health and human development services for over 30 years. In his most recent appointments prior to joining ICDL, Jeff was the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families and previously served as the Director of the New Jersey Division of Child Behavioral Health. In these positions, he led many innovative initiatives including restructuring the service delivery system for children with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Prior to his appointments with the State of New Jersey, Jeff was the inaugural Executive Director of a not-for-profit agency providing Wraparound care management services for children and young adults with complex behavioral health challenges. Under his leadership, the agency became one of the largest Wraparound agencies in the United States gaining him national recognition.
Jeff has been invited to speak at conferences and to teach courses throughout the United States and in countries around the world. In addition to presenting at conferences and teaching courses on clinical practice, he has also provided technical assistance on leadership and program development to organizations, schools, and governmental entities.
As a Professional Counselor, Jeff has specialized in children and adolescents, but he also has much experience working with adults throughout the lifespan. He has worked as a clinician at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers University) as well as in private practice. Jeff earned his BA degree in Psychology and his MA degree in Counseling from Montclair State University. Jeff is currently working towards his Doctorate of Education (EdD).
Jeff has been legally blind or visually impaired for most of his life. In the 1980’s he competed nationally and internationally as a member of the USA Paralympic swim team.
Jeff provides a valuable combination of clinical knowledge and skill coupled with a proven track record of successful leadership. Underpinning this is a life-long commitment to serving others and promoting development for individuals, organizations, communities, and service delivery systems. Jeff has a deep appreciation for human diversity and has shown an unwavering commitment to creating a world where individual differences are embraced and everyone has the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential.
Ekaterina (Katya) Sidor, MA, DIR-Expert
Deputy Director
Native of of Eastern Siberia, Russia, Katya has always been passionate about education and human development. Before joining ICDL, Katya worked in the field of International Education, developing international programs, providing student advisement, and placing students in international internships. Her work at San Francisco State University involved working with K-16 administrators to create a pipeline to the San Francisco State Chinese Flagship Program, which is one of 27 Language Flagship programs in higher education nationally designed to change the way Americans learn languages.
Katya holds a degree in Applied Linguistics from Irkutsk State Linguistic University (ISLU) as well as a Master’s degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management from SIT Graduate Institute. As a part of her studies at ISLU, she studied at the Northeast Normal University, Chang Chun, China. Her degree from SIT Graduate Institute focused on international education, social justice and non-profit management.
Katya joined ICDL in 2012 as the Academic Coordinator for the ICDL Graduate School. In this role, she coordinated many aspects of the PhD in Infant Mental Health program, bringing together and supporting students of various backgrounds from around the world. Katya was a part of the team that successfully transitioned the ICDL Graduate School to Fielding Graduate University in 2014.
In 2014, Katya became the Executive Assistant to the ICDL CEO, Jeffrey Guenzel. Over the next four years, she utilized her expertise in higher education, international project management, and non-profit management to help the ICDL DIRFloortime® Training Program grow by nearly 300%. During this time, the training program established a coordinated network of international training providers that greatly expanded the reach of the program, including offering courses in over ten different languages (currently ICDL offers courses in over 20 different languages).
In her current role as Deputy Director for ICDL and as a DIR Expert, Katya is able to connect her passion for education and human development as she leads the organization into the future. In addition to leading many of ICDL's initiatives, Katya has also taught DIRFloortime courses live-online and in-person around the world. She is committed to helping ICDL reach its vision of a world where individual differences are embraced and everyone achieves their fullest potential.