About Marie

Marie Zuzzolo Amoruso, Ed.D. has had a distinguished career as a teacher, an author and adjunct professor at Teachers College Columbia University, and Manhattanville College. In New York she continues to be a consultant to Westchester Schools and is a Child-Advocate for Children of Special Needs in the tri-state area. In addition, together with her daughter Donna Lasco, the owner of Terrific Twos ©, a pre-school program for parent and child, she leads workshops for teachers, grandparents, parents and care-givers.

Dr. Amoruso is now advocating for children on the big screen. She announces the premier on-line of her film More…than a score, a documentary short highlighting how Common Core and standardized testing affect a child's desire and willingness to learn and attend school.

Dr. Amoruso and Grandma Press LLC have recently published Grandma Needs A Nap!  It is dedicated to grandparents and caregivers, who help children experience life through the loving interaction of the generations, providing practical suggestions for caregivers. It has been translated into Spanish, ¡La Abuela Necesita un Descanso!, and is being used to facilitate the learning of English in a variety of settings and workshops, including Manhattanville College and The Cabrini Institute for Immigration Services. Also included in both the English and Spanish versions of Grandma Needs A Nap!  is an animated version of the book on DVD in English. 

Dr. Amoruso co-authored with Joyce French and Nancy Ellsworth the textbook Reading and Learning Disabilities: Research and Practice (Garland Press) and with teachers from Mount Pleasant, New York, The Hawthorne Elementary School Primary Assessment Chart in Preschool Assessment Principles and Practices (Gilford Press) M. R. Brassard & A. E. Boehm authors. With teachers and administrators from Irvington, New York, Dr. Amoruso co-authored and edited Language Arts Curriculum K-12 and Academic Intervention Services Program K-12 (New York State Dept. of Education); and with the principal of P.S. 86, she co-authored Keys to Planning the Day (New York City Board of Education). Dr. Amoruso was the educational consultant for Learning to Read, a CD ROM program.  Her reading research done through Teachers College Columbia University on Decoding by Meaningful Parts of Words has been presented at state and national conferences, as well as in professional publications.

Dr. Amoruso, who is the owner of Grandma Press LLC and Vice-President of Greenwich Pen Women, has 3 children and 8 magnificent grandchildren. She has been an Officer and Board Member of Greenwich Pen Women. Cabrini of Westchester and Senator Andrea Stewart-cousins recently honored her and her husband Donald for their efforts on behalf of the elderly and children. She and her husband Donald live in the hamlet of Pocantico Hills near Pleasantville, New York.