Gail C. Lamberta, Ph.D
Associate Dean
St. Joseph’s College
Gail C. Lamberta, Ph.D., has spent a majority of her life focusing on improving the health and wellness of communities throughout New York.
Dr. Lamberta began her career in recreation at the YMCA in Huntington, New York, where she specialized in fitness and health enhancement programs. She furthered her career at the Greater New York YMCA of Eastern Queens, where she managed the entire facility, complete with health and fitness programs, aquatics, martial arts, camping, youth programs, racquetball and tennis, as the director of sports and fitness. Dr. Lamberta later acquired a position at the YMCA of Long Island’s corporate office as the metropolitan director of programs and services. In this position, she oversaw all of the branches of the YMCA on Long Island and developed new programs to enhance the wellness schedule offered at the YMCA. Further continuing her work with the YMCA, Dr. Lamberta served as the executive director and ran two growing locations — in Brookhaven and Smithtown — as well as their off-site childcare facilities.
While at the YMCA, Dr. Lamberta took an assistant professor position and became chair of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at SJC Long Island in Patchogue, New York. In 2000, she left the YMCA to develop the department at SJC Brooklyn and pursue a Ph.D. As chairperson, Dr. Lamberta oversees the department faculty, Student Recreation Club and fosters relationships with outside organizations, all while teaching her own full schedule of courses.
In 2012, Dr. Lamberta became the coordinator of experiential learning for the entire college. As coordinator, she establishes partnerships with organizations to provide service-learning opportunities for students. That same year, Dr. Lamberta became the associate dean at SJC Long Island. This position allows her to assess, develop and recommend new programs, including SJC’s Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management, another SJC department that she co-chairs. In 2015, Dr. Lamberta was named the associate dean of community development at SJC Long Island.
Since 1999, Dr. Lamberta has been part of the National College Credit Recommendation Service (CCRS), supported by the New York State Department of Education Accrediting Agency, where she visits potential internship sites to determine accreditation and decides whether or not certain educational programs warrant college credit. Dr. Lamberta has been a member of the Long Island Leisure Services Association’s (LILSA) board of directors since 1998 and currently serves as its president. She is also a co-founder of the Blue Stars and Yellow Ribbons Veterans Initiative at SJC. In 2014, Dr. Lamberta joined the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Strategic Planning Council and the advisory council for the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Regional STEM High School. She was also nominated to serve on the board of directors for the Long Island Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (LICVB). In 2015, Dr. Lamberta joined the board of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce and its Education Committee, and became a member of the Youth Standing Committee of the Suffolk County Workforce Development Board. She also volunteers with ALS Ride for Life, LaunchPad and Huntington Business Incubator.
Dr. Lamberta received a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation, cum laude with departmental honors, from SJC. She received an M.A. in Exercise Physiology from Adelphi University and a Ph.D. in Health Services with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation from Walden University. In 2008, her dissertation “A Values Education Intervention Through Therapeutic Recreation” was published.