Andrew Hauner joined the Beginnings staff in 2020. He is a city kid at heart. He has worked with children and their families across learning contexts and settings in NYC, including the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Blue School, Imani House and P.S. 10K. After studying classics at Boston University, Andrew completed his higher education in the Czech Republic, where his parents immigrated from, earning a BFA in photography, a BA in French philology and an MFA in intermedia and art education. He's currently pursuing an MSEd in early childhood education at Brooklyn College, The City University of New York (CUNY). He is interested in the Reggio approach to early childhood education as a way to see, challenge and leverage his teacher subjectivity and cultural lens. He also likes Casio keyboards and reading.
Aneesha Kinard joined the Beginnings community in the fall of 2017 as a floater teacher. She received a BA from Fordham University in Natural Science. Before Beginnings, Aneesha worked with the Girl Scouts of Greater NY teaching coding and mentoring young girls. She also has experience as a teacher working with children with disabilities, tutoring adolescents and adults, and working in after school and summer camp programs. In her free time, Aneesha likes to cook all types of cuisine and likes visiting the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.
Bio Coming Soon!
Beau has been a part of the Beginnings community since 2008. He can be found in the classroom and sound studio teaching music or at his desk working on all things digital communications. Prior to working at Beginnings, he received his B.F.A. from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Theater Performance and English Literature and his front-end web development education from General Assembly in New York City. He began his teaching career at a Brooklyn Heights Montessori School as the music teacher for first through eighth grades. There, he taught classes and led performances for chorus, songwriting, music theory, piano and guitar. He also collaborated to write an original musical for the upper school. At Beginnings, he has developed the sound studio and music website for which he presented his work on the evolution of the music studio program at Blue School's annual conference on Innovation in November 2013. This led to the development of the current Beginnings website which he also created. Beau lives vicariously through his children who love to do interpretive dance performances to the Hamilton soundtrack and play soccer, baseball, tennis, Atari and Nintendo.
Bethany Cole joined the teaching staff at Beginnings in 2013. She previously taught at The Family Annex Nursery School and has worked for many years as a water safety instructor at Hillard summer camp. Bethany has a B.A. in liberal studies from SUNY Purchase. She is pursuing a master's degree at Bank Street College of Education.
Caroline is an interdisciplinary artist and fine arts specialist. She believes in creating possibilities for quality education that engages individuals cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Caroline strives to develop ways to bring people together throughout her workplace and community spaces. She believes the art studio is a space for open dialogue and inclusion. She brings her love of art, practice, process, materials, repurposing, and artistic expression to her community and students. Caroline studied art and the philosophy of arts education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and received her Masters in Painting and Drawing from Pratt Institute. She taught in the Primary and Middle school programs at Blue School from 2014-2022. She lives and practices art in Brooklyn with her wife, Karen, and kid Sal.
Claire is thrilled to be joining the teaching staff at Beginnings in fall 2023. She previously taught at The Children's Workshop School in the East Village and worked as a research assistant in the NYU SAIL Research Lab where she organized and prepared student materials and supplies for 15+ NYCDOE schools. Claire has a B.S. from NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education.
Caroline Reuben joined the teaching staff at Beginnings in 2022 as a floater teacher. Concurrently during the 2022-23 school year, she taught 3-year-olds at The Acorn School. She is currently completing her BS in Consumer Behavior and Marketplace Studies at the University of Wisconsin. Her growing interest in early childhood led her to make the decision to finish her remaining credits at NYU in Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Diana Tobon started teaching at Beginnings in 2011. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Hunter College of the City of New York. Prior to joining Beginnings, Diana taught Pre-K at ABC Preschool and Kindergarten Center in Woodside, NY and taught Spanish to children for eight years at Language Workshop for Children in NYC.
Elizabeth Zechel is joining the Beginnings community this year. She has been teaching at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn Heights since 2001. Along with teaching, Elizabeth is also an author/illustrator of children's books. She received her B.F.A. in painting and drawing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1991, then moved to New York in 1994 for her M.F.A in drawing. She has illustrated cookbooks and food publications and has both written and illustrated children's books. Animals and nature play a large role in her teaching, specifically apes, birds, and dinosaurs. She is regularly inspired by children's curiosity and excitement of the natural world and when they discover something new that they want to learn more about. Elizabeth has been an animal docent at the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn and is a very, very amateur paleontologist. Her favorite things to do are to eat ice cream with her son, draw and dig for fossils and playing with their two cats with the exception of the one who bites.
Hannah joined Beginnings in the Fall of 2018 as a floater teacher. She has been a childcare provider in San Francisco, worked in an after-school program in New Mexico, a summer camp in Hawaii, and at an orphanage in India. These positions have all shaped Hannah's personal growth as well as her commitment to working with children. She is currently pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education at Empire State College.
Jane has worked at Beginnings since 1992, as a head teacher (1992-1996), Assistant Director (1996-2005), Director (2006-2022) and Executive Director since 2022. She received a BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont, a Masters in Early Childhood Education and a Masters in Supervision and Administration from Bank Street College. Jane has had extensive training in the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education. She has attended workshops at Reggio inspired schools in the United States and been to Reggio Emilia, Italy to visit their early childhood programs and study their philosophy. Jane spearheaded a two-year relationship between The University of Vermont Campus Children's Center and Beginnings Nursery School. She has presented at the 92nd Street Y, Kean University, and The European Early Childhood Research Conference in Birmingham, England. Jane has been an adjunct lecturer in the department of Early Childhood Education at Hunter College and is on the Independent Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY) board of directors. In 2013, Jane started Teaching Beyond the Square, a non-profit dedicated to improving early childhood education for all children, especially in high-risk communities. She also was the exhibit chair for New York City's 2015 Wonder of Learning Exhibit, the traveling exhibition from the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. As a child Jane loved giving voices to all her stuffed animals and it is a known fact that there is not a day that goes by without Jane eating a piece of dark chocolate.
Juli Malacane started teaching at Beginnings in 2020. She is a graduate from Tulane University with a BA in Communications and is currently pursuing a masters in Early Childhood and Special Education at Bank Street College of Education. She has worked with children since 2012 in various settings including the Smithsonian National Zoo day camp in Washington, D.C., the Executive Child Development Center in Rockville, Maryland, and tutoring at various charter schools in New Orleans.
Justyna Kittel joined the Beginnings staff in September 2014. She is originally from Poland and has lived in New York since 2002. Justyna has a master's in sociology from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. She has worked as a Production Coordinator for the New York Polish Film Festival, taught Polish as a second language and Polish art and culture at the Polish Supplementary School in Brooklyn for the last seven years and written about education for Polish newspapers in the U.S. She is pursuing a master's in early childhood education at Brooklyn College.
Kris has been working at Beginnings since 2005. He has a BA in Literature and Creative Writng from Fairfield University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the New School. His second novel, The Antiques, will be published by Scribner in January 2017.
Laura Graham started working at Beginnings in 2010. She holds a B.A. in dance and philosophy from Hamilton College. While dancing for a company in Albany, NY, she taught modern and ballet technique to children ages 3-18. Laura also worked for many years as a teacher and artistic director at a performing arts camp. Laura is currently pursuing a master's in early childhood education at Hunter College. Laura presented her work to instructional coaches for the New York Department of Education in May 2015.
LeeAnn has been a part of the Beginnings community since 2004 in a variety of roles. She was the Assistant Director from 2007-2022 and Director since 2022. She received a B.F.A. from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Drama and Psychology and has a Master's degree from Hunter College in Early Childhood General and Special Education. She is also a certified adult and children's yoga instructor. She has taught drama and yoga in many different schools and was the Lower School Drama teacher at Brooklyn Heights Montessori School where she collaborated with the children to write and perform original theater pieces. She has worked as a private Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) and taught yoga privately to children with special needs. In addition to her work with children, LeeAnn was the Assistant to the Director of Special Events for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, focusing on fund raising and event planning. LeeAnn loves to do yoga, play dress-up with her kids, cook all types of food. She believes the key to happiness is a well curated charcuterie plate shared with friends.
Lekyta Catts joined Beginnings in the Fall of 2018. She is from Poughkeepsie, NY, and is working on her BA in Child Psychology & Development at The University of Massachusetts (online). Lekyta has been working with children for a total of 13 years, with 8 of those years having been early childhood, elementary, and special needs classrooms in the Hudson Valley. Some of her other passions include writing whimsical and comedic poetry and seeing her favorite band, Hanson (yes, THAT Hanson!), on tour.
Lilla Chabler has worked at Beginnings since 2006. She is originally from Poland, where she studied Literature Education at University of Zielona Gora and was a middle school Polish grammar and literature teacher. Lilla also worked as a volunteer in a kindergarten class for developmentally disabled children.
Lily Byerly joined the Beginnings staff in September 2015. She received a B.A. in psychology from Wellesley College and spent her college and post-college years working with preschoolers, adolescents and college students in various settings. Before joining Beginnings, she spent three years at the Wellesley College Child Study Center, a laboratory preschool, teaching children ages 2-5. Lily received a master's degree in early childhood education from Bank Street College of Education in May 2020. She loves doing a deep dive, whether it is into the world of making miniatures or backyard chicken care, or the social politics of reality competition shows, or something else entirely!
Marisa Chung was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to New York City with her family in 2000. Marisa's first classroom experience began at an Early Head Start Program, which lead to her decision to enter her teaching career. She worked as a lead teacher in a private school with infants and toddlers in the Lower East Side and later joined the teaching team at the CUNY Graduate Center's Child Development and Learning Center. Marisa is currently pursuing a master's degree in early childhood education at Brooklyn College.
Rosalva Moran has been teaching at Beginnings since 2007. Before working at Beginnings, she taught for five years at the Language Workshop for Children as a Spanish teacher to children aged 6 months to 9 years. She holds a B.A. in psychology and English language arts and a master's degree in early childhood education, both from Hunter College. She enjoys listening to music (in English and Spanish), loves the color purple, and is a fan of Hello Kitty.
Tania Molina started working at Beginnings in 2007. She moved to New York in 2005 from Puerto Rico, where she studied Theatre and French. During college, Tania volunteered with children in low-income communities, which later evolved into teaching theatre to youth across the island. She holds a B.A. in theatre from the University of Puerto Rico and an MFA in theatre from Columbia University.
Zachary Schlee taught at Beginnings from 1998-2004 and returned in 2008 after living upstate for a number of years. In addition to his years at Beginnings, Zachary has also been a head counselor at Friends Seminary summer camp.