Our Team of Educators
School Leadership
Eileen is an experienced international school leader who has implemented IB programs in schools in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. She is Montessori trained and a workshop leader and school inspector for the International Baccalaureate. She is uniquely qualified to bring our vision of a global school to life because she grew up overseas, immersed in a classroom of real world cultural experiences.
Bob Smith joined Pine Street School from a position as Head of the Middle Years Division for grades 6-10 at Woodstock School in India. He brings over 30 years of experience in education to his role as our Middle School Director, and for the past 19 years he has been involved with the International Baccalaureate (IB) as an administrator, coordinator and teacher.
Gretchen joined the Pine Street School team in 2015. She enjoys working with the administration, the teachers and the parent body to build a strong school community. Gretchen holds a B.A. in English Literature from SUNY-Oswego and IB Primary Years Programme Level I training.
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Middle School Teachers
Barbara joins us from London where she has been a co-Head Middle School Teacher at the ACS Cobham International School, working with students from 5th-8th grade for the past 4 years. Overall, Barbara has over 15 years of teaching experience and is fluent in English, French and Italian.
Bernardita holds an M.A. in Language Acquisition and a degree in Primary Education from Universidad de Los Andes in Chile. Berni grew up in Chile speaking Spanish and English at home and school. She has taught students from diverse backgrounds, developing creative lessons to achieve the best in each student and motivating them to become inquirers of the world.
Kindergarten & Elementary Teachers
Paola received her certification as a Spanish Teacher from Instituto Cervantes, is a member of ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and has IB Primary Years Program training.
Caitlin attended The University of Tampa where she graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. She was instrumental in establishing a study abroad program for students in the education program. Her love for early childhood education and exploring different cultures led her to complete a yearlong fellowship in Greece.
Pablo was born and grew up in Spain and moved to New York City in 2019. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in Spanish and Basque (an ancient language from the north of Spain) with major in Physical Education from the Public University of Navarre.
Originally from the Chicago area, Meghan has been living in New York City since 2013. She has a B.A. in Educational Studies and French from Colgate University and an M.S. in Early Childhood General Education from Bank Street College.
Paige is completing her M.Ed. in Advanced Teaching this fall. She holds a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies for Early Childhood to Grade 6, with ESL certification from Texas State University. In 2011, she accepted her first full-time teaching position in Kunming, China. She continued her career in education in China, Singapore, and Thailand.
Shanida G. Gutierrez has been dedicated to international education since her teens, when she founded a nonprofit program for marginalized youth in Panama City, Panama.
A native New Yorker, Shanida is bilingual and has taught in Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Panama, and Colombia. She has a B.A. in Literature from Hunter College, an M.A. in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics from King's College London, and an M.S.Ed. in General Childhood Education from Bank Street College Graduate School of Education.
Emily comes to us from London where she has served as an early childhood teacher for over 5 years. She holds a Master of Education from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor's degree in Childhood Studies from the University of Bristol.
Cailin holds an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood and Literacy and a B.S. in Early Education from The State University of New York. Since 2007, her teaching in Seoul, Boston, and New York focuses on developing students as thinkers, explorers, and change makers.
Yue is completing her M.A. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a B.A. from The Communication University of China. Yue's focus is on multicultural education and the importance of building global awareness.
Leigh has been teaching for 21 years and has taught music, kindergarten and first grade in the U.S. and Europe. She holds degrees in both Education and Philosophy and has teacher certification in Canada, Texas and Michigan.
Jacob brings rich international experience to our team, coming to us from The American School of Tangier in Morocco, having also worked in education in Kenya, Latvia, and Ecuador, and having lived in Australia.
Verónica received a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Brooklyn College and will obtain her Masters of Art in Bilingual Teaching in 2019. A native Spanish speaker, Verónica was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and has been living in the States for the past seven years.
Erika has been a bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural educator for 15 years. She studied at the University of San Diego for her undergraduate studies, studied abroad for graduate school at La Fundación Ortega y Gasset in Spain.
Danielle holds master’s degrees in Teaching from The Relay Graduate School of Education and International Communication from American University. She also completed her Initial Certificate for teaching in New York State. Prior to teaching in NYC, her work focused on global education.
Berynes previously served as Director of Spanish at the progressive and nationally-respected Blue Oak School in Napa, California. Prior to that, she was a Spanish Immersion Head Teacher at Avenues in New York.
Sirong holds a Master of TESOL from University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Art in English from Hunan University of China. She is also certified In ESL education. Sirong brings several years of IB PYP Mandarin immersion teaching experience in the U.S.
Early Childhood Teachers
Mexico is her home country and where her love for Spanish comes from. She grew up in Arizona and moved to New York six years ago. Janise obtained her Bachelors in Psychology from The Arizona State University and her Masters in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Michelle is a teacher with nearly 20 years of experience in childcare and preschool education. After completing her B.A. at SUNY Purchase, she experienced an entirely new environment while working as an ESL teacher in Thailand.
Taryn Klein is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW). She received her BSW from Syracuse University in 2011 and her MSW from Fordham University in 2012. Taryn has known she wanted to work with children since her early babysitting and camp counselor years, which guided her education focus to working with children and families.
Yue holds an M.A. in Bilingual & Bicultural Education from Teachers College Columbia University and a B.S. in Childhood & Early Adolescent Education from Penn State.
Ishil is from Istanbul, Turkey and moved to New York in 2010. She holds Montessori certification for infants and toddlers and a B.A. in Early Childhood Education from Marmara University in Istanbul.
Originally from Colombia, Marcela has a B.A. in Spanish education from the College of Staten Island CUNY, where she was the Spanish Club representative. She also obtained a Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o studies certification.
Cindy holds a M.A. in International Education Development and Family Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has 4 years of teaching experience with both children and adults.
Leslie received her Early Childhood Education degree in Guatemala, where she grew up. She has worked as a preschool and elementary teacher for more than ten years and taught Spanish to Middle and High School students in the Czech Republic for two years.
Stephanie holds a B.A. in Spanish Education and an A.A.S. in Early Childhood Education from CUNY Brooklyn College. Stephanie is bilingual in English and Spanish. She completed her Montessori certificate and IB Primary Years Program Category I training.
Specialist Educators
Lauren has an M.Ed in Educational Technology and a B.S. in History Teaching. Since she completed her student teaching in Southern China in 2012, she has been passionate about globally-minded education and how technology can create meaningful, personalized learning experiences for students.
Nadia has over 10 years of experience mentoring, educating and caring for children. She joined Green Ivy Schools in 2014. Nadia holds B.A. in English Literature and she completed her Montessori certificate and IB Primary Years Programme Level I training.
Meghan holds an M.F.A. in Playwriting and Dramaturgy from The University of Glasgow and is pursuing a Master's at NYU in Educational Theatre. She received her B.A. from Boston College. Meghan completed her IB Primary Years Programe Category I training.
Daniel was born and raised in New York City. He holds a B.A. in Jazz Guitar Performance and Music Education from the University of the Arts and an M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Liza is an arts educator originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She holds an M.A. in Art Education with Professional Licensure from New York University, and a B.S. in Art Education with Initial Licensure from Miami University. Liza has K-12 visual art teaching certificates in both New York and Pennsylvania.
Jing earned her Master of Education in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been teaching young children from early childhood to early elementary level for the past 9 years and holds New York State certification in childhood education and early childhood special education.
Bilingual in Mandarin and English, Qingyan is completing her M.A. in Music Education at Steinhardt, New York University. She holds a bachelors in music education from The Capital Normal University in Beijing.
Green Ivy Schools Team
Dr. Jennifer Jones is the founder and visionary behind New York City's Green Ivy Schools network and a lifelong entrepreneur and advocate for evolved learning experiences for children from birth to high school and beyond. She has developed 24 schools and draws from a rich background as school developer, international policy consultant, and teacher.
Jim Gaines comes to us with over 30 years of experience in the field of education, including roles of teacher, school leader and director of admissions and marketing. For the past decade Jim has served as the Admissions Director and Director of Marketing at a variety of schools both in California and New York.
Barb is a CPA with over 20 years of experiences in organizations large and small. She handles strategy development, financial forecasting, budgeting and more for our rapidly evolving schools.
Rosa has worked at the Chinese Cultural Studies Program for Children at Columbia University as their admissions and operations lead and for 4 years as a parent volunteer on the admissions team at The Spence School.
Gail holds a B.A. in Business and a B.A. in Accounting from Lakeland College Sheboygan in Wisconsin. Gail's background is primarily in tax accounting and general accounting in non-profits and a start-up meal preparation businesses.