Our Team of Educators

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tahira was born and raised in New York City. She holds a BFA in Art and Design Education from Pratt Institute and a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College. She has 10 years of experience, including at International Baccalaureate and Reggio Emilia schools.

Kate holds a B.A in Early Childhood/Childhood Education and Spanish, with a minor in music from Nazareth College. One of her favorite experiences during her undergraduate years, was studying abroad in Valencia, Spain for a semester. Kate had the wonderful opportunity of learning how to play several music instruments, specializing in violin and voice as her mother was an elementary music teacher.

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.

Muqing holds an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, Initial Certification (birth-grade 2) and Bilingual Extension Certification in Mandarin and a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from Syracuse University. Most recently, she taught for several years Chinese literacy and cultural studies at The Spence School. 

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.

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.

Merian has bachelor's degree in Communications and holds a Master's in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language from La Rioja University in Spain. She is originally from Caracas, Venezuela and she has been working as a preschool Spanish teacher for six years. 

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.

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.

She received her master's degree in communication and culture from the University of Seville in Spain in 2013. She is currently enrolled in an IB PYP course and pursuing certification from Child Development Associates (CDA). She has also acquired further training and certificates over the year and spent four years teaching Spanish and Mandarin in Spain.

Isabelle was born and raised in New York City. She holds NYS Certification in Childhood Education 1-6, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and Initial certification in School Building Leader (SBL) from St. John’s University, Queens, NY.

Caitlin has a B.S. in Elementary Education with ESL certification from The University of Tampa. She has elementary and preschool teaching experience in Belgium, Greece, and the United States. Caitlin joined our Green Ivy Schools family in 2019.

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.

Danielle received a B.A. in Elementary Education from Loyola University Maryland in 2016 and an M.S. Ed. in Special Education from The College of Staten Island in 2019. She also holds certification to teach in New York State and Maryland. She has experience teaching in the United States and recently returned from teaching in an IB school in Italy.

Meg is an experienced educator with more than 15 years teaching in the United States and abroad. Meg has a Master's of Science in Elementary Special Education and an undergraduate degree in Psychology.

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.

Coming soon!

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.

Lindsay graduated from the University of Arizona and received a certificate in elementary education. She then began a nearly decade-long career in teaching first grade in language immersion settings. Most recently, Lindsay worked abroad as a first grade teacher and peer mentor at an international school in Jeju island in South Korea.

Sofia is originally from Chile, where she taught at a bilingual Elementary teacher for over 5 years at an inquiry-based learning school. She holds a B.A. in Elementary education and a diploma in teaching English as a second language. 

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 over a decade and holds New York State certification in childhood education and early childhood special education.

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.

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.

Erin received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Anthropology from Emory University and the University of Chicago, respectively. After leaving academia, she pursued an MBA at UCLA and has been working in Operations and Finance ever since, in a variety of industries ranging from dotcoms, to after-school programs, to independent schools.

Rosa leads Green Ivy School's Nursery 2s to 6th Grade Admissions, building the community by sharing our unique and forward-thinking programming. Prior to Green Ivy, she worked at the Chinese Cultural Studies Program for Children at Columbia University as their Admissions and Operations Lead.

Carina relocated to New York 15 years ago from England. She has a BA.HONS in Education and a PGCE in Primary Education. Through her passion for travel, she has been lucky enough to teach elementary students in England, Budapest, as well as New York City. It was in New York City that Carina advanced her career and entered the admissions field.

Michael brings 12 years of experience across camp and school programs, having served as a camp director, program developer and counselor as well as a drama and history teacher. From NYC day camps to outdoor challenge courses in his native state of Florida, he believes that one of the most important things for any child is having a safe, enriching space for play, creativity, exploration and personal expression.

David is a seasoned Property/Facilities Manager. He loves the problem-solving and hands-on aspects of the field; each day is different and presents various opportunities to exercise his skill set. But most of all, he loves the fact that he's part of a great team that gets to see our future leaders learn and grow at the Green Ivy Schools.

Malik is a native New Yorker, raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was born on a military base, which would set the foundation for his professional life. After his military career, he worked in corporate security with Allied Universal at the World Trade Center. During this time Malik began working at the Browning School and now he's happy to be part of the Pine Street School team!

Eddie joined GI Facilities in 2019 as a member of the security team and handyman. When he is not keeping the schools beautiful, he is doing beautiful things. For the past 25 years, Eddie has supported people with disabilities, working with groups such as AHRC and The Lighthouse Guild.