Our Team of Educators

Anna Rita joins us from Del Mar Academy, an independent, bilingual Montessori and International Baccalaureate school located in Nosara, Costa Rica. While there, she taught, consulted, and served as Head of School. Anna Rita has an Ed.M. in Educational Leadership Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Zachary is excited to join Battery Park Montessori and is eager to translate his creative, collaborative, and organizational talents to support Green Ivy. He comes to us with experience in theatre administration production where he helped put together several plays in various locations around the U.S.

Stacey brings over 18 years of diverse education experience to Battery Park Montessori and has been with us since our first year! She earned her Montessori teaching credential from West Side Montessori and has a Masters in Early Childhood Education and SPED.

Ana Chico was born and raised in Ciudad Real, Spain, a city located in the center of her mother country. Ana pursued her Bachelors in Hospitality and Tourism management in Seville. Continuing her education, she obtained a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics of Teaching Spanish as a foreign language in Nebrija University in Madrid.

Stephy was born and raised in Suzhou, China. As a native Mandarin speaker, she also has a rich experience of studying abroad – she studied and worked in Canada for eight years. While there, she obtained an Associate Degree and subsequent licensure in Early Childhood Education, with a concentration in infant/toddlers and special needs.

Maria has a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education, a Montessori certification for children ages 3-6 and a New York State Teaching Certification in Early Childhood Education (birth-2nd grade).

Emily has a B.A. in Psychology, a B.A. in Theatre from Converse College, and her Montessori certification for children ages 3-6. She's been working with Primary-aged children since moving to New York in 2015.

Mariela joins the team with more than five years of teaching experience as a Spanish teacher in Montessori Education. She has a Masters in Early Childhood with Special Needs at Concordia University and completed her B.S. in Psychology and Childhood Development.

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.