Alumni

Class Notes

  • 2023

    November 2023

    • In a new Sprouting Minds podcast episode, Andie Amit, GSE ’19, founder and host of Sprouting Minds, and Maryah Greene, GSE ’20, founder of Greene Piece and author of the children’s book Good Things, discuss their experiences at Bank Street, Maryah’s process of writing and publishing her book, and more.
    • Robin E. Hummel, GSE ’08, Program Director, Leadership in Mathematics Education, Bank Street Graduate School, will hold a book talk on December 7 to discuss Transforming Online Teaching in Higher Education: Essential Practices for Engagement, Equity, and Inquiry along with co-author Laura Zadoff, Co-Director of Online Teaching and Learning, Bank Street Graduate School, and Steven Goss. Register here
    • Paula Rogovin, GSE ’70, received the Local Hero Award from The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County.
    • Karen Baptiste, GSE ’12, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of Preschool to Prison—a film about the impact of the preschool-to-prison pipeline—was interviewed on PIX11 News. Preschool to Prison was the winner of the 2023 LA Doc Film Fest for Best Human Rights Film, as well as a Micheaux Film Festival 2023 official selection.
    • Alvin Irby, GSE ’09, has been named one of this year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes for his work to expand reading opportunities through his Barbershop Books literacy program.

    October 2023

    • Gabriella Kula, GSE ’12, is the new visual education coordinator for Nightingale Bamford School in New York City.
    • Marylen Townley Massen, GSE ’10, is a reading and literacy specialist at Read & Write NYC and will be teaching the course EDUC 868: Approaches to Teaching Decoding to Diverse Learners at Bank Street Graduate School of Education in Spring 2024. In Summer 2023, she developed and taught a workshop called “Phonemic Awareness and Phonological Processing in the Early Childhood Classroom” through Bank Street Continuing Professional Studies.

    September 2023

    • Susie Rolander, GSE ’07, was hired as a faculty member in the Literacy Department at Bank Street Graduate School of Education.
    • Elizabeth Silva Diaz, GSE ’10, is a new faculty member in the Early Childhood Special Education Program at Bank Street Graduate School of Education.
    • Victoria Ozeir, GSE ’19, Davia Brown Franklyn, EdD, GSE ’97, and Tarima Levine, GSE ’01, are presenting at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in Nashville, Tennessee from November 15 – 18, 2023. Their session is titled, “Creating Equitable, Responsive Early Childhood Learning Environments.”
    • Jing Jing Hu, GSE ’19, is presenting at the National Council of Teaching Mathematics (NCTM) conference held in Washington, DC from October 25 – 28, 2023.
    • Kiley McLean, GSE ’18, received a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work. She is now a postdoctoral research fellow at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute.
    • Josy Alcindor, GSE ’19, has been named as the Beginning School and Lower School Assistant Principal at Rowland Hall, an independent preschool through high school in Salt Lake City.

    August 2023

    • Kathreen Harrison, GSE ’91, is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Amjambo Africa, an online publication educating people about Maine’s immigrant population.
    • Jamie D. Aarons GSE ’05, broke the world record for the fastest continuous hike of Scotland’s highest mountains.

    July 2023

    June 2023

    • Rebecca Carmant-Demas, GSE ’00, was awarded a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EdD) from Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice.
    • Bank Street Trustee Debbie Zlotowitz, GSE ’90, has retired from Mary McDowell Friends School.

    May 2023

    April 2023

    • The Wantagh School District has appointed Alison Hazut as its new director of elementary curriculum and instruction, effective July 1.
    • No Way Home, a recent film exploring complicated issues of homelessness by independent filmmaker and documentarian Sonia G. Diaz, GSE ’04, was featured at The Center for Culture: Afrikan Poetry Theatre, Inc.‘s Annual Black History Month Film Festival as part of its theater and film initiative. Diaz was also a panelist on the post-screening discussion held at The Museum of the Moving Image.
    • Tracy Larry, GSE ’15, was appointed Beginning and Lower School Assistant Head for Student and Family Support at Caitlin Gabel School.
    • Jessica Charles, GSE ’21, has been awarded a fellowship to study the Prospect Archives at the University of Vermont this summer to better understand teacher observation and description as a professional discipline.

    March 2023

    • Takiema Bunche-Smith GSE ’97, was selected as a finalist for the Zaentz Early Childhood Innovation Challenge for her Journey to Nia curriculum.
    • Alvin Irby, GSE ’09, was awarded a SXSW Community Service Award, which honors amazing leaders who have developed unique and forward-thinking solutions to address the challenges of the specific community they serve.
    • Dr. Asya Johnson, GSE ’12, has been selected as the New York City Chancellor’s Master Principal for the 2023-24 school year.
    • Melina Gac Levin, GSE ’15, is the founder of Pueblo, a platform that supports and empowers multicultural families raising young children. Pueblo offers a suite of parenting classes led by experts in the field and are designed to build parental reflective functioning.
    • On March 9, Rachel Payne, GSE ’95, will moderate a panel titled “The Ones They Come Back To: What Makes a Best Board Book?” at the inaugural Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award Ceremony hosted by the Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature.

    February 2023

    • Kathryn Lanouette, GSE ’06, was featured in an article by William & Mary School of Education for serving as a guest editor of the Bank Street Occasional Paper Series #48, “Learning Within Socio-Political Landscapes: (Re)imagining Children’s Geographies.”
    • The OSG Transformational Leadership Conference on March 17-18 will feature Carolyne Quintana, GSE ’08, Deputy Chancellor of Teaching & Learning at the New York City Department of Education, as a keynote speaker as well as Dr. Asya Johnson, GSE ’12, Principal and Co-Founder of Equitable Educators, LLC as a presenter.

    January 2023

    • Sarah Koffler, GSE ’13, is co-founder of GatherRound LLC, a consulting agency dedicated to transforming the future of early childhood education by partnering with schools and communities to create reflective and intentional environments and systems for children, families, and educators to thrive. Read More
    • Shirley Wright, GSE ’75, was featured in an article by the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation titled “Oral History: Shirley Wright and the Founding of the West Village Nursery School.” 
    • On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Alvin Irby, GSE ’09, appeared on a segment on The Today Show about his nonprofit organization Barbershop Books. 
    • Marcel Deans, GSE ’06, ’18, recently started a new position as the Deputy Chief of Educator Development at NYC Public Schools.
  • 2022

    December 2022

    • The Chapin School welcomed Suzanne Fogarty, GSE ’99, as its new Head of School.

    November 2022

    October 2022

    September 2022

    • Jenna Brodsky, GSE ’09, has been appointed assistant principal of the Nassau BOCES Preschool Program at Barry Tech.
    • Glaura Paiva, GSE ’20, was married at the West Chop Club in Martha’s Vineyard.

    August 2022

    July 2022

    • Joan Goldstein, GSE ’67, is a professor of Sociology at The Lewis School of Princeton, a private school for students with learning disabilities. She has been the host and producer of “Back Story With Joan Goldstein” for 20 years, presenting conversations with thought leaders.
    • Sarah Anderson, GSE ’03, was named CEO and superintendent of Blackstone Valley Prep.
    • Dr. Ronald Gonzalez, GSE ’04, was named interim superintendent for the Elmsford Union Free School District.
    • Kate Bitter, GSE ’09, is dean of the Lower Division at Stevenson School.
    • Alisa Martin Leighton, GSE ’95, has earned her doctorate in education. Dr. Leighton was a Bank Street Minority Fellow from 1993-95 and worked in the School for Children. She is currently an adjunct professor at New Jersey City University and a therapist in early intervention. She also serves as a special needs consultant to various educational institutions.
    • Lola Pyne, GSE ’09, was appointed chief operating officer of B&O Railroad Museum.
    • Jane Richardson, GSE ’77, has a new book titled, Art As a Language for Autism: Building Effective Therapeutic Relationships with Children and Adolescents. Jane is an associate professor of art therapy at Lesley University and taught young children before becoming an art therapist and a play therapist.

    June 2022

    • Lesley Koplow, GSE ’79 is the author of Emotionally Responsive Practice: A Path for Schools that Heal, which received an Honorable Mention by the 2022 Educators Book Award (pdf) Committee for the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.
    • Sierra Van Ryck deGroot, GSE’17, was named Deputy Director of Museum Hue by its Board of Directors.
    • Princess Francois, GSE ’15, ’20, recently started a new position as New York Executive Director at America Needs You!
    • Jacob Dixon, GSE ’10, CEO of Choice for All and an adjunct faculty member at Bank Street Graduate School, now serves as the new center coordinator for the Long Island Regional Technical Assistance Center for Pre-K & Early Childhood Education. He was honored as a 2022 Nassau BOCES Education Partner for the collaborative’s work in expanding access, equity, and quality pre-K on Long Island.

    May 2022

    April 2022

    March 2022

    • Nesta Marshall, GSE ’99, Supervised Fieldwork Advisor & Course Instructor, Bank Street Graduate School of Education, wrote a blog post titled “Mitigating Bias in Mathematics Instruction” published in the Math for All newsletter (March 2022 Edition).
    • Valerie Wilson Wesley, GSE ’78, award-winning author of the Blackboard bestselling Tamara Hayle mystery series and the Odessa Jones mysteries, as well as adult fiction, children’s books, and paranormal romance, has written an article about crime fiction’s pioneering women of color.
    • Francine Marchese, GSE ’91, was recently appointed as the new executive director at Bolton Hill Nursery.
    • Artist Laura Anne Walker, GSE ’86, will be one of five Fountain House Gallery artists represented at the 2022 Outsider Art Fair booth from March 3–6 in New York City. She is featured in this Fountain House Gallery Instagram video.

    February 2022

    January 2022

  • 2021

    December 2021

    • Margaret Ryan, GSE ’01, Harlem Link Charter School Leader and Founder, wrote a blog about her school’s collaboration with an organization working on purposeful relocation of Afghan women and children with the help of Bank Street’s Emotionally Responsive Practice (ERP).

    October 2021

    • Princess Francois, GSE ’15, ’20, and Andy Estevez were married at the Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on September 5.
    • Amy Rosenfeld-Kass, GSE ’97, authored a new children’s book, Daniel and Max Play Together: Part of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and was featured in Imagine the World as One, a short film series exploring the intersection of disability and prayer in the Jewish community.
    • Priscilla Hernandez, GSE ’15, authored a post in a PBS nature blog about developing identity through work in zoos.

    September 2021

    • Jeff Nichols, GSE ’03, has been appointed as the new executive director of The National Civil War Museum.
    • Jessica Ross, GSE ’83, is the new associate principal at Medina High School in Ohio.
    • Sarah Altman Bumsted McSorley, GSE ’03, has been appointed to the Ellis School Board of Trustees in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    August 2021

    • Ai-Huei Chang-Lau, GSE ’19, joined the John F. Kennedy School in the Great Neck school district in Long Island, New York as their new assistant principal.
    • Rebecca Warchut, GSE ’08, is one of five authors competing for a publishing contract through the When Words Count Writing Retreat. Her debut novel is Catastrophe Theory.

    July 2021

    June 2021

    May 2021

    • Robie H. Harris, GSE ’70, former Bank Street School for Children teacher, was selected as the recipient of the Freedom to Read Foundation 2021 Role of Honor Award (pdf).
    • Kimberly Cisneros-Gill, GSE, ’10, was appointed director of education at Wave Hill.
    • Ossining Union Free School District announced that Nicole Mangiere, GSE ’11, will be the new principal of Roosevelt School.
    • Soh Young Lee-Segredo, GSE ’97, was appointed as advisor for the artist commissioners for the Artistic Commissioning Program 2010-20. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the two artists representing Flushing successfully premiered their program virtually and each received a $10,000 grant.

    April 2021

    • Joan Goldstein, GSE ’67, has been hosting and producing TV shows on social, economic, and political stories for more than 15 years. A recent episode on her Princeton TV30 show, “Back Story with Joan Goldstein,” features a conversation with a student and her college advisor about their project to produce films on Black heroes from WWI and WWII who went on to forge the Civil Rights movement. Watch the episode
    • Jamie Gans, GSE ’12, turned her early childhood education training into a business, Busy Box 4 Kids, to help young children build skills through arts and crafts projects.
    • Maxine Roberts, GSE ’06, has been named as the new director at Strong Start to Finish.
    • Connie Biewald, GSE ’80, has authored a new book, Truth Like Oil.

    March 2021

    • Juan Rodriguez, GSE ’16, recently became the Director of the Clearwater Nature Center.
    • Tara Greaney, GSE ’14, Head of School at Morningside Montessori School, has released her first book titled, Montessori at Home: A Practical Guide for Parents.
    • Diana Blank, GSE ’15, will begin serving as the principal of Briarcliff High School, effective July 1, 2021. She holds an EdM in administration and supervision from Bank Street’s Future School Leaders Academy.

    February 2021

    • Tara Kirton, GSE ’15, Graduate School faculty member, was interviewed about the impact of COVID-19 on recent graduates entering the job market to work in the education field.
    • Steven Mercado, GSE ’18, will join the Ravenscroft School as the Assistant Head of School for Lower School in July 2021.
    • Joanie Dean, GSE ’15, has been named as the next principal of the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School effective July 1, 2021.

    January 2021

    • Arlene “Cookie” Mellitz, GSE ’04, will conclude her 33-yearlong Bank Street career to begin her sabbatical on February 1 and retirement on June 30. Cookie taught physical education, coached numerous sports, and choreographed and directed the School for Children’s 13/14s play. Additionally, she developed and directed the Bank Street Summer Camp.
    • Miriam Sicherman, GSE ’00, third- and fourth-grade teacher at Children’s Workshop School (PS 361M), was featured in the Museum of the City of New York’s “New York Responds” exhibit.
    • Joan Goldstein, GSE ’67, host and producer of Princeton TV’s “Back Story with Joan Goldstein” for more than 15 years, discusses COVID-19 and vaccinations on her latest episodes titled, “What is a Virus?” and “What Do We Know About Vaccinations?”
    • Mark Mihopulos, GSE ’08, designed and established a successful supportive and educational program for LGBT-headed families, including programs for current parents, prospective parents, and the children of LGBT parents at the LGBT community center for Queens and Long Island. He has led the transition to the development and facilitation of the LGBT Network’s Virtual Center.
    • Meg Formica, GSE ’92, developed online virtual professional learning to support early childhood professionals’ lunchtime seminars on Trauma and Young Children (Fall 2020) and Equity in ECE (Winter 2021). She has also developed training offered statewide focused on curriculum, is presenting a Powerful Interactions session at the CTAEYC February 2021 conference, and is organizing the Equity in Early Childhood Education LEARN at Lunch series on February 26.
  • 2020

    December 2020

    • Jon Luongo, GSE ’05, Child Life Specialist, Maimonides Infant & Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn, was featured by the Association of Child Life Professionals in its Child Life in Action series, which highlights stories of Certified Child Life Specialists in various work settings.

    November 2020

    • The New England Museum Association (NEMA) has awarded Corinne Flax, GSE ’08, Manager of School and Community Partnerships, Bruce Museum, a 2020 NEMA Excellence Award for her extraordinary effort and commitment to the New England museum community.
    • Jersey City Free Public Library has appointed Hannah Batren, GSE ’18, as the program coordinator for special events.
    • Eleanor Traubman, GSE ’95, received the Brooklyn COVID-19 Heroes Award from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for writing “My Local Heroes,” a Facebook project featuring interviews with Brooklynites who are serving their community through activism, the arts, and entrepreneurship.

    October 2020

    September 2020

    • Kesina Gray-Graham, GSE ’20, hosted a Black Woman Safe space via Zoom for the staff at Harlem Link Charter School, which was co-founded by, Margaret Ryan, GSE ’01. The virtual space was created in honor and memory of Breonna Taylor and as part of the work of the Diversity Social Justice Committee at Harlem Link.
    • The Board of Trustees of Nutley Family Service Bureau welcomed Katherine Carmichael as its new Executive Director.
    • Diana Gomez, GSE ’98, was the curriculum writer for the Tenement Museum’s Immigration and Migration curriculum unit completed in Fall 2020, just in time to be used by teachers teaching remotely.

    August 2020

    • Mary Hillman, GSE ’17, authored a children’s book titled But How Will I Say Hello? to support young students as they return to school this fall with new routines around physical distancing. Mary launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project to help fund the printing and fulfillment expenses.
    • Marissa Thornton-Samih, GSE ’12, has received the high honor of being recognized as a 2020 Big Apple Teaching Fellow from the New York City Department of Education. Marissa is the first person to ever receive this honor from District 23 in Brooklyn.

    July 2020

    • Tashon McKeithan, GSE ’99, has been named as the new executive director of The Child Educational Center.
    • Naomi Danis, GSE ’74, published a picture book, My Best Friend, Sometimes, (Pow Kids Books, 2020) illustrated by Cinta Arribas, who also illustrated Danis’s 2018 book, I Hate Everyone.
    • Natalie Bernstein, GSE ’91, has taught young children ages 2-5 for more than 30 years.
    • Claire Schloss, GSE ’94, is a dedicated itinerant teacher (SEIT and SEITS/ABA) who provides services to her students while using Telehealth.

    June 2020

    • Jacquelyn Florsheim, GSE ’83, retired kindergarten teacher and diversity coordinator from Packer Collegiate Institute, recently published “White Anti-racist Heroes” work with Brooklyn For Peace
    • Rebecca Camera, GSE ’02, will pursue teacher coaching as a math specialist on Long Island after 17 years in the classroom.
    • Christina Ruiz, GSE ’13, who previously worked as a museum educator and director as well as a Montessori School teacher, now works as a Webinar Coordinator for WePassed.com and is expecting her first child.
    • Leah Golubchick, GSE ’16, co-founded Emergent Horizons, a nonprofit that builds alliances with global refugees and provides direct aid for individuals creating change in their communities.

    May 2020

    • BSCAA Vice President Margaret Ryan Evangelista, GSE ’01, of Harlem Link Charter School, has raised over $25,000 to provide laptops for Harlem Link students who share devices for virtual learning with siblings at home.
    • Farid Johnson, GSE ’10, has been appointed as the next principal of Siwanoy School, part of Pelham Public Schools.
    • Kisha Brown, GSE ’92, has worked for 12 years at Lakelands Park Middle School in Maryland and co-sponsors an extracurricular course entitled: Girls Who STEM.
    • Dan Forstner, GSE ’91, and his students were featured in a Washington Post article titled, “For locked-down high-schoolers, reading ‘The Plague’ is daunting, and then comforting.“
    • Tracy Birkhahn, GSE ’99, is Director of Learning Resources at the 92nd Street Y Nursery School.
    • Amina Alquhaar, GSE ’83, has retired.

    April 2020

    • The Association of Child Life Professionals featured Hilary Woodward, GSE ’11, in an interview about her work as an emergency room child life specialist in New York City during COVID-19.
    • Ben Tupper, GSE ’18, Music Director and Pre-K teacher at Little Missionary’s Day Nursery in New York City, has created Music with Ben at Home, a free singalong series on YouTube that is perfect for children ages 3-5 in our days of social distancing.
    • Stephanie Ehrlich, GSE ’91, has been named the first executive director of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance.
    • Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, GSE ’06, has been named the new president and CEO of The Miami Foundation.
    • Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum, GSE ’91, has published Boats Will Float (Sleeping Bear Press) about the types of watercraft navigating different bodies of water.

    March 2020

    • The Early Learning Center has named Kelly Bird, GSE ’99, as its next director.

    February 2020

    • Aléwa Cooper, GSE ’01, was appointed as The Foote School’s next Head of School.
    • Meghan Fitzgerald, GSE ’06, celebrates reaching over 200,000 kids through Tinkergarten, an organization that offers classes for children and adults who learn together through well-designed, outdoor play-based activities.

    January 2020

  • 2019

    December 2019

    November 2019

    • Susan Kleinsinger, GSE ’72, is proud to have sold her first painting.
    • Dana Keiser, GSE ’04, received her PhD at the Child Development Erikson Institute.
    • Stephanie Mercurio-Doran, GSE ’03, is an EdD candidate at the University of Florida in Curriculum/Instruction.
    • Princess Francois, GSE ’15, was presented with a Milken Educator Award  by the Milken Family Foundation.

    October 2019

    September 2019

    • Lauren Kibbe, GSE ’15,  has joined Friends Select as a lower school assistant teacher.
    • Stacy Fowle, GSE ’97, has been named Westport’s Teacher of the Year for 2020.
    • Ann Fortescue, GSE ’89, is the new executive director of the International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen, TX.

    August 2019

    • Lauren Haggerty, GSE ’11, has joined New Canaan Schools as a Preschool Long Term Substitute.
    • Tim Jones, GSE ’13, has joined Germantown Friends School as a 4th grade lead teacher.
    • Alice Messinger, GSE ’94, is teaching a Linoleum Block Printing class in September at the Boulder Jewish Community Center in Colorado.
    • Francesca Shin Davia, GSE ’14, has joined Rye Country Day School as a Kindergarten Lead Teacher.
    • Jeffrey Nichols, GSE ’03, was selected as the new Executive Director at Georgetown Heritage.
    • William Horning, GSE ’80, known for his geometric paintings and collages, will have his work featured at the Creative 360 Exhibit.
    • Miriam (Cohen) Glickman, GSE ’69, authored “Teaching the Movement,” a paper on a social studies curriculum that she wrote as a graduate student at Bank Street College in 1967.
    • Stacie E. Brennan, GSE ’12, joined Lehigh University Art Galleries as the inaugural curator of education.
    • Alisa Martin, GSE ’95, has started her doctoral studies in the Educational Technology Leadership Program at New Jersey City University (NJCU). Alisa works as a therapist in Early Intervention in the Hudson County region in New Jersey. She is also as an Educational Specialist in New York City.

    July 2019

    June 2019

    May 2019

    • Jennifer Shouffler, GSE ’00, is hired as a new superintendent for the Tewksbury K-8 school district
    • Aliza (Riemer) Strassman, GSE ’11, received the 2019 Northern New Jersey Grinspoon Award in Jewish Education

    April 2019

  • 2018

    December 2018

    • Emily Overlock Curry, GSE ’08, is a new board member for Greenwich Land Trust
    • Araina Jewell, GSE ’01, has been appointed Academy at the Lakes’ Lower Division Director

    October 2018

    September 2018

    August 2018

    July 2018

    May 2018

    • Alice Miller, GSE ’65, will retire from her role as a Shaftsbury, Vermont representative after her 11th house term
    • Hoboken Charter School named Joanna Weintraub, GSE ’98, as its new principal
    • The Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts named Dawn E. Salerno, GSE ’05, as its executive director.

    January 2018