The faculty and staff at the Brooklyn Waldorf School are an energetic team of educators. Our teachers are Waldorf trained and have taught in Waldorf schools all around the world. They bring their combined experience to form a rich Waldorf curriculum here in Brooklyn. Together we learn from each other’s experiences and are motivated to work with cooperation and enthusiasm. Collaboration in planning and action encourages a school-wide interest and a deep feeling of responsibility for all aspects of BWS.
Teachers are guided by, and work within, a Waldorf school framework that gives indications toward curriculum, school communication and structure. All staff are encouraged and supported to continue on a path of lifelong learning.
To learn more about our faculty and staff, click on an individual’s name to read his or her biography.
TEACHING FACULTY
Early Childhood
Parent-and-Child
- Meggan Gill, Lead Teacher
- Olivia Biller, Assistant Teacher
Nursery
East
- Gun Blue, Lead Teacher
- Cecilia Torres, Assistant
West
- Jenn Wilenta, Lead Teacher
- Elise Pizzonia, Assistant Teacher
Kindergarten
North
- Monika Stanislawek, Lead Teacher
- Aliya Birdoff, Assistant Teacher
South
- Monica Sibrizzi, Lead Teacher
- Keri Lynn Patton, Assistant Teacher
East
- Gillian Zagorski, Lead Teacher
- Lily Henley, Assistant Teacher
Lower School
- Isaac Roosa, Grade 1 Class Teacher
- Lillian Olney, Grade 1 Assistant
- Bianca Brousseau, Grade 2 Class Teacher
- Allison Stovall, Grade 3 Class Teacher
- Josephine Russo, Grade 4 Class Teacher
- Alex Eidman, Grade 4 Assistant Teacher
- Kiana Ward, Grade 5 Class Teacher
Middle School
- Steven Simonak, Grade 6 Class Teacher
- Lidija Juka, Grade 7 Class Teacher
- William McKay, Grade 8 Class Teacher
Specialty Subjects
- Chris Castelli, Mathematics & Technology Teacher
- Orlando Colón, Movement Teacher & Athletic Director
- Jayanthi Bunyan, Music Teacher
- Emily Yue Xu, Mandarin Chinese Teacher
- Sibylle Johner, Music Director & Orchestra Teacher
- Laura Montaño, Handwork Teacher
- Constanza Ontaneda, Spanish Teacher
- Dorke Poelz, Early Childhood Assistant and Grades Support
- Debbie Campbell, Afternoon Program Teacher
- Conor Klein, Woodworking Teacher
Learning Support Team
- Hannah Bleier, Educational Support Chair
- Catherine O’Brien, Educational Support Assistant Teacher
- Roberta Perlin, Learning Support Consultant
- Christina Pantazis-Blades, Learning Support Chair
PARENT ASSOCIATION CHAIRS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
- Randy Yuen, President
- Alex Blades, Treasurer
- Meggan Gill, Faculty Representative
- Denese Giordano, Administrative Representative
- Cynthia Hammond
- Konrad Meissner
- Christina Pantazis-Blades, Administrative Representative
- Kojo Campbell
- John Egnatios-Beene
- Julian Katz
- Jelani Mashariki
- Yiorgos Sarrinikolaou
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Admissions
- Christina Pantazis-Blades, Admissions Director
- Sheila Shaw, Admissions Associate
Business Office
- Lena Lvova, Business Office Associate
- Annie Ng, Business Office Coordinator
- Vincent Ruggiero, Business Manager
Community Development
- Denese Giordano, Administrative Director
- Leecia Manning, Special Events Coordinator
Operations
- Denese Giordano, Administrative Director
- Tara Hempstead, Administrative Assistant and High School Placement Coordinator
- Jocelyn Harris, Administrative Support
- Cullen Girolamo, Communications Coordinator
- Merry Scholl, After School and Operations Coordinator
- Edward Holtby, Front Desk Associate
- Tim Kacic, Building Superintendent
- Sean Brekke, School Operations and Library Coordinator
- Ross Pannebecker, Front Desk & Operations Associate
Ms. Keri Lynn is elated to be assisting Ms. Sibrizzi with her Kindergarten class this year. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she left the city briefly to attend college in Scranton, PA where she earned her masters degree in Occupational Therapy and played rugby. A love for anatomy and kinesiology developed in these years. She is particularly interested in how the brain and body develop and adapt throughout a person's life. Yoga is very important to her and she loves teaching yoga and mindfulness to both adults and children. You will often find her singing in the hallways of the school.
Mr. Roosa, a graduate of the Meadowbrook Waldorf School in West Kingston, Rhode Island and the High Mowing High School in Wilton, New Hampshire, will be moving to Brooklyn this summer from Shanghai, China.
Alex Eidman grew up in New Jersey, graduated from The Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan, and has a B.A. in Psychology from McGill University and a Masters in Journalism from the City University of New York. He moved to Portland, Oregon in 2014 to work for Oregon Public Broadcasting as a producer for their flagship live radio show. He returned to New York two years ago and began his teacher training at Sunbridge Institute this summer. Alex is thrilled to join the Brooklyn Waldorf School for his first professional Waldorf experience. 
Ms. Catherine O'Brien grew up in rural New Hampshire and Vermont, and although she was home schooled for most of her education, she made a brief exception to attend the Orchard Valley Waldorf School in 8th grade. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2017 with a bachelor of arts in English and biology and moved to New York City to serve as an AmeriCorps member. In this position, she tutored elementary school students and facilitated after school programming at a public school in the South Bronx. She has received training in Orton-Gillingham and in current best practices in elementary math instruction. In addition to attending summer courses at Sunbridge Institute, she looks forward to furthering her knowledge of Waldorf teaching philosophy and methods. In her free time, she enjoys swing dancing, hiking, knitting, and playing violin.
Alex Blades has been a member of the board since 2006, and is a proud BWS parent. Alex has been involved in various aspects of the School’s growth, including the search for a permanent home that lead us to Claver Castle, the management of the School’s finances, and also development and fundraising efforts. He has been a rider in every Scootathon held to date, and pretends not to care that his eldest son now laps him effortlessly on the course. Originally from New Zealand, Alex practiced as a corporate lawyer in New York before moving into the financial sector, and is currently a partner at Paulson & Co., an investment management firm. He is also a member of the board of directors of Piraeus Bank, the largest bank in Greece. In his spare time, Alex enjoys baking sourdough bread and wood-fired-oven pizza, cycling in Prospect Park, and attempting to grow heirloom tomatoes.
Ms. Denese Giordano holds an extensive background in independent school administration as well as Waldorf education. As the Administrative Director at the Brooklyn Waldorf School, she provides leadership for the school --- working closely with the school’s Pedagogical Administrator, Business Director, Admissions Director and the Board of Trustees --- to plan and implement all the school’s administrative and operational objectives.
Kuzaliwa Kojo Campbell is a proud BWS parent of two daughters currently in 3rd and 6th Grades (his daughter Nialah graduated from 8G last year and is currently in HS at the George School). For the last two years, he has worked with students from BWS and the community to develop basketball skills. This program opens its doors for community youth and BWS students to play together and boost their basketball and team-building skills two nights a week.
John Egnatios-Beene has two children, Henry, age 5 (Ms. Zohar’s Kindergarten) and Farrah, age 7 months. John holds a B.S. from the University of Michigan (Biological Anthropology) and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. 
Julian Katz is father to Georgia (Grade 1), Rosie (K-North), and Lila, who has yet to join BWS but will do in the coming years. Julian's family has been in the school since 2012, when Georgia was in Parent-Child classes. Julian has spent three years as a Class Champion and is in his second year on the Development Committee, currently serving as its co-chair. 
Jelani Mashariki has Social Service and Social Justice running through his veins. He was born into a large family of activists and political organizers who instilled in him a strong sense of respect for his neighbors and his neighborhood. Jelani is a BWS volunteer community basketball coach, along with Kojo Campbell. In February he was awarded a Community Service Outstanding Achievement Award by Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley. 
Yiorgos Sarrinikolaou first accompanied his daughter, Nephele, to the Brooklyn Waldorf School in 2007, when they attended the Parent-Child program together for a year. Nephele, who is now in the Sixth Grade, has been a student at the school since that time, except for a three-year stint (2009-2012), when the family resided outside New York State. He first volunteered at the school in 2008-2009, when he researched school health policies and submitted a policy brief for the Board's consideration. Throughout Nephele's enrollment at the school, Yiorgos has volunteered in the Winter Fair, first as the Pocket Fairy, and in subsequent years as a minder of candle-dipping, jump-rope maker, photographer's assistant, Poseidon, ancient Egyptian, and regularly as a Mad Hatter Cafe assistant. When Nephele was in the third grade, he gave a 30-minute talk to the class about the environment, which is the subject of his work. In the last academic year, he also served as a Scootathon marshal. He is now the co-class parent of the sixth grade.
Vincent has a wealth of non-profit experience supporting human service organizations, NYC back-to-work programs, and food pantries. This work gave Vincent impressive auditing and budgeting experience. While working for the Yorkville Common Pantry and the Back to Work Programs in Brooklyn and Queens, his many responsibilities included helping employees navigate their benefits.
Ms. Merry Scholl studied theater performance at Oberlin College and has taught English as a Foreign language in Russia. Before coming to Brooklyn Waldorf as the After School Coordinator, she taught Pre-K for four years. She is currently a Master's candidate in Early Childhood Education at Bank Street where she is writing her Master’s Essay on human-plant interactions in Waldorf Pedagogy. In her last school placement, Merry had the opportunity to tend a school garden, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She is interested in pursuing further education in horticulture. Ms. Merry was drawn to the rich horticultural tradition of Waldorf Education. 
