Allie has been teaching 4s and 5s at the ECC since 2011. She earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and early childhood special education from New York University and her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Adelphi University. When she isn’t teaching, Allie can be found reading, cooking or visiting her nieces and nephews in California.
Wilma has worked at the ECC since 1988. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she holds an associate’s degree in early childhood education and lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter, who is an ECC graduate. Wilma enjoys spending time with family and friends, loves animals — especially cats — and is big Yankees fan.
Dawn earned her bachelor’s from Brooklyn College in early childhood education and psychology. She has been a member of the ECC staff since 2001. Born on the beautiful island of Barbados, Dawn enjoys returning to her childhood home each year — especially in August — to spend time with family and her best friend from school. In 2007, Dawn took part in a study tour to Reggio Emilia, Italy, and she was a part of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative group from 2007 to 2010.
Suzy earned her bachelor’s in Spanish from Tufts University, a juris doctor from St. John’s University School of Law, and a master’s in education from Hunter College. She has been working as an educator since 1994. Suzy enjoys spending time with her family and friends and searching for new children’s books.
Brandy Antonio is an artist and educator from New York who specializes in drawing, painting and collage incorporating influences from her time spent living in Tokyo and Berlin. Brandy earned her BFA in illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology and her master’s in art education from New York University. She is the co-founder of Legacy Foundation Japan, an organization established in 2020 to encourage and inform cross-cultural relationships between the Japanese and African American community.
Brandy has over 15 years of teaching experience including teaching at Reggio-inspired schools, at a high school, adult learners and abroad. She designed her own curriculum and founded The Paper Mosaic Portrait Project (2023), a community-based project exploring identity and portraiture through paper mosaics. Brandy has exhibited in the United States as well as internationally continuously expanding on ideas upon play and process-based art.
Rosemary has been teaching in a Jewish preschool setting since 1999 and here at Stephen Wise since 2003. She holds a bachelor’s degree in theater, and a child development associate credential. She has furthered her formal knowledge of children with courses and workshops from Bank Street College of Education, the Jewish Early Childhood Association, and the Board of Jewish Education. In 2007, the ECC sent her to Reggio Emilia, Italy where she was privileged to participate in the week-long study tour of its preschools. A later-in-life-career-changer, she discovered her mother was right when she assessed her as a late bloomer: Having spent a decade as a dance stage manager, a decade promoting issues and ideas for nonprofits, and a decade writing marketing and advertising materials for a legal journalism company, Rosemary eventually arrived where she, and her heart, really belong — in a Jewish preschool classroom. Rosemary’s writings on spiritual practice have been published in the national magazine Spirituality & Health and in the 2004 book “Fifty Ways to Feed Your Soul,” of which she was the editor. Her photographs have been exhibited in group shows in New Jersey and New York City.
