Nancy Drescher has been the Director of The Family Annex for over 18 years. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Queens College and a Master's Degree from Hunter. She then went on to earn her PD from Hunter in Supervision and Administration. Nancy was employed for many years as a teacher, staff developer, early childhood specialist, assistant principal and principal. She is a native New Yorker and enjoys spending time with her two grandchildren, Asher and Ruby, visiting museums, reading and traveling with her husband. Nancy is thrilled to be a part of The Family Annex community. 

Lauren Sobel was born and raised in New Jersey. Lauren graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a B.S. in Speech Pathology & Audiology and a minor in Family Studies. Lauren then returned to the east coast where she attended Teachers College, receiving her M.A. in Early Childhood Education & Early Childhood Special Education.

When she is not at school, Lauren enjoys doing yoga, cooking, and spending time with her family in NJ and MA.

Keiko Tanaka was born in Japan and moved to California in her early years. She has been going back and forth between the two countries since then. Keiko obtained a Master’s in TESOL at NYU and worked as a kindergarten teacher at a Japanese school in New Jersey for one year. She then moved to Tokyo and became a Pre-K teacher at an international school for two years. Keiko decided to go back to New York to pursue a Master’s in Early Childhood Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She started working as a Toddler room teacher at Family Annex and then worked in the Nursery room before taking two years off to be with her son. After returning to the Family Annex, Keiko joined the Pre-K team and this will be her 5th year as a Pre-K teacher.

On her days off, Keiko enjoys spending time with her family, exploring delicious restaurants in the city, and watching soccer and baseball games.

Suzanne Pant is a true New Yorker, born and raised in Queens, NY. After many years in the hotel business, she decided it was time for a career change. Suzanne received her Bachelor’s Degree in Cross-Cultural Literature at Hunter College, and before graduating she made the decision to stay at Hunter and obtained her Master’s Degree in Childhood Special Education. Suzanne is certified in both General and Special Education. After nine years as a Pre-School Special Educator, Suzanne joined The Family Annex as a classroom teacher. She has worked in both the Nursery and Pre-K classrooms and will be starting her ninth year at The Family Annex!

Suzanne lives in Manhattan with her husband and son. She enjoys spending time with her family, baking, walking in Central Park, and is a diehard baseball fan. “Let’s Go Mets!”

Alexa Capanna was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, where she received her BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Arizona and her Arizona State Teaching Certification. She later moved to NYC to pursue her MA in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she completed research on the benefits of developing positive interpersonal relationships between students and teachers. She decided to stay and teach in the city, and obtained her New York State Teaching Certification. She has been working in toddler and preschool classrooms in Manhattan since 2017, and joined The Family Annex community in 2021.

In her free time, Alexa loves being outside, attending theater and orchestra performances, visiting museums, powerlifting, and shopping for plants and flowers to add to her indoor garden.

Julie Orelien-Hernandez grew up in Port-at-Prince, Haiti and moved to the United States 9 years ago. She is fluent in Haitian Creole, French, and English. She obtained her Associates in Early Childhood Education from Borough of Manhattan Community College. She graduated from City College of New York as the Salutatorian of her class, obtaining her Bachelors of Science in Early Childhood Education. She has learned and experienced different approaches of education amongst them Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Public School. She fell in love with Reggio’s process of documentations of children and natural materials.

You’ll find her at new vegan restaurants, bubble tea shops and in her kitchen cooking up new recipes.

Rose Paxton born and raised in San Francisco, California and moved east to attend Vassar College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Studies. After working in youth-focused non-profits and childcare, Rose joined the Family Annex as a Nursery teacher in 2020. She was immediately drawn to the Reggio philosophy and is thrilled to be practicing it alongside her wonderful co-teachers for her fourth year with the Annex. She is also excited to continue to strengthen her teaching practice as a Masters student in the Curriculum & Teaching program at Columbia Teachers College.

In her free time, Rose loves to bike, go to the beach, bake, and spend time with her friends. She’s also been learning to play guitar and is looking forward to sharing more of her emerging musical talents with the children this year!

Armelle Geday grew up in New York and moved to Paris when she was 10 years old. She moved back to the US to complete her BA in Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. There, she discovered her passion for teaching and being in the classroom. She moved to New York to attend Teachers College, Columbia University and obtain her Master’s in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. A passionate educator and avid learner, she has worked in various early childhood settings and spent the past three years working in special education. She is so excited for the opportunity to work in a Reggio setting and to join the Nursery Team at Family Annex!

When she is not learning alongside her students, Armelle loves to read, watch TV, cook, and bake! She has recently learned how to knit and often takes on ambitious sweater projects.

Iris Wechsler grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Maryland, where she first worked with children as an art teacher, soccer coach, and childcare provider. She moved to New York City to attend Barnard College. There she majored in Visual Arts and Art History, specializing in oil painting, drawing, and installations. Iris began at Family Annex as an Assistant Toddler Teacher for the spring and summer of 2022 and then continued as an Afternoon Assistant Teacher in the Nursery and Pre-K classrooms the following school year. During this time she learned about and fell in love with the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education and its profound respect for the incredible, expansive creativity and curiosity of young children.

Outside of the classroom, Iris enjoys making art in many forms, rock-climbing, cooking local produce, and exploring as much of the city as she can on walks with her dog. She aspires to bring child-like wonder to every aspect of her life and is delighted to be a part of the Nursery Team.

Mia Formichella grew up in Gloucester, MA and moved to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College. She discovered her love for working with young children there at the Early Childhood Center, where she worked with the 3’s class. Soon after, Mia earned her Master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from the Art Of Teaching Program. She is delighted to be a part of the Family Annex community.

When she is not in the classroom, Mia enjoys reading, practicing yoga, seeing live music and spending time with family and friends.

Andrea Abelova was born and raised in Slovakia. She was always passionate about working with young children, first as a teenager babysitting her neighbors' toddlers and then as an adult spending her vacations working in summer camps. After entering the corporate world, she started to study towards her master's degree in Aesthetics (with a teaching emphasis) and European studies in Slovakia. She graduated in 2007, shortly after she moved to NYC to join her husband. When her daughter was born, she started a playgroup in her neighborhood, which met regularly for a year. While teaching a toddler gym class for two years at the community hall in Manhattan, where she worked as an office manager, Andrea realized it was time to pursue her passion full time. She gave up her full-time job, started to work as a substitute teacher in the Montessori school of Manhattan and later at Family Annex.

Besides the world of toddlers, Andrea likes spending time with her family and friends and enjoys nature, arts, good movies, meaningful debates, and music.

Mee-ae Chatman-Nelson is originally from the south side of Chicago, IL and became a New Yorker in 2018. She recently earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies from Oberlin College, and plans to pursue a Master’s in Early Childhood Education. Mee-ae loves to read science-fiction, go roller-skating, and cook new recipes. She has worked with children for over ten years and is particularly excited about bringing her dance training in hip hop and tap dance to the Toddler classroom. She is fascinated by the endless imagination of children and is thrilled to be joining the Toddlers this year!

Hanna Mosenthal has been an early childhood educator since 2014, and is passionate about following children’s lead and fostering their creativity and agency. She holds a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has taught in emergent and Reggio inspired toddler programs in New York City, and English as a Second Language programs for the PreK level in China and Thailand. She loves working with toddlers and two year olds and helping them build community as they build their social skills and find their power and express themselves. Hanna grew up in Vermont, spent time living on the West Coast and abroad, and has lived in New York since 2017. Outside of the classroom she enjoys ice skating, going to the beach, cooking vegan recipes, getting lost in a good book, and spending time with her cat, Coco.

Alexis Kandra is an artist and teacher. She grew up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where she developed a love for art and the natural world. She received her BFA in painting from Temple University in Philadelphia, and moved to New York City in 2013. She has taught art to kids of all ages, and continues to make her own paintings. In her free time, she likes to watch birds in Central Park and visit the American Museum of Natural History. Alexis is happy to be working with the loving community at Family Annex.

Michelle Walter Palmieri is a Guatemalan bilingual singer-songwriter and children’s music educator. She is the first Guatemalan woman to graduate from the prestigious Berklee College of Music. As a performer she has worked with world renown Latin artists such as: Juan Luis Guerra, Joe Arroyo, Issac Delgado, and Jon Secada. She has also performed with the Istanbul Symphony Orchestra in Turkey and represented the United States Department of State as a cultural ambassador in Russia.

As an educator she has taught at the Williamsburg Movement and Arts Center, Lango Kids, PS8, PS31, Bula Arts and Culture, TLB Music and Columbia Greenhouse.

Michelle’s involvement in children’s music education and building social consciousness through music granted her the 2020 ACP Grant by the Queen Council on the Arts in music composition for her project “Canciones for a New World”. She is an advocate for social change and sees music as an instrument to change behavior and ways of living, redirect curiosity towards more essential topics, and transform average consciousness into deep social awareness.

Katarina Djordjevic Zhu was born in Serbia, and her childhood was split between Belgrade, NYC, and Ottawa. Katarina obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Ottawa. During her studies, she became fascinated with early childhood development and realized the crucial role early environments and relationships play in life-long development. She conducted research on bilingualism in infancy and the development of prosocial behaviors throughout the first year of life. In between school and research, Katarina worked in toddler and preschool classrooms. Her days in the classrooms quickly became her most joyful ones and made her realize her passion for supporting children as they discover and learn to navigate the world around them. After graduating last year, Katarina moved to NYC to continue her studies and is thrilled to be joining the Family Annex team!