Jessica Nauiokas
Principal & Founder
Jessica has over 14 years of urban teaching and leadership experience and a strong background in literacy and cognitive development. Her qualifications include skills in charter school planning, urban school leadership and operations and curriculum development. Before serving as the Director of School development for the NYC Center for Charter School Excellence for three years, Jessica completed the New Leaders for New Schools fellowship where she was a member of the leadership team at a small school in Harlem. She was also selected to attend the KIPP leadership Pathways Program where she joined charter school founders from across the country while she was planning Haven Academy. Jessica is an Adjunct Professor of Education at Mercy College, where she teachers graduate level courses preparing new teachers for entry into the classroom. She began her career in education as a Teach for America corps member in Washington DC, where she was a first grade teacher at Malcolm X Elementary School and then became a reading specialist. Jessica has a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Human Development and Psychology in addition to a BA in Social Work from the University of New Hampshire. She also holds NY State certification as a School District Administrator.
Tina Martinez
Operations Director
A recent graduate of the National Urban Fellowship program where she received her master's degree in Public Administration from Baruch's College of Public Affairs, Tina provides a myriad of day-to-day support services for the Mott Haven Academy Charter School in her role as Operations Director. In her previous career, Tina was an Associate Producer at an international cable news network where her duties included producing stories, traveling extensively to cover breaking news and overseeing a small in-house production team. While in this position, Tina realized her desire to become a change agent in the not-for-profit sector to improve the lives of those she often covered in the news. She has applied her skills in communications, community outreach and production to the start-up activities in founding Haven Academy and now in her role as Operations Director. A product of Detroit's public school system, Tina is committed to the charter school movement and equity in education to help all children receive a world-class education.
Tynisha Wynder
Student Specialist
Tynisha is a native of South Florida and brings a multitude of experiences in the education arena. She has taught in the public school systems in Florida and Kentucky in both general and special education classrooms. She has trained and mentored early childhood educators in classroom management techniques and strategies for building positive social and emotional behaviors and was part of the creation of a teacher mentoring program through the Florida Center for Child and Family Development to decrease the number of children being expelled from preschools in Sarasota County. While working with the Florida Center, Tynisha received the Early Intervention Specalist of the Year award in 2006. Tynisha earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and a masters degree in Special Education, Learning Behavior Disorders from the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Kendra Grady
Art Teacher
Kendra Grady is a native of Bronx, New York. She is a Graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education. Becoming an art teacher was inevitable, due to her interest in visual arts and working with children. Shortly after graduating, she became a pre-K teacher at Bright Horizons Child Development Center in Stamford, CT. She believes that art can help students solve problems; learn about different cultures, and content areas. It is also a great outlet for expressing creativity and individuality. Currently, teaching at Haven Academy has been one of her greatest accomplishments. In her spare time, she enjoys oil painting and scary movies.
Eric Lara
Teacher
Eric has always known he wanted to be a teacher since he was in second grade. After graduating from Connecticut College with a Bachelor's degree in Human Development he worked as an Assistant Toddler Teacher at the University of Southern Maine Family and Child Care Center. Three years later he moved to New York City and joined the NYC Teaching Fellows program. While in the program, working towards his Masters in Education, he worked at P.S. 94 as a Special Education teacher in 1-3 grades. He is currently working at Haven Academy as a Kindergarten teacher in a Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) classroom.
Courtney Baxter
Teacher
After graduating from U.C Berkeley in 2004, Courtney pursued a career in the theatre. While acting, she began tutoring children in Harlem. Her positive experiences volunteering with these students led her to apply to the New York City Teaching Fellows. As a Teaching Fellow, she taught in a "failing" school for two years. This is Courtney's third year in the South Bronx. She has taught both kindergarten and first grade. Although she currently does not have time to participate in the theatre, she feels that her acting skills are of great use in the classroom.
Ashlyn Field
Student Achievement Specialist
Ashlyn knew that she wanted to be involved in urban education after spending much of her time as an undergraduate in an under-resourced, low-performing school in Utica, NY. Soon after graduating from Hamilton College with a minor in education, she joined NYC Teaching Fellows and began working at P.S. 79 in the Bronx where she taught kindergarten, first and second grade. During this time, she received her masters in urban education and met Haven Academy's principal. After P.S. 79 was shut down by the city due to a failing grade on its school report card, Ashlyn knew that she wanted to find a school that was dedicated to helping all children succeed while also supporting her professional growth and development. She is currently teaching in a first grade CTT class at Haven Academy and is a member of the data team. This August she plans on graduating from Teachers College, Summer Principals Academy, with an additional master's degree in Education Administration.
Gleendy Marte
Teacher
As a graduate of Barnard College's Childhood Education Program, Gleendy Marte brings to the classroom a passion for learning, the needs of diverse learners, and creating a supportive and intellectually stimulating classroom community that allows all learners to succeed. Prior to joining Mott Haven, Gleendy gained a diverse wealth of experiences — living, studying and working in and around New York City, and in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. She has taught in dual-language Spanish-English classrooms at P.S. 75 in a 4th grade classroom and later in a 2nd grade CTT classroom. For 2 years, she mentored high school students as an advisor with Columbia Presbyterian Lang Youth Medical Program, engaging them in everything from essay writing and study skills to college preparatory work. Using the knowledge she has gained in her travels, studies and personal experiences as a multicultural individual, Gleendy strives to cultivate in her students a genuine love of learning as well as a global lens rooted in both self and community awareness and responsibility. She is currently teaching in a Kindergarten CTT classroom at Haven Academy.
Mariana Nunley
Teacher
Mariana began her teaching career at 6 years of age instructing a class of cabbage patch kids in a small suburb of Boston. More than 15 years later, her childhood dreams came true earning a dual degree in elementary and special education from Providence College. Mariana's first teaching position took her to Columbia, South Carolina where she worked as a resource teacher with 40 students grades pre-k through 5th. After a frustrating first year, she was awarded a federal grant to attend the University of South Carolina in pursuit of a Master's in Special Education. Upon completion, Mariana knew she wanted to return to urban education working with others dedicated to serving all children. She is currently teaching in a first grade CTT class at Haven Academy and is chair of the Student Study Team.
Karen Santiago
Teacher
Karen was born and raised in the Bronx. She knew she wanted to give back to her community but was torn between studying elementary education and social services; so she did both. Karen attended Manhattan College where she graduated with a Bachelor in Social Work and a minor in Elementary Education. She worked as caseworker for a non-profit foster care agency in the Bronx under the supervision of The Administration for Children's Services. Karen is currently co-teaching in a kindergarten class at Haven Academy. She is pleased to be part of a school community that allows her to demonstrate her love for education and understanding the challenges faced by children in the child welfare system. Karen will be seeking her Masters in elementary education in the Spring of 2010. When not working, Karen enjoys spending her time with her three-year old daughter Mia. Their favorite place to visit is the Bronx Zoo.
David Cantler
Teacher
David was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester County. Since the age of 16 David has been working at a YMCA sleep away camp with elementary school aged children. College took him to Spain and Chile during his junior year. It has been a few years but he is hoping to get his Spanish skills back. While abroad he finally began thinking of teaching as a serious career path and enrolled in the Sarah Lawrence Art of Teaching graduate program. At Haven Academy he is teaching first grade with co-teacher Courtney Baxter. He is excited to be a member of the Haven team and is looking forward to our new building.
