Our Team

Deborah lives in New Canaan with her husband, daughter and two rambunctious Welsh Springer Spaniels. She earned a BA degree in Mathematics from University of Colorado, Boulder, and an MBA from NYU. After working at JPMorgan for nearly 20 years designing databases and teaching classes on interpreting data sets, she stepped away from the business world to raise her daughter. She loves to travel and has been to all the continents except Antarctica. In her free time, Deborah can usually be found trying to tame and revitalize her mature landscaping. She loves incorporating her joy of math into the school day.

Marnie has lived in New Canaan for over 20 years with her husband and three children. Marnie has Bachelor of Art in Philosophy and pursued her Master of Divinity at Andover Newton and Harvard Divinity School. She is, aside from teaching, most notably a “hockey mom” spending most of her weekends driving to mediocre hotels and freezing in rinks. She has worked with children most of her life and is thrilled to be working with yours.

Stefania lives in New Canaan with her husband, three children and yellow lab named Lucy. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from NYU. Prior to having children, Stefania taught third grade in the Bronx. Stefania is no stranger to Toddlertime as two of her three children attended Toddlertime, and she worked here for a few years before staying home with her children for a bit. Now that they are older, Stefania is back to doing what she loves-teaching! She also loves to cook, read and spend time at the beach. She also is an active volunteer at St. Aloysius Church, Meals on Wheels and the New Canaan High School.

Emily lives in New Canaan with her husband and three young children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in forensic psychology, and is currently pursuing her certificate in early childhood education.  When Emily is not teaching and attending classes, she is busy taking care of her many pets, including 2 cats, a cockatiel, a ball python, 2 leopard geckos, a guinea pig, and hermit crabs.  Fun fact – She has been skydiving twice!

Jen grew up in New Canaan graduating from NCHS. She met her husband while earning a Bachelor of Art in English at Lake Forest College. Together they raised their two boys in New Canaan close to her parents. When she’s not spending time with family and friends, she is outdoors running, playing golf, tennis, and paddle. She has a sport for every season, and she excels at them all!

Having worked at Toddlertime since 1980, Diane is Toddlertime’s favorite matriarch. Diane has taught some of our teachers and our parents. The wisdom she hands down to all of us is priceless! There is no doubt about it – Diane loves babies (she even collects baby dolls). Her other passion is dogs, and she has bred Labrador Retrievers most of her life. Diane has three children and six phenomenal grandchildren!

We are thrilled that Maura loved being a parent of three Toddlertime students so much that she came back to teach for us.  A tireless volunteer, Maura has given her time to the New Canaan Public Schools, New Canaan Cares, Girl Scouts, and the National Charity League.  After earning her Bachelor of Art from Hamilton College and giving Wall Street a shot, she taught at The Collegiate School in NYC while pursuing her masters at Bank Street College of Education. While her children were young, she and her husband spent two years as expats living in Tokyo and traveling throughout Asia. 

Debbie graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education and then went on to get her Master’s in Reading. She has taught all ages over the past 30+ years but has settled into the 4’s at Toddlertime. Debbie is passionate about dancing and teaching children’s aerobics. She danced ballet from the time she was three until college when she switched to modern dance. Her claim to fame is that she danced in front of Princess Margaret and Prince Charles! Debbie has three grown children, three brothers and a dog named Frankie. If you hear her say an English word or two, that’s because she was born in London, England!

Michelle joins Toddlertime with 20+ years of experience supporting people with disabilities at STAR, Inc. and 7 years at West School as a Special Education Teaching Assistant. Born and raised in Greenwich, CT, she now lives in New Canaan with her husband, who is a New Canaan Fire Fighter, three grown children and her sweet Doodle named Bella. Self-described as “very competitive”, Michelle enjoys tennis and more recently playing bocce ball. Blessed to have lifelong girlfriends since kindergarten, she’s enjoys taking girls trips including one to Iceland where she went snowmobiling on a glacier. When not at the fire house, traveling, walking Bella at Irwin, or playing bocce, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and riding on the back of her husband’s Harley Davidson!

Gretchen and her husband Rich have lived in New Canaan for almost 20 years. Their two daughters, Mia and Kate, attended the New Canaan Public Schools. Prior to having children, Gretchen was a First Grade teacher in the Stamford Public Schools where she was a finalist for Teacher of the Year!  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology from Sacred Heart University and a Master of Science in Education from the University of Bridgeport. Throughout the years, Gretchen has actively volunteered in the New Canaan Public Schools, St. Aloysius Church, Filling in the Blanks, Kids in Crisis, National Charity League and more.  When not happily teaching the 2’s at Toddlertime, you can find here at a CrossFit gym, at Irwin Park with her mini-poodle Geno, or in Boston visiting her daughters at college.

Nancy is the lead teacher in our 5’s program. She holds an Early Childhood Credential and a BS in Education with 30 years of teaching experience. Nancy brings a tireless passion for creative “out of the box” teaching and exemplifies a “can do” attitude that is contagious to all. She continues to learn about early childhood education and even teaches others by presenting workshops at the CTAEYC (CT Association for the Education of Young Children). When Nancy isn’t teaching in the classroom or one of her enrichment/creative/alumni workshops, she is off exploring. From beaches to cities, nature to art, she loves it all! Fun facts about Nancy – she loves gorillas, beaches, cooking, art and pranking friends and co-workers!

Lauren lives in Norwalk with her twin boys, Zach and Tyler, and her husband. She studied elementary education at Sacred Heart University and has a passion for early learning. Lauren loves seeing a child’s face light up when they learn something new. Her philosophy is that each child is unique, learning at their own pace. On the weekends Lauren, her husband, Tim, and their boys can usually be found at their cabin in Vermont…. but, fun fact, she’s never been on skis! Lauren is also a big fan of Orange Theory and working out.

Aurelia lives in New Canaan with her 3 boys. Before becoming a full-time Mom, she attended Manhattan College and studied Elementary Education and English. She loves books & enjoys going to the New Canaan library to pick out books for her class. When she isn’t scrolling through Pinterest searching for kiddie craft ideas, she enjoys exercising with friends & snuggling her two dogs!

Molly joined Toddlertime as our office manager in June 2019 and we cannot imagine our school without her. She taught for 10 years at another local preschool before deciding to return to the administrative side which gives her the advantage of understanding the classroom from both sides. Molly lives with her husband, two college aged daughters and their dog Rosie. A 20+ year resident of New Canaan, Molly has served on the board of the Newcomers, National Charity League, PTC and Girl Scouts. If you need a laugh, just ask Molly to say a tongue twister-it’s her hidden talent!

Pam is a friendly, energetic, and funny educator with over 20 years’ experience. Being born into a family day camp business that she went on to direct, Pam has been around children her whole life. She received her Bachelor of Art in Communication and Marketing from Plattsburgh State College. When Pam’s three children were grown and flown, she started teaching at a preschool. When she is not traveling, you can find her taking her therapy dog Coco to visit patients at various facilities, helping friends with interior decorating and spending time at the beach.

Jackie Marini was born and raised in Norwalk where she still resides with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a dog named Brinley. After work, you can find Jackie driving her children to sports and cheering them on from the sidelines. When she isn’t being their biggest fan, she enjoys the beach (especially in Naples), making memories with family and friends, and anything to do with holidays. Jackie also enjoys volunteering and, in fact, it was volunteering at her children’s school that made her realize that she wanted to be a preschool teacher. We are thrilled that Jackie decided to follow her heart and become a teacher.

Marnie loves children’s literature and math games and adores the toddler age group. She holds a Bachelors in Elementary Education from Ohio Wesleyan and a Master of Science from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education.  Marnie taught elementary school at the Brearley School in NYC before having babies and then transitioned into admissions. After moving to New Canaan with her husband and three daughters in 2007, Marnie decided it was time to get back into the classroom. In the summer she likes to hide away on an island off Maine.

Jen graduated from Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Her Pennsylvania roots are obvious during football season when she makes it known that she is a HUGE Steeler’s fan. Her other hobbies include working out, playing tennis, pickle ball and running. She raised her 4 children in New Canaan, where she has lived for over 20 years, and all 4 are Toddlertime alum. Over the summer, you can find her on the beaches of Nantucket. Jen started teaching in our enrichment program many years ago and then more recently joined our Social Butterflies and 2’s programs.

Kendall holds a degree in Art History from Smith College.  Art is her passion and the messier the better. She sews, paints and can be found prowling the halls of any and all museums. She is the mom of three sons and two adorable Pugs. She came to Toddlertime through our enrichment program, but we quickly figured out that we needed her creativity and warmth to play a bigger role at Toddlertime.

Kate and her husband John moved to New Canaan in 2008. She is mom to two boys, one girl, and two dogs: Dudley a black lab and Louie a golden retriever! She started her teaching career by subbing in different schools including Toddlertime and then joined us full time in 2021. Prior to teaching, Kate was a corporate lawyer in a China Practice Group and lived in Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China for 13 years. She has a B.S. in Mandarin Chinese from Georgetown and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. In her spare time, she loves to read, ski, and play paddle!

Rachel is our school nurse who decided that monthly rounds wasn’t enough time around the little ones, so she decided to join a classroom. Rachel earned her Registered Nurse degree from St. Vincent’s College of Nursing. She and her husband moved to New Canaan over 20 years where they are raising their five children. When not at Toddlertime or busy with her family, Rachel can be found cooking, reading, and practicing yoga.