Kristin Pliakas Part-time Teacher
Kristin holds a Masters in Elementary Education from the University of New Hampshire as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts/English from Regent’s College in London, England. Before joining STEM Beginnings, she held teaching positions in the Oxford public school district.

Joan Sjogren Part-time Teacher
Joan has worked as an Instructional Teaching Assistant in the Shrewsbury Public Schools for the past 13 years focusing on Pre-K and Kindergarten  levels. She earned her MBA from Anna Maria College and a BA in Social Rehabilitation from Assumption College. Prior to joining the Shrewsbury Public School system Joan held a variety of Finance  and Managerial positions in the Banking and High Technology Industries.  Joan has been teaching our STEM classes at Floral Street School in Shrewsbury.

Amy Courtemanche Part-time Teacher
Amy has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Franklin Pierce University. She enjoys using modern technology in the classroom and always creates an atmosphere that is stimulating and encouraging to all students.

Jean Shea Part-time Teacher
As a child, science was always Jean’s favorite subject in school.  She’s been teaching elementary school for 20 years and science is still her favorite subject. She loves inspiring the next generation with the wonder of science.  Jean is certified in Elementary Education and General Science, grades 1-8 and is currently a Title 1 Math Tutor at Clyde Brown Elementary school in Millis, MA.

Meme Middlesworth Part-time Teacher
Meme taught kindergarten and first grade in Shrewsbury for thirty one years.  She holds a B.A. in Elementary Ed/Fine Arts from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York and a M.Ed. in Early Childhood from Worcester State University. After retiring three years ago, her passion for teaching and love of children has led her back to the classroom. Presently, she is substituting at Beal Early Childhood Center in Shrewsbury and teaching STEM classes at the Boylston Library and at Paton School in Shrewsbury.

Annette Dalbec Part-time Teacher
Annette has been teaching kindergarten at St. Bernadette School in Northboro, Massachusetts for 19 years. She has a Master’s Degree in Education from Anna Maria College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Worcester State University. Annette holds a Massachusetts Teacher Certification for Early Childhood and Elementary Education. During the summers she holds Summer Academic Programs at St. Bernadette School, which includes STEM Beginnings classes.

Jill Ishkanian Part-time Teacher
Jill has a B.A. in Psychology, and has worked as a Lead Preschool Teacher and Preschool Teacher Aide, before having her own kids.  She has also been a Substitute Teacher for Preschool classes at St Mary’s in Shrewsbury.  Jill has always loved teaching, and seeing how children have such curiosity and joy in learning about the world. She is now happy to be back at work after taking a long break raising her two boys.  Jill has been running our STEM classes at Puckihuddle Preschool, Our Lady of the Angels School, and the Shrewsbury and Auburn Libraries.

Jennifer Graham Part-time Teacher
Jen earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in 2016. She has experience conducting undergraduate research on blue mussel larval settlement and proudly held the title of oyster farmer one summer. With a lifelong passion for encouraging girls to enter STEM fields, Jen loves working with the next generation of scientists and engineers in the classroom. She currently works as a bookkeeper and web designer.  Jen teaches our STEM classes at Cooolidge and Beal Schools in Shrewsbury.

Cristina Ferreira Part-time Teacher
Cristina earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in biology in 2016 and is currently pursuing her MBA at UMASS Dartmouth. Since graduating, she has continuously worked with children in a variety of early learning center settings. Cristina has a passion for teaching young children and continues to volunteer at a local ELC along with teaching with STEM Beginnings.

Kristen Ross Part-time Teacher
Kristen has her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education both from Fitchburg State University.  She has experience teaching in grades 1-4.  She currently teaches 3rd grade at a small Catholic school.  When not teaching, you can find Kristen at the skating rink coaching figure skating.

Mary Lou Lombardi-Butler Part-time Teacher
Mary Lou has a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Fairfield University in Connecticut. In addition to teaching at STEM Beginnings, she also teaches Biology part-time at Assumption College and bioinformatics sections of two Harvard Summer classes.

Beth DePasquale Part-time Teacher
Beth holds a Masters in Elementary Education and Certificate in Educational Technology from Fitchburg State College and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Worcester State College. Before joining STEM Beginnings, she held various teaching positions at the Southborough, Northborough, and Shrewsbury school districts.

Amanda Michienzi Part-time Teacher
Amanda is a certified elementary classroom teacher with over 12 years of experience working with students in grade school. She has a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Salem State College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Framingham State College. She spends her summers directing Camp Rice Moody where she just completed her 19th summer.

Myca Marquez Lucindo  Operations Director, Philippines
Myca joins us from Aheadstart Child Development Center in the Philippines where she served as directress for 14 years.  As directress, she created programs developed the curriculum, established policies, trained and managed the teachers, and managed the daily operations of the school. She holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Education from the University of the Philippines, Q.C. She taught the Kindergarten 2 and Senior Nursery class but can handle any class level as needed.   She’s been active in the field of Early Education and recently attended an Early Childhood Leadership Summit in Singapore.

Camille Viscomi Part-time Teacher
Camille taught kindergarten and first grade in Shrewsbury for 21 years. She holds a M.ED from Lesley University and a B.S. in Marketing from St. John’s University. She was also a director of a private pre-school/kindergarten in New Jersey. Camille is a certified Responsive Classroom Instructor for the Shrewsbury elementary schools. She continues with her love of teaching by being a tutor for children on movie sets and teaching STEM classes at the Boylston and Marlborough libraries, as well as at Coolidge school in Shrewsbury and Zeh and Peaslee schools in Northborough.

Jenny Ryerson Part-time Teacher
Jenny has a Bachelors Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Sydney University in Australia. She worked for many years as an Aircraft Design Engineer doing modifications to aircraft before moving to the US and becoming a mum to two children. She currently spends her spare time volunterring in the community, sewing, crafting, and teaching. She loves spending time teaching kids about the joys of Science and Engineering and how to incorporate STEAM into their everyday lives.

Irene Mariano Graphics Designer and Office Assistant
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communications from the University of the Philippines, Irene has been working behind the scenes of STEM Beginnings since its inception. Most of her work consists of designing graphics crucial to the program – ranging from the iconic logo to the eye-catching seasonal flyers. In addition to also doing the weekly newsletters, she mainly works as a freelance graphic designer while balancing a full house with four wonderful children.

Brenda Allen Part-time Teacher
Brenda holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Ottawa, Canada. Prior to moving to New England and raising her family, she worked in various research laboratories. She first became interested in education as a volunteer in her children’s school and then while teaching a religious education class. Currently, she is working as a Substitute Teacher in Natick after working for six years at Immaculate Conception school as an assistant in Prekindergarten, Preschool and Grade 2. Her interest in science and education led to her starting at STEM Beginnings while working at IC school. She has taught STEM classes at IC school in grades from kindergarten to fourth grade, at the Marlborough library, Wayland and Southborough Public Schools. Introducing students to STEM topics through fun hands-on activities allows Brenda to further develop her teaching skills, while creating a challenging and fun learning environment for the children.