Lorraine Mondesir
Administrator/Lead Teacher

With a strong commitment to personal and professional excellence, Lorraine joined the staff of the Early Learning Center on February 23, 2017. Prior, she served for 24 years as an assistant teacher, lead teacher, and most recently as director in the Early Childhood Center at Brooklyn College. As an experienced early childhood educator and administrator with 31 years in the field, Lorraine holds B.A. and M.S. degrees in Early Childhood Education from Brooklyn College, along with several certifications in teaching, supervision, and administration. She also has an array of experience in leadership, curriculum planning, grant writing, and in creating a supportive family-friendly environment for diverse student-parents, as well as designing conducive classroom settings for infant/toddlers, and pre-school and school-age children. She holds memberships in several professional organizations to include the National Coalition for Campus Childcare Centers, NYC Association for Educators of Young Children, and the Child Care Council of City University of New York.

Patricia Morel
Administrative Assistant

Patricia received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Baruch College (CUNY) in 2014. She worked at the Student Life office as a student assistant and as the Coordinator.  There she managed budgets, finances, and worked with many students on a daily basis assisting them with all kinds of everyday collegiate issues. She is bilingual (English, Spanish) and baking is her passion.

Lesa Bird
Assistant Teacher

Lesa has her Social Service and Social Work certificates from The University of the West Indies in Mona. She obtained her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education from Borough of Manhattan Community College and has been working with The Educational Alliance Boys and Girls Club in New York as an Elementary Group Leader. She was a private tutor as well during this time. Now she is working exclusively with us at the Early Learning Center. She is eager to begin finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education Spring 2017.

Sophia Solomon
Lead Teacher

Sophia Solomon returned to the Early Learning Center in August 2018 after a two-year appointment as Educational Coordinator of the preschool program at Ivy Bound International School in Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to leaving for Thailand, Ms. Solomon was the Educational Director/Lead Teacher at the Early Learning Center.
Ms. Solomon has also been an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College CUNY, School of Graduate Education where her hands-on, interactive curriculum design for teaching Child Development is now the blueprint for teaching that course at Hunter College.
Growing up in East Africa, Europe, and the Middle East gives Ms. Solomon a uniquely multicultural perspective, a passionate commitment to creating learning environments that embrace diversity and honor individual learning styles. Her teaching approach places a high value on developing social-emotional skills alongside academic excellence to nurture critical thinkers who can tolerate dissention, embrace paradox, and negotiate differences respectfully.

Ms. Solomon has an MSEd., Birth-8 years old and a BA in Music (piano) & Library Science.

Eligio Reynoso
Woodworking Teacher

Leo has a BFA from the School of Visual Arts. He currently works at Manhattan Country School where he has been teaching shop since 1987. He has experience working with various art institutions: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Children’s Museum as an artist and sculptor, participated in designing large scale murals and recreating artificial rocks and terrain for the Snow Leopard Habitat Complex in the Bronx. During the summer he runs a tennis summer camp serving over 200 students from upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

Thierry Rémion
Music Specialist

Mr. Rémion is a Martinique born Composer, Guitarist, Bassist, Traditional-percussionist and Educator. He is also an Audio-Recording Engineer & Producer, and has toured extensively in Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States both as a performer, as well as leader of his own ensemble.
As an educator and curriculum writer, Mr. Rémion served on the faculty of the Institute for the Arts in Education Capital Region Center at SUNY Albany, the Sydney A. Wolff Concert Series, the School of the Arts—Musical Introduction Series at the 92nd St.Y, and the New York Philharmonic Education Program. He has been a guest lecturer at the Memphis Arts Council: Arts in the School Program and was a consultant on the Advisory Board for the DeWitt Wallace Reader’s Digest School Partners Project. He has written curriculum for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) SchoolTime Performance Series and has worked with the Westchester Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, where he also served as the official Arranger for their Education Program. Additionally, Mr. Rémion has been involved with the Lincoln Center Institute teaching and leading Professional Development and Teacher Training Workshops from 1988 to 2013. In 2014 as an outgrowth from more than thirty years in the field of Aesthetic Education, he created the OpenArtEd organization dedicated to offering a more “tailored” approach to teaching the arts in schools.

Mr. Rémion attended the École Normale de Musique de Paris (France) and Brooklyn College where he studied composition with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.