Staff Members

Carol joined the Dillon Center in June 2023 as its Assistant Director after a long career as an early childhood teacher. She holds an MS from SUNY Albany in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in Literacy. Carol has always been connected to schools that value play-based and social-emotional learning, and she has mentored many new teachers along the way. Carol enjoys supporting teachers as they create meaningful and engaging curriculum.

Rachel came to the Dillon Center in the summer of 2023. She has been working with children ranging in age from early childhood through grade 8 for many years, with roles such as being in the classroom as an assistant teacher to serving as an After School program coordinator across multiple DOE sites. Rachel graduated from Hunter College with a degree in Applied Psychology. She is excited to have the opportunity to once again work in a childcare setting.

Leandra is a head teacher in Classroom One. She earned both a BA and an MA from St. Joseph’s University and holds both general and special education certifications. In September 2026, she will be entering her third year with Dillon. Leandra is passionate about arts and crafts, animals, and gardening.

Arianna is a head teacher in Classroom One. She is certified in early childhood education and has a BA in Child Study from St. Joseph’s University, New York. She has been in classrooms for four years as a work study student at the Dillon Center. Arianna loves dramatic play, reading books, singing songs and making art.

Merlina is the Special Education Assistant Teacher in Classroom One. She has been working in the Inclusion classroom since 2002.  She is the mother of three children, the oldest of whom is a Dillon Center alum. She has a passion for working with young children, and helping them to grow. She loves planning big art projects such as murals, paper mache, and puppet making.

Jendayi is an assistant teacher in Classroom One and is thrilled to be a part of the Dillon family. She has worked in early childhood education for more than a decade. She brings joy, love and empathy to her teaching and strives to cultivate a space where each child feels understood, seen and heard. She describes her educational philosophy as being “through their eyes, not mine.”

Eva is the head teacher in Classroom Two. She completed her BA in Child Study at St. Joseph’s University, and her master’s degree in special education there as well. She is currently working toward a School Leadership degree. Eva’s favorite things to do in the classroom are finger painting, making and using Play-Doh, and matching games. She loves playing with children!

Rod is an Assistant Teacher in Classroom Two. Rod started at the Dillon Center in 2021 but has 9 years of experience working in early childhood. He loves to read books, explore nature and learn what fascinates his students. He enjoys doing messy art projects in the classroom that allow the children to express themselves.

Ms. Emily loves young children and enjoys learning from them as well as teaching them. She is a graduate of St. Joseph’s College with a Master’s in Literacy and Cognition. Ms. Emily is the mother of eight grown children and a Girl Scout Leader for over 25 years.

Miss Peggy has been at the Dillon Center since 1995. Even after all that time, she is still excited to play with the children every day. She especially likes to bake and cook with them.

Lauren is entering her third year at the Dillon Center as an assistant teacher. Lauren loves to do lots of different outdoor activities, such as hiking, camping and taking care of plants. She also loves to make colorful jewelry and do DIY craft projects.

Cara has been at the Dillon Center since January of 2022. and is the head teacher in Classroom 4. Cara earned her BA and MA from St. Joseph’s University. She loves to play with children, and enjoys showing them all of the various centers in the Dillon classrooms.

Candice is an Assistant Teacher in Classroom Four. She enjoys reading stories, doing arts and crafts, and music, and she is looking forward to doing these things with her students at Dillon. Candice has been involved with the Dillon Center for many years as a substitute teacher, and she also graduated from St. Joseph’s University.

Victoria Contreras has been at Dillon since 2001. She enjoys singing songs, reading stories and cooking with the children. Sometimes she plans activities in Spanish because she is bilingual.