Faculty
We are privileged to have wonderful and qualified staff members. Lead teachers in each classroom are Montessori certified teachers. Please find concise biographies of our Faculty below.
Susanne Biancamano has been at the Unitarian Montessori School since 2012, she became the Administrator of Development in 2013 and became full time Director in 2014. She has been an accredited Montessori teacher for over 15 years. She is a passionate advocate for Montessori and has extensive experience in Montessori Education. Ms. Sue began her career in Montessori in 2000 at the Christopher Academy in Scotch Plains NJ where she received her initial training and started her teaching career. She received her certification from the National Center for Montessori, and subsequently continued her career at the Raritan Valley Montessori School in Bridgewater.
She has been an advocate for advancing early education for children globally. She is a well-known spokesperson and speaker in the Montessori community. Ms. Sue has travelled extensively globally to raise awareness about the importance of education including Rwanda where she actively participated in raising funds to build the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. She has been involved in a number of charitable organizations including Hospice and The Compassionate Friends.
In addition to her Montessori Certification, Ms. Sue studied Business and Marketing at St. Peter's University and Social Work at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Social Work.
Ms. Sue lives in Hillsborough with her husband, her three children (all previous Montessori students), her dog Shadow and cat Comet. Email Ms.Sue
Tina Rasin (Office administrator) holds Master's of Education in Psychology and has 10 years of work experience in the preschool setting. Ms. Tina loves working with children and her work at the Unitarian Montessori. Her special interests include research on development of a healthy mind, and mindfulness practice. The latter prompted Ms. Tina to become the Mindful Educator graduate of Mindful Schools. During the year Ms. Tina teaches Mindfulness to Primary classes. Ms. Tina is also passionate about real estate and is a recipient of NJ Realtors Circle of Excellence Sales Award. She resides in East Brunswick with her husband and 3 daughters. Email Office
Cecilia (Lee) Anne Young (Toddler Class-Room 11) has worked at the Unitarian Montessori School since the school beginnings. As a former Montessori student, parent and educator Cecilia has adopted the Montessori Method as a way of life.
Ms. Lee has earned her degree in Liberal Arts and has received her Montessori Primary training through the Project CHAMP training program and taught primary for 15 years. Cecilia received her infant toddler training from the Princeton Center for Teacher Education and established and taught the toddler program at UMS for 14 years. She served as assistant director for several years, participated in the UMS PTO and has facilitated several parent information workshops. Ms. Lee feels honored to work with children every day and to be able to provide them with a safe and nurturing environment. Email Ms. Lee
Alison Rybinski (Toddler Class-Room 11) is a teacher's assistant in the toddler room for Ms. Lee’s class. She began working at the Unitarian Montessori Preschool 2 years ago, and she loves working with children. Ms. Alison has been married of 24 years and is a mother of four children. Ms. Alison loves being with family, learning new things and going to the beach.
Prachi Sanghvi (Toddler Class-Room 11) holds Bachelor Degree in Commerce and Post Graduate Diploma in Fitness Management. She worked in India as the Coordinator of Fitness Department with Symbiosis Center of Health Care. The 3 years of coordinating, consulting and managing experience makes her an expert with a complete knowledge of Health and Fitness. Ms. Prachi started working with the Unitarian Montessori School in the summer of 2016 as a Substitute Teacher and now as a Teacher’s Assistant. She believes that the basic health and fitness lies in our roots and at UMS child gets the knowledge of becoming an organized independent person which is the right place to start.
Manique Feldano (Primary Class-Room 13) holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. She received the Montessori certification in 1988 from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). She has 22 years of teaching experience, worked in Canada from 1994 – 1999 as a Head Teacher, and is currently employed at Unitarian Montessori School as a Head teacher for 18 years. Ms. Manique is married with two children and enjoys spending time with family and friends. Email Ms. Manique
Prasadi Thambugala (Primary Class-Room 13) is an Management Accountant (CIMA London) who has worked 14 years ago for a Montessori School in Sri Lanka and this being her first love has joined the Montessori again. She has worked as a Sunday school teacher with elementary & middle school children for over 10 years. She is currently pursuing her Montessori certification. She has traveled extensively and has lived in Sri-Lanka, Zambia and Nigeria. She enjoys traveling, reading and gardening and is a mother of two kids.
Sadaf Ahmed (Primary Class-Room 13) holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration majoring in Marketing and International Business. Through both her children, she had first hand experience of the positive impacts of a Montessori education on a child. These experiences motivated her to explore the world of Montessori education, hence she started her journey into getting certified in the Early Childhood program from Princeton Center for Teacher Education at Princeton Montessori. Upon completion of a year long internship at Unitarian, she now joins the school as a Teacher's Assistant. On a personal front, she enjoys traveling, reading, exploring new recipes and collecting cookbooks.
Surbhi Saini (Primary Class-Room 12) is an English Honors graduate and holds an associate degree in Fashion design. Ms. Surbhi began teaching career in Singapore as a language arts teacher in an elementary school. Her mom is retired principal of a Montessori School and both her kids attended Montessori School. Great experience with them lead her to become a Montessori Teacher. Ms. Surbhi is very passionate about the child centered educational approach of Maria Montessori and believes it leads children to think critically and provides a strong basis for their overall development. Email Ms.Surbhi
Maura Canonico (Primary Class-Room 12) will spend her third year at UMS. She has a Bachelor's degree in Family and Child services with a concentration in early childhood education from Montclair State University. She student taught kindergarten at Washington Elementary school in West Orange in 2013. Ms. Maura is also a certified Montessori teacher through the Princeton Montessori school teacher training program. Previously she has worked for the Ben Samuels Montclair State University Children's Center. Ms. Maura discovered her love of the Montessori method through her own preschool and kindergarten experience right here at UMS, which she attended for three years!
Renuka Perera (Primary Class-Room 12, Extended Care Program) immigrated to United States from Sri Lanka to provide the best education for her son. She enjoys working with children, and after working with children in Sri Lanka is grateful to be working at the Unitarian Montessori School.
Cheryl Brass (Music) holds a Master of Music Education degree from Northwestern University and a Bachelor degree from a Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. She holds stet teaching certification in NJ, NY and IL and has taught private and public school music K-12. For the past five years she has taught preschool music. She is a private violin and viola teacher and has studied and taught the Suzuki method. Bothe Maria Montessori and Sinchi Suzuki believed in the strong triangular relationship between student, parent and teacher. Ms. Cheryl is a mother of two wonderful children.
Maria Del Piano (Yoga) is a self employed, Yoga practitioner and loves working at hands on creative activities. Teaching Yoga to children these past 15 years allows her to do just that. We all grow from the experiences on the mat.