East Setauket/Port Jeff Station Location
Sarah Gounaris – Owner/Director
After not being able to find a preschool she loved for her own daughter, Sarah decided to start her own and opened Mill Pond’s Stony Brook location in 2013. In 2017, she opened the second location in Port Jefferson Station. Sarah has worked in childcare for 19 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in child development/sociology from BYU-Idaho where she graduated in 2005. Sarah grew up in New Mexico, but now lives in East Setauket with her 3 kids, Caroline (15), AJ (13), Zachary (9), her dog Coco, and her cats, KitKat, Snickers, and Twix.
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Samantha Blandi – Asst Director/Preschool Teacher
Sam started working at Mill Pond’s Stony Brook location in September 2014. At the time, her daughter was 2.5 and it was the perfect place for them to both learn and grow. Sam graduated from St. Joseph’s in 2006 with her degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. Before teaching preschool, she worked at a community residence for the mentally ill. While she loved that job, she felt more suited for teaching little ones. Ms. Sam has worked in our infant room, toddler room and preschool room. You may see her greeting your child at the door, singing and dancing with the 3 year old’s, or in the office doing paperwork. Ms. Sam lives in Miller Place with her husband and 2 kids, Dominick (16) and Avery (12), and dog Enzo.
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Jennifer Becker – Pre-K Teacher
Miss Jennifer is our lead Pre-K teacher. She previously worked at another preschool that closed due to the pandemic. Jennifer graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2003 and received her Master’s in Literacy Education in 2006 from Dowling College. After several years working in district, she began her own family and decided to stay home with her children, Ally (16) and Nicholas (13). Once her children became school aged, she decided to return to work. She realized she enjoyed teaching the little ones and found a love for early childhood education.
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Julianna Romano - Prepper Teacher
Miss Julianna is our new "Prepper" room teacher for children 2.5-3. She has been working at Mill Pond since 2019. Julianna loves working with children and has been babysitting since as early as the age of 12. She graduated from Comsewogue High School in 2019 and is currently in here last year studying early childhood/elementary education at St. Joseph's University. She enjoys spending her free time with her family, which includes her mom, dad and sister Abbie who also works at Mill Pond!
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Deanna Calascibetta - Miss Deanna is one of our Assistant Teachers. You can find her working mostly in our preschool classroom with Ms. Sam. She has been working at Mill Pond since 2018, when she was a student at the HS across the street. She graduated from Ward Melville High school in 2019 and is currently attending Suffolk County Community College where she is a Liberal Arts major. She lives in East Setauket with her mom, dad, and 2 younger brothers. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends and spending quality time with her family.
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Abbie Romano - Assistant Teacher
Abbie graduated from Comsewogue High School in June 2022. She is currently attending Suffolk Community College. She started at Mill Pond in February 2022 and works alongside her sister Julianna! She has always enjoyed being around children. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family!
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Annette Turner - Preschool Teacher
Annette has been working at Mill Pond for the last 3 years. This will be her first year(2024) as a lead teacher and we are so excited! Ms. Annette lives in E. Setauket with her husband and 2 children (16 and 20 yrs). Before having children, she lived and worked in Northern Virginia as a teacher and Assistant Director at a preschool very similar to Mill Pond.
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Gabriella Brekne - Toddler Teacher
Ms. Gabby joined the Mill Pond family in Jan 2018. In 2020 her baby daughter also joined us! Ms. Gabby has her CDA in Infants/Toddlers and has worked with young children for over 10 years.
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Marin Montuori - Toddler Assistant
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Allie Costigan - Infant Teacher
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Melissa Najdzion - Infant Assistant
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Brianna Navarro - Prepper Assistant
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Jacqueline Tarpey -
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Brianna Czark - Floater
Brianna recently graduated from Ward Melville High School in 2024. She joined us this summer and will continue with us in the fall when she starts as a student at Stony Brook University. Many of our families know her from New Era Gymnastics where she worked as a gymnastics coach with the youngest group.
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Grace DeAlmeida -Floater
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Stacey Knust - Floater
Stony Brook Location
Kristin Cline -- Director
Miss Kristin has studied and worked in all aspects of childcare. She earned her BS in Special Education and her Masters in Early Childhood Education. Kristin and her husband, Erik, highly recommend Mill Pond. Their daughters Kamryn and Karlyn both attended Mill Pond since infancy. She believes conscientious parents and committed educators can make a difference in every child’s life.
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Darleen Nulty—Assistant Director
Miss Darleen has earned both her BS in Educational Studies and the New York State Children’s Program Administrator Credential. She respects the fact that children develop at their own unique pace. She is here to enjoy the children as well as give support and encouragement to the teachers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kathy Forman—Infant Teacher
Miss Kathy has earned her Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. She began working exclusively with infants in 2004 and joined the Mill Pond Family in September 2014. To quote a parent, “Kathy loves the children in her care as if they are her own".
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Maegan Cline—Pre-K Teacher
Miss Maegan has earned her CDA credential and has been a part of our team since 2015. Her 10+ years before coming to Mill Pond were spent working with children. Her students are recipients of her creative, imaginative, and loving teaching style.
______________________________________________________Susana Ferreira—Pre-School Teacher
Miss Susana is a graduate of Purdue Global and has earned her BS in Early Childhood Administration. She believes that children learn and grow by being in an interactive environment. She brings her unique brand of love and caring to her class.
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Maria Hartmann—Toddler Teacher
Miss Maria earned her Associates in Liberal Arts at Suffolk County Community College. She has been working with children since 2001. Miss Maria is knowledgeable and competent in every classroom. The children respond positively to her caring and loving presence.
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Vanessa Alonso—Assistant Teacher
Vanessa is a graduate of Ward Melville High School. She is the proud mother of two little ones. She has worked with pre-school children since 2010. She has a great deal of energy, love, and a positive attitude...all of which are needed to keep up with these little ones.
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Felicity Solberg—Assistant Teacher
Miss Felicity earned her CDA credential in high school at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Early Childhood Education Program. She is continuing her education at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue. Her desire is for each child to enjoy learning as much as she does.
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Gabrielle Roso - Assistant Teacher
Sarah Neber - Assistant Infant Teacher