Sonja Neill-Turner is the founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn Sandbox overseeing the strategic direction of the school, admissions as well as school operations. Ms. Neill-Turner received a B.A. in Communications from the University ofVirginia. Her previous work experience entailed overseeing global education and leadership development for Sephora USA. Sonja is mom to Chase, a self-professed “mathamagician”. Her son’s limitless hours of play and discovery are the inspiration behind Brooklyn Sandbox. An avid cyclist, you can find her on the rolling hills of the Hudson Valley or on the Prospect Park loop.

Andre Farrell, Founder and Executive Director of The Katmint Learning Initiative is the vision behind The Katmint. Since 2013 he has ushered The Katmint from a one person run playgroup to a full-day school firmly establishing itself as a solid educational family resource for the community of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Andre Farrell attended Boys and Girls High School then Brooklyn College receiving his degree in Accounting & Finance Management. After working in numerous industries as a Senior Level Accountant and Consultant in Non-Profit and for Profit sectors he decided to leave in pursuit of a more fulfilling way to give back to the community in which he grew up. Through his personal experience as a parent and seeing the huge disparity from neighborhood to neighborhood in quality education he decided to create an alternative local school option. To further grow the Katmint Andre models the exact expectations placed on his faculty by pursuing an MD in the Leadership Program at The Bank Street School for Childhood and Social Work. He has also developed strong partnerships with other educational institution such as PS 309 to broaden and promote the importance of individualized education to support student. His passion for connecting families with teachers and administrators that can help to enhance children’s growth and creativity based on their own individual needs is the underlying objective behind The Katmint’s primary existence.

Bio coming soon.

Kristin Brady is the Director of Cobble Hill Playschool, a parent owned cooperative preschool that has served the Brooklyn community for almost 50 years. Kristin has worked in and around the early childhood education field for 20 years from California to Massachusetts to New York, most often in the nonprofit sector. She holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a masters degree in early childhood education from Hunter College. She has been with CHP for thirteen years as a parent, a classroom teacher, and now as director. She is passionate about the early childhood education community, committed to ensuring that it thrives, and grateful for the opportunity to serve via BCECP.

Fabiola Santos-Gaerlan is the Founder and Executive Director of Honeydew Drop Childcare. She opened it in 1999 after a 15-year career in Television Production. Fabiola holds a BA in Communications from Concordia University and a Masters in TV Production from Brooklyn College. She is a state-approved Parent Educator and is about to obtain her Early Childhood Program Administration Credential. Fabiola is committed to training educators with the mission to grow leaders. Her advocacy group, Child in Mind,, will further her mission to raise the social emotional awareness of children, their care providers and their parents.

Bio coming soon.

Linique McCoy is the owner and Executive Director of Discovery PitStop. She is the mother of two amazing children and a NYS Certified teacher with over 10 years teaching experience at local public schools. Linique is a certified Literacy Specialist for children birth through grade 6, holding a Bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University in Elementary Education and a Master's degree in Literacy and Cognition from St Joseph’s College. Linique has a passion for teaching and learning and is honored to be providing this service to her community.

Pascale Setbon is the founder and director of Language and Laughter Studio, a progressive French language immersion preschool in Brooklyn, the mission of which is to nurture critical thinking skills, kindness, and humanity within its burgeoning global citizens. Pascale, born in Paris, has raised her two children in New York City for the last 25 years over which time she has come to recognize the roots of socioeconomic disparity and the structures of racism that permeate her transplanted existence. Indeed, these forces shape global fields of power such that Pascale has dedicated her recent years to joining in solidarity with anti-racism action groups, notably as founding member of Whiteness and Racial Equality (WaRE). Through early childhood education, activist work, and outreach, Pascale is working to dismantle white privilege and bias and strives to create a just and equitable world.

Wendy Jo is a Matriach teacher and leader at Mi Casita. She is also an Extern at the Ackerman Institute of Family Therapy, and and Interspiritual Minister, Counselor, and Supervisor at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. Wendy spent most of her career directing Maple Street School, a community based cooperative social justice focused preschool for twenty years. Wendy Jo is a play revolutionary and is committed to creating collaborative culture that is just and joyful in schools, organizations and families. Wendy Jo has a Masters Degree from Bank Street College in Early Childhood Leadership, a MSW from University of Minnesota, and a BA from Mount Holyoke College. Wendy lives in her radical expansive LGBTQIA, multi-racial, neurodiverse inter-generational blended family in Brooklyn, NY on Lenape Land.