Toddlers Room Staff
MANUELA KATTERMANN
My name is Manuela Kattermann but here at C.A.D.S. I’m known as Mella. I was born and raised in Germany. In 1988, I came to the U.S. as an au pair. For the past eighteen years, I have been teaching here at C.A.D.S. My first five years was spent teaching the three-year-olds and for the past nine, I have enjoyed working with the toddlers. My daughter Morgana is a proud, C.A.D.S. graduate! She still loves to visit and was able to fill in this past summer as a substitute. I look forward to meeting and working with the new toddlers and their parents and expect to have another gratifying and rewarding year.
YESI VELEZ
My name is Yesenia Velez but I am called Yesi (Jessie). I have two wonderful daughters, Cynthia and Nicole, ages twenty-four and sixteen. I arrived in the U.S. from Ecuador when I was five. In 2000, I participated in the C.D.A. program at Bank Street College (Child Development Associate). After working with my own three-year-old daughter, Nicole, at an Early Head Start (parent-child) program, I learned patience and understanding as well as other skills to help my daughter and other young children deal with the comings and goings of everyday life. Assimilating and using these skills awakened the realization that I enjoyed guiding children’s development and giving them the tools with which to communicate. I am thrilled to be starting my fifteenth year as a teacher at C.A.D.S.!
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