Eileen Baker | Head of School
Eileen is an experienced international school leader who has implemented International Baccalaureate programs in four schools in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. She is Montessori trained and has been a workshop leader and school inspector for the International Baccalaureate since 1999.
She is uniquely qualified to bring our vision of a global school to life because she grew up overseas, immersed in a classroom of real world cultural experiences. Her experience in training teachers from around the world has given her a distinct ability to strategize, collaborate and accomplish great things across all cultures. She believes that schools should be responsive to research and adaptable to changing needs, so she's always reading the latest findings. Her goal is to prepare students for the future, not the past.
Eileen loves traveling and could never see enough museums, market places, art and architecture.
Emily Henley | Parent Liaison/Executive Assistant
Emily comes to us from London where she has served as an early childhood teacher for over 5 years. She holds a Master of Education from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor's degree in Childhood Studies from the University of Bristol.
Lauren Angarola | PYP & Middle School Coordinator
Lauren has an M.Ed in Educational Technology and a B.S. in History Teaching. Since she completed her student teaching in Southern China in 2012, she has been passionate about globally-minded education and how technology can create meaningful, personalized learning experiences for students. She has worked in international schools in Shanghai, China and Dubai, UAE prior to joining Green Ivy. In 2018 she became an Apple Professional Learning Specialist in the UAE and in 2019 she became an Apple Distinguished Educator. She was also responsible for helping her previous school become an Apple Distinguished School in 2019.Â
Lauren loves exploring emerging technologies and finding opportunities to bring them into the classroom. She is passionate about helping teachers feel empowered by integrating technology into their teaching and learning.
Lauren grew up in Las Vegas and recently moved to New York City. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, snow-skiing, soaking up sunshine wherever she can get it, and scoping out all the best food in New York City!
Leigh Majer | Elementary Coordinator
Leigh has been teaching for 21 years and has taught music, kindergarten and first grade in the U.S. and Europe. Most recently, she taught at Bonn International School in Germany (an IB school) where she worked as a first grade teacher for 4 years. She holds degrees in both Education and Philosophy and has teacher certification in Canada, Texas and Michigan.
Leigh is Canadian and lived in the Toronto area until she graduated from university and decided to go on a grand adventure, working as a Youth Director on a major cruise line. The ability to both work with children, as well as travel the world, allowed for a continuing exploration of cultures, traditions and languages. This was a natural extension of the multicultural melting pot she grew up in and served to cement her commitment to a global mindset in education.
Leigh infuses her lessons with music, movement and technology. She is passionate about supporting and nurturing each child's passions and helping guide them on their learning journey. Leigh enjoys spending time with family and friends, cycling, and traveling to new places.
Janise Cota | Preschool Coordinator
Mexico is her home country and where her love for Spanish comes from. She grew up in Arizona and moved to New York six years ago. Janise obtained her Bachelors in Psychology from The Arizona State University and her Masters in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She comes from a long line of educators both here in the U.S and in Mexico, Education opened up a lot of doors for her and opportunities that she may not have had otherwise.
She joins the team after being a teacher/mentor for young children for about 10 years. Whenever she has not been in a teaching position, she has been volunteering for a variety of organizations that focus on helping abused and homeless children. Some of these organizations include Free Arts of Arizona, Stand Up For Kids and Girls Scouts of Arizona. Janise strongly believes in the power of Education and its ability to change children's projected trajectory. She's one of our cooking lovers! Besides Mexican food, she also grew up learning how to cook food from South America. Janise is an avid reader and active hiker, runner, cyclist and Yogui! She also loves to ride her bike around New York City. Whenever she's not in the classroom, you might find her camping, at the beach or lying in the hammock on her deck, BBQ'ing.
Isabelle Belneau | DEI Coordinator
Isabelle was born and raised in New York City. She holds NYS Certification in Childhood Education 1-6, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and Initial certification in School Building Leader (SBL) from St. John’s University, Queens, NY. She has over 15 years of teaching experience. She’s taught in public and private/international settings in NYC, Abu Dhabi, and Haiti. She enjoys working in multilingual school communities where students flourish academically and socially in all of the languages they know and learn at school.
Isabelle enjoys traveling, visiting museums and galleries, practicing her French language skills, reading, spending time with loved ones, painting, and watching documentaries.