Jessie Dessus
Jessie Dessus is a South Bronx native who has been working as an educator for over a decade. Jessie became a teacher through the NYC Teaching Fellows Program and earned a MS in Childhood Education from Fordham University. After that, Jessie obtained Montessori Early Childhood …
Samantha Dhanraj
Samantha Dhanraj was born in The Netherlands and spent half her childhood there before moving to Queens, NY. Sam started her love for music by studying Indian classical music, which led to her attending LaGuardia Arts High School for vocal music before attending New York …
Abigail Drechsler
Abbey is from the crab-tastic state of Maryland where she was born, raised, and fell in love with creating. After high school she attended Towson University (just north of Baltimore) where she majored in Art Education and minored in film studies. While at Towson her …
Jillien Outlaw
Jillien Outlaw is a fellow Bronxite dedicated to not only educating and inspiring young minds, but also helping break the stereotypes given to students living in the Bronx and other underserved communities. Ms. Outlaw received her Bachelor’s Degree in English, with a minor in Mechanical …
Malcolm Thompson
Malcolm Thompson was born and raised in New York and had always dreamed of becoming an educator. Three of his grandparents were lifelong teachers and made clear to him the importance of a compassionate and quality education. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from …
Lukas Roselle
Lukas was born in Rio Rico, Arizona. He received his Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies from Arizona State University. After graduating college, Lukas worked in nonprofit as a job coach for adults with developmental disabilities. He then received a Master’s Degree in Elementary and …
Karen Asiedu
Karen started her education career as a Teach For America Corps member in New Orleans after graduating from Penn State in 2018. During her time there, she taught 5th grade ELA for two years. She moved back to NYC in 2020 and taught AP Environmental …
Ashley McLennan
Ashley is a Bronx native and has lived her whole life in New York City. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a concentration in secondary education from The City College of New York of CUNY. Her first teaching experience was with the Archdiocese …
Joanna Willis-Kanyali
Joanna was born in The Bronx, N.Y., but was raised in Peekskill, N.Y. She has earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education from Iona University and she also holds her Master of Divinity from Drew University. Upon graduation, Joanna has been dedicated and committed …
