Faculty

Laura Engel, Early Childhood Teacher

Laura Engel has been a member of the Ross School faculty since 2006, first with Ross Library and later as the Early Childhood Lead Teacher. She was the recipient of the Ross Lower School Teacher of the Year Award in 2023 and is an EC Instruction Leader. Laura began her career in the performing arts at age 14 and has performed for the stage, film, and television in venues from New York City to Miami. Her love of the arts inspires her vision for life in her nursery classroom, striving to empower students to develop and express their creativity and sense of the world through painting, drawing, storytelling, dancing, and music-making.

Laura attended Bard College, New York University, and the New School for Social Research, receiving a BA in Liberal Arts. She is a certified Music Together teacher and has taught EC Music and Movement classes as well as EC Creative Dramatics classes for over 25 years for many educational institutions, including the Children's Museum of Manhattan, New Media Rep, Kids Classes of the Hamptons, Sandpiper Music Together, Music Together by the Dunes, Children's Museum of the East End, Rainbow Preschool, Stella Maris Preschool (East Hampton and Sag Harbor locations), Art House Engel, and the Art Farm. She has been the EC Coordinator and EC Creative Arts Instructor for Ross Summer Camp since 2008.

Laura is married to Christopher Engel, Dean of Students at Ross Lower School and Director of Community Programs, and they have two children who graduated from Ross with honors, Noah '11 and Emma '16.

Beth Anderson, Nursery Teacher

Beth began her career in early childhood education as the founder and director of the Hampton Bays Children’s Center, a Reggio Emilia-inspired program that provided high-quality daycare for hundreds of families for over twenty years. She provided progressive professional development for her teaching staff and taught courses on curriculum development for the Child Care Council of Suffolk. She also taught at Sag Harbor Elementary School prior to joining the Ross Lower School's early childhood program.

Ms. Beth is an avid traveler and served as a chaperone for a Ross School trip to Ecuador, which included her son, Ryan, a 2011 Ross School graduate who now works as a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Beth carries a strong interest in science, nature, and the arts and a classroom management philosophy based on parent/teacher/student collaboration and mindfulness practices. She is happy to have the opportunity to create another unique, creative program combining the Ross School Spiral Curriculum with Reggio Emilia-inspired concepts.

AnnMarie Regan, Pre-K Teacher

AnnMarie is an experienced educator who began her teaching career at Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Center Moriches, where she taught kindergarten using a balanced literacy approach. She then taught Pre-K in Bayport with a focus on global studies, preparing children for kindergarten by exploring the geographical world. AnnMarie’s passion for nurturing young minds flourished during her 15-year tenure as the Head Teacher at The Green School in Sagaponack, where she developed curriculums that scaffolded readiness across multiple early childhood stages.

AnnMarie holds a Bachelor's degree in English from Mount Saint Mary College and a Master of Science in Reading K-12 from Dowling College. Her teaching philosophy is deeply influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, which aligns with her belief in recognizing the unique learning styles and paces of each child. AnnMarie continues to create an inclusive and stimulating classroom environment where exploration, expression, and creativity are encouraged through various mediums such as music, drawing, writing, and painting. This approach fosters a sense of kindness, imagination, and joy in learning, reflecting the core principles of the Reggio Emilia model.

Outside the classroom, AnnMarie enjoys tutoring, gardening, and spending time with her daughter and three dogs in Manorville.

Meg Tarshish, Nursery Teacher

Brandee Torakis, Pre-K Teacher

Ms. Brandee comes from Detroit, Michigan and has a passion for writing, performance, and music in addition to science/art fusion! 2026 will mark her 23rd year in the Hamptons, and the fifth year that she has taught at Ross School.

When it comes to problem-solving skills, Ms. Brandee enjoys taking care of business through creative intervention. Whether she is writing a catchy tune to help a child learn to spell their name or writing a cheer for our students to celebrate homecoming, Ms. Brandee happily gets things moving in a fun and positive direction! Curating special visual arts projects to tie into the Ross spiral curriculum, as well as work in music and movement, she is always busy on campus! If you listen carefully, you can hear the kids buzzing along with her!

Ms. Brandee is also the mother of Toshihiro Shiga, who you will see occasionally helping with her business Smartz & Craftz, making bath bombs and coloring the community with all things bold, bright, and fun!

Nicole O’Brien, Kindergarten Core Teacher

Dedicated, determined, and passionate about education & teaching, Ms. O’Brien brings over 24 years of teaching experience into her differentiated approach toward learning while engaging the students through teacher & student-based approaches. Joy is sparked within this accomplished teacher each day when connections are made within and outside of the classroom. She holds multiple degrees that enrich her day-to-day interactions with the students, creating an environment conducive to acquiring the knowledge needed for success now and in the future.

Julie Browning, Grade 1 Core Teacher

Julie earned her BA in education from Edinburgh University in Scotland. She taught for four years in England and was a Key Stage leader for Grades 1–3.

In 1996, Julie moved to the United States with her husband and taught Grades 1–4 for six years at Hampton Day School in Bridgehampton, NY. Julie obtained her M.A. in teaching reading from Long Island University, and as a lifelong learner, she has taken additional graduate courses in teaching reading, writing, and math. Julie joined the Ross School community in 2006 as the Reading Specialist for Grades K–4. In 2015, she returned to the classroom as a lead teacher, first in Kindergarten, then in Grade 2, and now in Grade 1.

For the past 20 years, in addition to teaching, Julie has been tutoring K–7 students in reading, writing, and math. Julie lives in Sag Harbor with her husband, Barry, and two children, Sophie and Charlie.

Catherine Golding-Cremaux, Grade 1 Core Teacher

Catherine Golding-Cremoux brings a rich background in early childhood education from her prior roles in schools in New York City, having taught Kindergarten through Grade 2 at the prestigious Rudolf Steiner School and serving as the lead teacher at the Barnard Toddler Center. Hailing from Mexico City and with the unique multicultural lineage of having an American father and Lebanese mother, Catherine possesses a deep appreciation for global perspectives. This appreciation is further emphasized by her fluency in English, Spanish, and French and her proficiency in Portuguese.

Catherine earned her bachelor's degree from Columbia University and a Master's Degree with Advanced Certification in Child-School Psychology from NYU. This solid foundation underscores her unwavering commitment to understanding and fostering children's holistic development.

Beyond her academic and professional pursuits, Catherine has a keen interest in outdoor activities and the culinary arts. Central to her philosophy is a dedication to the holistic well-being of children. We are eager and excited for Catherine to share and nurture this ethos at Ross.

Anna McAree, Grade 2 Core Teacher

Eric Sepenoski, Grade 2 Core Teacher

Eric Sepenoski comes to our learning community as a fourth-generation farmer on the North Fork. While working the family farm each summer and pursuing his education as a teacher and writer, Eric became interested in how our relationships with the land shape our sense of place and purpose. In 2020, he received his PhD from Northeastern University for his ethnographic study of the North Fork and the literacies people enact around land use. He then returned home to work the farm, keeping a promise he had made to himself to raise his young sons on the land with his wife, Brenna, and to renew and strengthen our community through teaching and public service. Eric currently serves on the Town of Southold Board of Trustees, a role that puts him at the creative intersection of science, law, public discourse, and environmental stewardship. At the Ross Lower School, he aims to inspire students to see themselves as caretakers of the community and the Earth.

Geoffrey Heppenheimer ‘06, Grade 3 Core Teacher

As a Ross alumnus, Class of 2006, Geoff was pleased to rejoin the Ross community in a teaching capacity.

Geoff grew up here on Long Island, and attended the Amagansett School prior to attending Ross Upper School. Geoff thoroughly enjoyed Ross and made many lifelong connections with fellow students and staff. He went on to Trinity College in Hartford, CT, before getting his MA in Childhood Education from LIU Riverhead. Prior to joining the Ross teaching community, he taught third and fourth grade at the Oysterponds Elementary School in Orient, NY.

Geoff has always loved the East End and all the natural beauty that it has to offer. He enjoys the outdoors, especially evening walks with his dog on our numerous serene beaches.

Geoff developed a strong passion for teaching during his time at the CDCH Charter School, where he worked in the summers while attending college, and for several years while he was receiving his degree in education. Geoff is a caring and compassionate teacher who seeks to understand each student on an individual level to best plan instruction that meets the needs of each unique child.

Ajiah Jones-King ‘12, Grade 3 Core Teacher

Ajiah Jones-King's enduring presence within the Ross community has evolved from her student years to her current roles as a Ross alum, a camp administrator, and a Kindergarten teacher at the Lower School.

She received her most recent degree from the University of Pennsylvania with an MS in International Educational Development with a focus on early childhood & human rights. She is also a spoken word artist, writer, and published author. In class, Ajiah encourages creativity and curiosity while also incorporating a daily mindfulness practice to help students stay focused and engaged in their studies.

Carolyn Schwerdtfeger , Grade 4 Core Teacher

Carolyn earned her BFA in Advertising and Public Relations from New York Institute of Technology and worked as an Account Executive for an Advertising Agency in NYC. She then moved to Massachusetts and opened her own home daycare business. After several years in Massachusetts, she returned to Long Island and began to grow her family. After her fourth child was born, Carolyn returned to college and earned her Master's of Education degree in elementary education from Dowling College. She then accepted a classroom teaching position at St. Joseph's School where she taught for 14 years.
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While at St. Joseph’s, she received a NY State grant to improve elementary math skills and attended the SUNY Old Westbury Institute of Leadership Training for Math, which allowed her to be the K–5 math lead. After several years as a classroom teacher, she was then granted an opportunity to develop a research writing program that closed the gaps in writing skills for students in Grades 5–8.

Since Carolyn is a lifelong learner, she continued her education, earning her School Building/District Leader Certificate from St. Joseph’s College, and completing an internship at Port Jefferson Middle School. Carolyn now serves as a Grade 4 teacher at Ross Lower School. She lives in Miller Place and has four children—Kaitlyn, James, Alyson, and Alexa, and one granddaughter, Valerie.

Nancy Hallock, Grade 5 Teacher