Welcome to the Playgarden Prep community! We're so excited to start this new forum, and build a community amongst our Playgarden Online and in-person families across the nation. In this thread, we'd like to introduce the Playgarden Community Team—the people that are here to ensure that things run smoothly, facilitate expert events, and generally make sure that our members are enjoying their time in our community. Because this may be the first time that you’re seeing some of our faces, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce ourselves!

Playgarden's Community Team:

🌈 Emily — Marketing & Operations Manager

Emily helped to launch the Community Page in January 2023, and is so excited to meet our users! She loves working on projects to improve Playgarden Online, and connecting with early childhood education experts to bring their expertise to the PG Community. Originally from south Texas (where she developed a life-long love of theatre, Tex-Mex, painting, and Dr. Pepper), Emily has been working in the childcare industry for 10+ years. She now lives in New York City, where she began working at Playgarden Prep Tribeca in November 2020 before transitioning to her current role with Playgarden Online. You can reach out to Emily for any questions you may have about the Playgarden community, or about all things PG Online.

🌈 Gabby — Head of Customer Engagement & PG Online Teacher

Miss Gabby started teaching early childhood enrichment classes at Playgarden Tribeca in 2021, before transitioning into her current role as a Playgarden Online teacher and administrator. She found her passion for education at a young age, and taught at private schools on Long Island before moving to New York City. Gabby loves books, Insomnia Cookies, theatre, and all things Disney! You can reach out to Gabby for any questions about Playgarden Online, or for any questions you may have about your little one's progress in the program.

🌈 Nadia — Administrative Specialist & PG Online Teacher

Miss Nadia started working with Playgarden in 2022 as a PG Online teacher and administrator. She loves working with children, and has extensive experience in both the childcare industry and the performing arts industry, making her the perfect fit for an online teacher! You can reach out to Nadia for any questions about Playgarden Online.

🌈 Lucy — Managing Director & Senior Operations Manager

Originally from a small town in Nebraska, Lucy grew up in the education world; having been raised by two teachers, she always found herself at ease in a school environment, and was happy to find a community with Playgarden after moving to New York City in 2015. Lucy wears many hats and works closely with each team across the technology, marketing, and customer engagement departments—as well as directly with PG's founders—to ensure that needs are being met for students and teachers alike. When the pandemic began in March 2020, she played an integral role in the launch of Playgarden Online, and continues to oversee and guide the team to ensure the platform runs smoothly for students across the country. Lucy is passionate about bringing in and evolving the curriculum, and looks forward to sharing Playgarden's early education philosophies even beyond New York City—to small towns and communities like the one she grew up in.

🌈 Amanda — C.O.O. & Co-Founder

Amanda has spent most of her life developing groundbreaking curriculum for the youngest children, dedicating her time to working at Playgarden Prep's Upper East Side program while also leading the Playgarden Online team. She is an educator and specialist in all things early learning, with a passion for making sure that Playgarden's curriculum is in line with the most up-to-date educational research. She helped to co-found Playgarden in 2007 alongside Carlos and Valeska, and also co-founded Playgarden Online when the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic began. Originally from California, Amanda enjoys spending time with her three wonderful children, and is excited to get to know the Playgarden community!