Paula Stamler Resnick, Founder and Executive Director
After working for the Ira M. Resnick Foundation as Executive Director for over ten years, Paula is currently serving as President of the Board of Trustees of The Meeting House Family Center. She holds a BA from Northwestern and a Masters in Public Administration from New York University. Paula’s inspiration to develop the The Meeting House came from her personal family experience where she saw that the social opportunities available to her her daughter in Manhattan were shrinking instead of expanding as she progressed through elementary school. Her 9 year old daughter Samantha is now an active and happy participant at The Meeting House for her second year. Paula has been involved in NYC philanthropy for many years as both a funder and fundraiser and has served on boards and committees of various charities in education, the arts and aging. She is currently serving as Executive Director of TMH as well.
Martin Isaac, Program Director
Martin Isaac brings a variety of skills and a wide background to The Meeting House from his years working with children in fields of recreation, education, intervention and family counseling. Working with children for over a decade through his undergrad studies in psychology and early childhood and during post grad work in behavior interventions he is certified as an early childhood educator and special educator. In addition, he has a background in event facilitation, program management, and curriculum creation. His love for children and fun has earned him a nickname as the modern day "Pied Piper" by families and the institutions he's worked with around the world.
Meghan Corridan, Program Coordinator
Meghan Corridan graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelors of Science in Occupational Therapy in 1999 and has been practicing pediatric therapy since 2000. Meghan began her career working at two special needs preschools in the New York City area: The Children’s Center for Early Learning in Brooklyn and Stepping Stone Day School in Queens. Since 2002, she has been working at a thriving private practice on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, SAGE for Children. In addition to providing individualized occupational therapy to children aged birth to 10 years old, she has worked with a variety of public and private schools to help children succeed in their academic environments. Using compassion and creativity, she has aided hundreds of children in achieving goals their parents may not have imagined they could accomplish. Meghan is thrilled to be a founding member and program coordinator of The Meeting House. By using her occupational therapy background, she is helping the children use skills they have learned in therapy and school and apply it to real life social and recreational situations. Meghan lives with her husband and 10-month old daughter in Park Slope, Brooklyn. When not working, she loves to bake, knit and spend time with her family outdoors.
Laurie Scherer - Dance Teacher
Laurie recently graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with a Masters in Psychology in Education: Personality and Psychopathology. When she is not teaching at The Meeting House, Laurie is employed as a full-time Floating Assistant Teacher at the Aaron School. She is also pursuing her certification as a Dance/Movement Therapist through the Harkness Dance Center at the 92nd Street Y. Laurie has been performing since the tender age of four and is classically trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical dancing with a strong background in drama and musical theater. During her undergraduate career at NYU, she expanded her repertoire to include the social and competitive styles of Latin and Ballroom dancing, as well as the various styles of Swing and Lindy Hop. She has been teaching dance for the last ten years in various capacities and has taught students of all ages. Laurie is thrilled to be back at The Meeting House for her third year, where she gets to do exactly what she loves by helping some amazing kids discover their inner stars!
Shari Korngold – Speech Therapist
Shari is a certified speech language pathologist. She received her Bachelor of Science in Speech Language Pathology at New York University, and her Masters of Science in Speech Language Pathology at CUNY Hunter College. Shari has experience working with children with a wide range of communication disorders. Her expertise is in facilitating children's conversational and social skills, and specifically teaching them how to be both an active listener and a contributor. Additionally, she has experience assisting children in using appropriate tone of voice, applying strategies in order to better problem solvers, and increasing their expressive and receptive language skills. Shari uses creative and innovative ways to teach children critical skills and encourages them to generalize these skills. She aims at increasing children's self-esteem and establishing a better sense of self. She is extremely excited to be part of the Meeting House team!
Ari Kessler – Teaching Artist
Ari is a pianist and composer who has been with The Meeting House since its early days. He leads the Music Jam free-choice class on Wednesdays, as well as helping to escort TMH kids from their day schools to Gateway. He can be found at music venues around the city, performing and listening, and at restaurants in the eternal pursuit of the perfect bowl of noodles.
Molly Nadav – Teaching Artist
Molly recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts majoring in Visual and Critical Studies. This is Molly’s first year at The Meeting House. Molly will be teaching art and is very excited to be unleashing the creativity in all of her students.
Chelsea Deng - Junior Teacher
Chelsea Deng has her Masters Degree from New York University in Educational Psychology and is presently in her fourth year of a doctoral program in School Psychology at Fordham University. Currently, she is completing her externship at the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement at the NYU Child Study Center. Chelsea brings to The Meeting House a vast knowledge base of both educational and psychological underpinnings of child and adolescent development. Her psychological training and experience working with children in schools, clinics, and after school programs, enables her to teach children how to transfer learned skills into social and recreational settings beyond their more structured school environments.
Jessie Medrano –Junior Teacher /Gym
Jessie has been bringing her charismatic enthusiasm for working with children to The Meeting House community for 2 years. With that she also claims 10 years of experience working with children of a wide variety of ages and developmental stages. Her background of psychology and intuitive ways of using language appropriately for each child has made her successful in making connections with children that are meaningful and long-lasting. She has worked in classroom settings as well as therapeutic settings and in more personal home life settings.
Eva Kalamaras – Program Administrator
Eva has a Master’s degree and NYS certification in Elementary General and Special Education. Her twelve years of experience spans from working with children from infants to twelve years old. She taught various developmental skills to children according to their age. Along with working with children, Eva has also worked as an assistant director in a private preschool on the upper west side.
