Firefly Teachers

director | grasshoppers | butterflies | caterpillars | fireflies | ladybugs

Melissa Matsui is from Seattle, Washington. Melissa attended Pratt Institute, majoring in Art and Design Education. She enjoys making all types of things. She incorporates this into her teaching by giving the children the guidance, resources, and the materials to make their own special things that relate to the topics that we experience and learn about in school.

Jennifer Ann Rodriguez was raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn but now lives in Queens. After graduating Murray Bergtraum High School in 2007, she began attending Fashion Institute of Technology. She realized during her first year, that it wasn't for her. Luckily at the same time, she had a part time job in a public school and loved interacting with the children so it sparked her interest in getting a degree in Early Childhood Education. Currently she is applying to schools and hoping to further her career with children. 

Mariana Valencia was born in Chicago, IL, and has lived in Brooklyn for about three years. In 2006, Mariana graduated from Hampshire College with a concentration in Dance, Aesthetics and Ethnography. Mariana's relationship to children stems from the love, inspiration and energy they give her.  She has been a nanny to many families in Brooklyn, and has been a teacher at the Chicago Waldorf School and Artistic Mentor to young women in Stendis, Denmark.  She is currently the artistic director of her performance company, Rhinoceros Event, and exhibits work in New York and the Northeast.