Team
Katherine “Kathy” Abbott
Director
Kathy Abbott comes to Sprout House from the Summit Speech School with a wealth of non-profit leadership experience. She first joined our community as a parent and then has served as a longtime board member and president. Kathy holds her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a master’s degree from New York University. She lives in Chatham Township, New Jersey with her husband and three daughters. Kathy is an enthusiastic volunteer in our community having served on the board for the League of Women Voters of NJ. She has also been active in the local Chatham Township government, serving on the Environmental Commission, Planning Board, and as an elected official.
Joanne Lockwood White
Sprout House Founder
Joanne Lockwood White founded Sprout House in 1985 as a pioneering school, which inspires self-directed learning, where kids are happy and intellectually engaged. She served for years as the director of Sprout House, teaching multitudes of children to appreciate the environment and how to “walk the walk.” She is continually bestowing her Early Childhood Education (M.A.) experience through advising, training teachers and assessing on matters of the edification of young children. A longtime active member of the Chatham Township community; and in her free time Joanne enjoys the serenity of the Pine Barrens and splashing around in the Long Island Sound with her husband, her grown daughters, who were once Sprouts, and their families.
Leslie Barry
Bookkeeper/ Office Staff
Leslie started working at Sprout House in 1997 when her youngest child was enrolled in the first Rising Five Program. She has a BA degree in history and art history, and worked as a Human Resources manager at AT&T and Bellcore for many years. She loves reading and traveling in her spare time.
Jen Mathews
Head Teacher
Jen Mathews began her career in children’s publishing in New York, then continued working with storytellers like screenwriters and directors in LA. More recently, she has been a Scout leader, a PTO Environmental Committee Coordinator, a Friends of the Library Board member, and helped other local organizations such as the Chatham Township Environmental Commission and the Open Space Committee.
Jen has three children, two of whom attended Sprout House. In her spare time she enjoys listening to podcasts and audio books, and spending time outside with her family, friends, and sweet pup, Scout.
Carolyn SanFilippo
Mentor Teacher
Carolyn holds a BA degree in Early Childhood Education from Goddard College. She began working at Sprout House as the cook in 1985 and became the Rising 5s teacher in 1998 and taught at Sprout House continuously since then. Carolyn is now the traveling mentor teacher. Her hobbies include reading, American History, biking, and hiking.
Dina Barrionuevo
Teacher
Dina has over 2 decades of experience as an early childhood teacher at well-known schools in the area. She is excited about Sprout House’s nature-based curriculum and the high value the school places on authentic children’s art and literature. Dina has a BA in clinical child psychology and says, “I believe that children learn through play. I provide opportunities for children to explore, discover, imagine, and create. I look for opportunities to extend their learning according to the child’s interests and strengths.”
In her free time, Dina loves photography, singing and dancing.
Cindy Brenes
Teacher
Cindy is an experienced early childhood teacher who believes, “No two children are the same, as there is no one way to teach. I am always looking for new ways to keep a child’s mind engaged.”
Cindy lives in Madison with her husband and 3 boys. In her free time, she is often at her sons’ soccer games. She enjoys dining out and going to the movies with her family.
Maria Estrada
Teacher
Maria is an experienced early childhood teacher. Music and dancing are two of her favorite ways to teach ideas and self-expression. At Sprout House, Maria has naturally gravitated towards tending our native plant gardens and sharing with children the wonders of living things. Maria also has expertise in caring for adults. She has worked for many years as a medical assistant, including as a phlebotomist, and has enjoyed helping seniors as a home health aide.
In her free time, Maria enjoys long walks in the mountains with her 2 girls and husband. She also loves to read, exercise and dance.
Andrea Harris
Teacher
Andrea has been involved in teaching for 15 years. As an educator and artist, she looks forward to fostering each child’s artistic expression though a variety of mediums–paint, clay, 3D, fabric, and found objects.
“I see the early childhood years as a golden opportunity to ignite the imagination and allow the mind to develop creative and unique patterns of thinking in problem solving, positive social interactions and discovery of the world around us,” says Andrea. “I especially admire Sprout House’s encouragement of exploring the question, “why do you think that is?”
Andrea earned a BFA from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science, majoring in graphic design, fine arts, and sculpture. In her spare time, Andrea refinishes and rescues old furniture, loves to paint, garden, and read.
Mary Kennedy
Teacher
Mary comes to Sprout House after a career at Library of the Chathams. She holds a Masters Degree in Library Science and specialized in Children’s Literature at Rutgers University. She believes that storytelling is an important component to emotional and creative development.
She and her husband have been residents of Chatham Township for over 50 years and have three daughters. Mary enjoys gardening, biking, hiking, travel, poetry and, of course, reading.
Susan Lanham
Teacher
Susan Lanham holds a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College and is certified in Elementary Education. She has 3 decades of Early Childhood experience tutoring, teaching pre–kindergarten and kindergarten.
In her free time, Susan enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, and restoring furniture.
Mineli Lechner
Teacher
Mineli is a mother of two Sprout House alums and a registered nurse by training. She practiced nursing for 14 years, including 8 as a pediatric nurse in hospitals and in educational settings. Mineli was drawn to teach at Sprout House because of its joyful, nature-based curriculum and its focus on healthy food and play outdoors. She says Sprout House formed her own children’s love of learning and curiosity about the natural world. “The best teachers are role models for children,” says Mineli. “They enjoy reading and the arts, and they foster creativity and a genuine interest in the world.”
In her spare time, Mineli loves to go to the theater, museums, listen to music and go on walks with her husband.
Eve Nikolopoulos
Teacher
Eve is a certified teacher who has worked for years in second grade and kindergarten classrooms. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education for pre-K and kindergarten through 6th grade and earned a master’s degree in mathematics for elementary education. Eve says she has always loved teaching. For her, teaching means “nurturing children’s natural desire for knowledge through guidance and play.”
Eve lives in Chatham with her husband and 3 sons. In her spare time, she likes to read, cook, play tennis and, most of all, spend time with her family and dog, Sammi.
Jenna Prisco
Assistant Teacher
Jenna recently graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a BA in Psychology. She is also a big sister of a Sprout alumna. Jenna has always been comfortable communicating with children, and she says this led her to choose psychology as a major.
Jenna is excited about Sprout House’s nature-based curriculum and how it develops children’s imaginations and scientific curiosity. She has always been drawn to science and won science fair prizes in school. Jenna also looks forward to sharing her artistic talents with the Sprout House children. She draws cartoon characters, animals and plants, and she sews dolls. During her downtime, Jenna loves spending time with her large, tight-knit family, which includes small children and one loving senior black cat.
Megan West
Teacher
Megan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Penn State University, and has worked in many aspects of nursing, including surgical, oncology, and labor and delivery. She lives in Chatham with her husband and four children. In her spare time she loves to be at the beach!