East Setauket/Port Jeff Station Location
Sarah Gounaris – Owner/Director
After not being able to find a preschool she loved for her own daughter, Sarah decided to start her own and opened Mill Pond’s Stony Brook location in 2013. In 2017, she opened the second location in Port Jefferson Station. Sarah has worked in childcare for 20 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in child development/sociology from BYU-Idaho where she graduated in 2005. Sarah grew up in New Mexico, but now lives in East Setauket with her 3 kids, Caroline (16), AJ (14), Zachary (10), her dog Coco, and cats, KitKat, Snickers, and Twix.
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Samantha Blandi – Asst Director/Preschool Teacher
Sam started working at Mill Pond’s Stony Brook location in September 2014. At the time, her daughter was 2.5 and it was the perfect place for them to both learn and grow. Sam graduated from St. Joseph’s in 2006 with her degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. Before teaching preschool, she worked at a community residence for the mentally ill. While she loved that job, she felt more suited for teaching little ones. Ms. Sam has worked in our infant room, toddler room and preschool room. You may see her greeting your child at the door, singing and dancing with the 3 year old’s, or in the office doing paperwork. Ms. Sam lives in Miller Place with her husband and 2 kids, Dominick (16) and Avery (12), and dog Enzo.
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Richard Mongno – Pre-K Teacher
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Annette Turner - Preschool Teacher
Annette has been working at Mill Pond for the last 4 years. This will be her second year(2025) as our lead preschool 2 teacher! Ms. Annette lives in E. Setauket with her husband and 2 children (17 and 21 yrs). Before having children, she lived and worked in Northern Virginia as a teacher and Assistant Director at a preschool very similar to Mill Pond.
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Deanna Calascibetta - Miss Deanna is our Assistant Teacher in Preschool 1. You can find her working mostly in our preschool classroom with Ms. Sam. She has been working at Mill Pond since 2018, when she was a student at the HS across the street. She graduated from Ward Melville High school in 2019 and is currently attending Suffolk County Community College where she is a Liberal Arts major. She lives in East Setauket with her mom, dad, and 2 younger brothers. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends and spending quality time with her family.
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Gabriella Brekne - Toddler Teacher
Ms. Gabby joined the Mill Pond family in Jan 2018. In 2020 her baby daughter also joined us and soon we will have her baby boy! Ms. Gabby has her CDA in Infants/Toddlers and has worked with young children for over 10 years.
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Tati Moreno - Toddler Assistant
Ms Tati is currently studying at Suffolk county community college pursuing early child education and planning to transfer to St Joseph’s University. She speaks spanish as her first language and english as her second language. Loves to spend free time with friends and family, she goes to church every weekend. Enjoys to do a lot of hobbies like art, singing and photography
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Dayna Castella - Assistant Toddler Teacher
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Melissa Najdzion- Infant Teacher
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Kayleigh (Kale) Ryan - Infant Assistant
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Caroline Bayer - Assistant Teacher/Floater
Caroline is currently a junior at Saint Joseph's University majoring in Early Childhood/Early Education, and a 2020 graduate of Comsewogue High School. She's been working at Mill Pond since 2024 and also coaches both recreational and competitive baton twirling with TNT Twirlers, something she's been doing since she was 16! When she's not working or studying, she loves hanging out with her friends and family!
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Brianna Navarro - Assistant Teacher/Floater
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Stacey Knust - Floater
Stony Brook Location
Kristin Cline -- Director
Miss Kristin has studied and worked in all aspects of childcare. She earned her BS in Special Education and her Masters in Early Childhood Education. Kristin and her husband, Erik, highly recommend Mill Pond. Their daughters Kamryn and Karlyn both attended Mill Pond since infancy. She believes conscientious parents and committed educators can make a difference in every child’s life.
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Darleen Nulty—Assistant Director
Miss Darleen has earned both her BS in Educational Studies and the New York State Children’s Program Administrator Credential. She respects the fact that children develop at their own unique pace. She is here to enjoy the children as well as give support and encouragement to the teachers.
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Kathy Forman—Infant Teacher
Miss Kathy has earned her Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. She began working exclusively with infants in 2004 and joined the Mill Pond Family in September 2014. To quote a parent, “Kathy loves the children in her care as if they are her own".
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Maegan Cline—Pre-K Teacher
Miss Maegan has earned her CDA credential and has been a part of our team since 2015. Her 10+ years before coming to Mill Pond were spent working with children. Her students are recipients of her creative, imaginative, and loving teaching style.
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Kait Hartmann- Assistant Pre-K Teacher
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Ariana Ciorciari—Pre-School Teacher
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Maria Hartmann—Toddler Teacher
Miss Maria earned her Associates in Liberal Arts at Suffolk County Community College. She has been working with children since 2001. Miss Maria is knowledgeable and competent in every classroom. The children respond positively to her caring and loving presence.
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Vanessa Alonso—Assistant Toddler Teacher
Vanessa is a graduate of Ward Melville High School. She is the proud mother of two little ones. She has worked with pre-school children since 2010. She has a great deal of energy, love, and a positive attitude...all of which are needed to keep up with these little ones.