Faculty
- Anmol Nijhawan (Ms. Anmol) – Infant (Nido) classes
- Alessandra Barreto
- Ana Maria Mejia
- Divya Nulisetty
- Gayathri Bellapu
- Jasmine Priya (Ms Priya)
- Maria Dimitrova
- Prasanna Lakshmi Bheemisetty
- Sailaja Sappa
- Seema Chandak
- Shweta Sharma
- Sonia Kumawat
- Swetha Ramakrishna
- Veronica Vazquez
- Anila Ali
- Rhythema Rawat
- Shobhana Annamalai
- Revathi Tokala
Anmol Nijhawan (MS ANMOL) is a Teacher at CDBM Aurora Campus in the Nido Infant Class. She grew up in Calcutta, India where she completed her Bachelor’s in Commerce from the University Of Calcutta in 1997. She has been in the USA since 1997 and she received her Early Childhood Education and Care certificate from the College of Dupage in 2003. She has worked in various preschool teaching roles since 2001. Her family includes her husband, her daughter, and a son. In addition, she has an adorable Cavapoo dog named Quincy who really is the master of the house. Ms Anmol is a very outgoing person who enjoys meeting new people and traveling around the world with family. She is most passionate about helping children learn and grow. She gets very excited when children are able to achieve goals of her curriculum. Ms. Anmol has been working in the Nido Class since October 2019.
Alessandra Barreto
Alessandra Barreto grew up in Brazil, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1994.She worked as a Science Teacher in 4th and 5th grade from 1995 until she moved to
Chicago in 1999. She’s been working with younger children, in the U.S., since 2000. She received her Paraprofessional Certificate from Seton Montessori Institute in 2011. For the past ten years her teaching experience was working with toddlers in a Montessori environment. She is a proud mother of two girls and her passion is her family, friendships, and taking care of students at Casa. She also speaks Spanish and
Portuguese fluently. She joined the CDBM family in January 2018 and she enjoys watching students discover and learn new things every day.
Ana Maria Mejia
Ana Maria Mejia grew up in Panama. She earned her first Montessori Certification from the Pan American Montessori Society (PAMS) in 2001 and a second teacher certification from American Montessori Society (AMS) in 2008. Ana Maria had the opportunity to work in Montessori schools in Texas, New Jersey, Brazil and Utah throughout her career. With about twenty years of active teaching, She has been a
guide to her Students, Colleagues, and School Administrators.
Ana Maria now lives in Naperville with her husband and two teenage daughters. She has many hobbies, most of which include spending time in our gorgeous surroundings with her two dogs Bow & Ozzie. Ana Maria also loves to bake, ride her bike, read and watch Korean movies translated into Portuguese. One interesting fact about her family is that they also lived in Brazil for almost three years; they speak Spanish and have conversations in Portuguese, too. Ana María is excited to share the opportunity to support the children in their learning journey and to guide them to become a citizen with moral and civil values worthy of making a significant difference in our world. Ms Ana Maria joined CDBM in April 2021.
Divya Nulisetty
Divya Nulisetty was born and brought up in Andhra Pradesh, India. She has completed her Post Graduate in Master of Business Administration. She currently lives in Aurora with her husband and two lovely children – a daughter and a son. She loves her students and she is passionate about teaching. She moved to Chicago in 2013 from India. Ms. Divya joined CDBM in March 2023.
Gayathri Bellapu
Gayathri Bellapu is from India and completed her post graduation in Masters of Computer Applications. She is currently living in Aurora with her family including her husband and two children. They moved to the USA in 2012 from India. Miss Gayathri is very passionate about teaching. Family is her core and strength. Her hobbies include cooking, volunteering, and learning new technologies. Her stress relief is in the joy of her children. She joined the CDBM school family in May of 2023.
Jasmine Priya (Ms. Priya)
Maria Dimitrova
MARIA DIMITROVA grew up in Bulgaria, where she attended Sofia University and received her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a qualification in Music. In 2011 she received her Diploma in Medical Billing and Coding from Everest College.She has more than 15 years experience in Early Childhood education and more than 20 years experience in Montessori education. She attended Seton Montessori Institute and received her Montessori 3-6 Credential with American Montessori Society. Maria is also Director Qualified.Miss Maria is married with two children. Her daughter is the Head optician at Eye care clinic and her son is a Real Estate Agent. In her spare time, Maria enjoys hiking, traveling, gardening and spending time with her family and friends. She also has a passion for cooking and crafting. Maria joined the CDBM school family in May 2022.
Prasanna Lakshmi Bheemisetty
Prasanna Lakshmi Bheemisetty was born and brought up in the southern state of India, Andhra Pradesh. Ms. Prasanna completed her Bachelor of Science(B.S.) and also holds a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree from India. Ms. Prasanna along with her family moved to the United States in 2013 and currently lives in Aurora, Illinois with her husband, son and daughter. She loves spending time with kids, family and friends. She enjoys cooking, listening to music and sewing. She joined CDBM in August 2023.
Sailaja Sappa
Sailaja Sappa has a Master’s in International Montessori education from India. Teaching in Montessori education is her passion. She worked with children, between ages from 2 to 6 using Montessori methodology. She has Montessori teaching experience in both India and the USA. She worked in Greenwood Montessori, Bangalore India for 4 years. She has also worked at Arlington Montessori, Arlington Heights, IL as a teacher for 3 years.
She also does voluntary work to teach Indian language (Telugu) for small children on Saturdays at a local church in the Aurora area. She is a proud mother of Surya, a Biology major at Loyola University…and Chandra, a Finance major at the University of Illinois (UIC) at Chicago. Sailaja joined CDBM in January 2019 and she is both Teacher Qualified (TQ) and Director Qualified (DQ).
Seema Chandak
Seema Chandak was born in Maharashtra, India and she has extensive credentials in Engineering and Technology. Seema has over 7 years of experience teaching Engineering students and other technology graduating classes. She is passionate about teaching all ages. Seema moved to Chicago in 2015 and is a mother to a 5 year old charming kindergartener. She joined CDBM in March 2022 as a teacher assistant and enjoys her time with her new school family.
Shweta Sharma
Sonia Kumawat
Sonia Kumawat has her Master’s degree in Commerce. She grew up in India and moved to the U.S. in 2008. Teaching is her passion, and she has prior experience as private tutor, assistant, and substitute teacher. She has completed her Early Childhood Credential from Seton Montessori Institute and completed her internship in P6 with Ms Ana Maria at CDBM. She enjoys working with students helping them to learn new skills every day. She and her son began at CDBM in March 2022. Her hobbies are cooking and listening to music. She also loves to spend time with her family and travel.
Swetha Ramakrishna
Veronica Vazquez
Anila Ali
Anila Ali is thrilled to rejoin the Casa Dei Bambini family, in May 2024, after a 2.5-year hiatus to assist her family’s growing business. With over 11 years of teaching experience and a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, she has dedicated her career to fostering young minds. In 2017, she earned her Montessori 3-6 credential with the American Montessori Society (AMS), further deepening her passion and expertise in Early Childhood Education.
She and her husband have been happily married for 17 years and she is a proud mother of two children: a 15-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter (a previous student of Casa). Her family has always been her cornerstone, supporting her through her professional journey and personal endeavors. Having been a part of Casa since its inception, her commitment to the school’s mission and values runs deep. She is more excited than ever and fortunate to contribute to this incredible community. Her goal is to follow each child’s unique needs and interests, preparing them across various developmental domains while ensuring a strong focus on their academic growth. Together, we will create an enriching and supportive learning environment.
Rhythema Rawat
Rhythema Rawat is a trained Architect with a Master’s degree in Urban Design, possessing over 11 years of experience in both architectural practice and academia. Rhythema has worked as an architect in various mixed-use developmental township projects in India. She has a passion for teaching and enjoys engaging students across various age groups. Her creative and interactive teaching methods have been highly appreciated, with many students inspired by her approach. Currently, she is engaged in teaching the CREATIVE ARTS to a younger age group ranging between 4 to 12 years at various local schools. She is also our enrichment teacher through the Young Rembrandts Organization for enrichment after school. Rhythema happily joined CDBM in December 2024 and has one son at the Primary level.
Shobhana Annamalai is originally from India. She moved to the USA in 2017. She holds a Master’s degree in Commerce. For two years, she worked as a tutor in a center for older students. Currently, she resides in Aurora, where she pursued her passion for teaching mainly with children. As a mother of twin boys in middle school, she cherishes the moments she spends playing and learning with them. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and creating mandala art. She joined the CDBM school family in March 2025.
Originally from India, Revathi Tokala hold a Master’s degree in Business Administration and six years of professional experience in the field of People and Culture. Her background includes working extensively in talent development, employee engagement, and organizational growth, all of which have shaped my understanding of how individuals learn, grow, and thrive in nurturing environments.
After relocating to the United States with her husband, she is excited to channel her passion for growth and development into the field of education. With a strong foundation in leadership and human resources, she is committed to fostering a warm, inclusive, and stimulating classroom environment. She looks forward to supporting each child’s personal development through the Montessori approach, which aligns closely with her beliefs in respectful, individualized learning. “MS REY” joined CDBM in April 2025.