Teachers
Our Staff
Anmol Nijhawan
(MS ANMOL)
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 who really is the master of the house. Ms Anmol is a very outgoing person who enjoys meeting new people and travelling 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.
Brenda Salazar
Brenda Salazar was born and raised in Aurora, Illinois. She earned her Associate’s Degree in Science with a focus in Kinesiology from Waubonsee Community College. She has previously worked in two nursing homes and has a tremendous amount of patience and care for others. Throughout her high school years she volunteered to be a Teacher’s Assistant with a summer program called “Jr/Sr Scholars from North Central College”. There she worked with kids from ages 5-14 years old. After high school she worked with the program as a bus chaperone for two summers and a gym teacher for one summer. Brenda happily joined CDBM as a toddler assistant in April 2022. She helps in T2 with aftercare.
Swetha Vangala
Swetha Vangala is a toddler teacher at CDBM and joined our school family in November 2018. Her childhood and formal education happened in India, but she currently lives in Aurora with her husband and two lovely children – Son now 11 years old and Daughter who is 5 years old. Swetha has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering in 2012. Ms Swetha completed her Paraprofessional Certification from Seton Montessori in 2018 and her Early Childhood education certification at Waubonsee Community college in 2019. She enjoys every aspect of teaching, and this philosophy is her favorite. She is very proud and happy to be a toddler teacher at CDBM and is grateful for the opportunity to care for the little ones and watching them grow and learn.
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.
Melissa Thomas
Melissa Thomas moved to the USA from Sri Lanka in 2022. She has studied Human Resource Management from the National Institute of Business Management. Teaching is her passion and she loves every bit of it. She has spent the past 7 years teaching the English language to adult learners. She loves to share her knowledge with all the dear students and help them grow. Melissa joined CDBM in the summer of 2022.
Sathya Kandula
Sathya Kandula is a teacher in the toddler class. Sathya resides in Aurora with her family and has two beautiful boys. She has her post graduate degree in Business Management. She is working towards her Early Childhood program at C.O.D. She has been working with preschoolers since 2012 and she has several years of experience in Montessori teaching by working at other local Montessori schools. Her passion is teaching and inspiring and challenging children to love learning. She considers herself a life-long learner. Her hobbies include music and spending time with her family. She and her youngest son are very happy to join the CDBM school family in 2019.
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.
Ranjana Tripathi
Ranjana Tripathi has been teaching in preschool for the past seven years. She is always excited to work with this age since they keep her energized and positive vibes for life. She is a proud mother of two grown children. Her son completed his MHA and her daughter is studying mechanical engineering at Purdue. She has traveled the globe the last 25 years but has now settled in Naperville with her husband. Her hobbies are singing and making crafts. She also enjoys outdoor sports like tennis and badminton. She joined the CDBM school family in April 2022.
Neelam Walia
Neelam Walia is a highly qualified Montessori teacher with more than 20 years of experience. She grew up in New Delhi, India where she attended New Delhi University and received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science. She obtained a preschool and kindergarten certification through North American Montessori Center in 2006 and an Early Childhood certification through American Montessori School in 2009. She has taught in several schools in the Naperville area and is highly praised by both her colleagues and her students’ parents. She has two sons who both attended Northwestern University for their undergraduate education. Her oldest son is in medical school and her youngest son has completed dental school. She joined the Casa Dei Bambini family in January 2018 and looks forward to continuing to serve the local community.
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.
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 is currently working toward the completion of her Early Childhood Credential from Seton Montessori Institute and is doing her internship 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.
Carrie Loth
Carrie Loth attended Harper College and majored in child psychology and child development. She has been working with children for 30+ years. She decided to become a teacher because of her strong passion for children. She received her Montessori certification from Seton Montessori in 2002. In the past, Miss Carrie taught, co taught, ran a Montessori school, and was fortunate to have her own school in Oak Brook, Il. In her free time she enjoys music, nature, walking and hiking. She also enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends. She is thrilled to be a part of the team here at Casa Dei Bambini since July 2021!
Madhavi Gurrala
Madhavi Gurrala lives in Aurora with her family and has 2 boys. She completed her Masters in Microbiology from Sri Venkateshwara University in India. Prior to entering the education field, she worked as an imaging research associate in a contract research organization. She has a true passion for teaching and spending time with children. She is learning the Montessori philosophy as a Teaching Assistant and joined CDBM in August 2021. In her spare time, she loves baking and organizing events.
Jasmine Priya
(Ms Priya)
Jasmine Priya (Ms Priya) lives in Aurora with her husband and son (college). She completed her education in India with her Bachelor’s Degree in Rehabilitation Science and her diploma course is in Psychological Counseling. The subjects she learned in college helped her to gain insights on the Montessori method of education and importance of early childhood education. She loves working with children and helping them bring out their potential. Her hobbies are painting and craft work. She joined CDBM in September 2021 and floats to assist all levels and help in after-care.
Lakshmi Kakumanu
Lakshmi Kakumanuwas born and raised in Gunter District of India.
She graduated from Padmavathi University Tirupati and she received a
Masters in MBA from JNTU University in 2013. She has been in the USA
since 2013. In the past, Ms Lakshmi volunteered in Montessori schools where her child used to go. She then gained experience working with toddlers as their teacher and loves to work with this age group. In her spare time, she loves to cook different cuisines and singing / dancing are her favorite hobbies! She joined CDBM in September 2022.
Ms. Jansi Rani
Ms. Jansi Ranigrew up in India from where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce & Accounting. Jansi married in 2012, and now lives in Aurora with her husband and two young daughters. Jansi started her career in an elementary school in India. Jansi is an outgoing person who loves to make friends, meet new people and travel. She enjoys spending time with family and close friends, riding her bike, listening to music, and watching foreign movies in different
languages. She also likes to do art and craft work in her free time. She has been in the USA since 2014 and joined CDBM in September 2022, where she is excited to support the children in their learning journey.
Reem Omar
Hi, My name is Reem Omar, I am a mom of two amazing kids who puts a smile on my face every day. I have 3 years of combined experience working with children. Most recently and for the last year, I have worked with children in the 2-5 year age range. Working with children is not only fun but I love to see them improving and succeeding in life. Watching students improve and become successful makes me feel so proud of them and also myself because – I am a teacher, a friend, and most importantly, I am a MOM! Ms. Reem joined our CDBM School family in November 2022.
Now Accepting
Registrations
For 2023 to 2024 School Year
Address
4393 Liberty St.
Aurora, IL 60504
Phone
630-907-7554
cdbmaurorail@gmail.com