Support & Enrichment Staff

For contact information, see your School Directory or our Contact Us page.

MUSIC, ART AND MOVEMENT

Bryan Carey, Yoga Instructor 

Bryan has been studying and practicing yoga for more than 25 years.  First introduced to yoga by psychologist John Thomas Payne, his seven-year apprenticeship involved a balance of Payne’s “Transaction Systems Analysis,” the classical yoga sutras of Patanjali and Selvarajan Yesudian’s hatha yoga, and the Shaw Finger-Painting Method.  For the past five years, Bryan has been sharing yoga and meditation with children, including individual and group classes at Central Park School for Children, summer camps with the Durham Arts Council and Durham Parks and Recreation, and most recently with the Early Explorers Day School and Patricia Taborn’s Fashion Design and Modeling Agency.  He also facilitates meditation at the Duke University Medical Center.  Bryan is the founder and director of Patanjali’s Place – A Community Yoga Space.  

Christine Fantini, Yoga Instructor

Before becoming a yoga instructor, Christine was a classroom teacher.  Her teaching experience includes kindergarten, first grade, ESL, special needs, and literacy specialist. She taught in Durham Public Schools for 14 years at Club Boulevard Humanities Magnet School.  She is creative, motivated, organized and energetic. Christine became a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher in 2002. In 2005, she received an award from the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health for teaching yoga to a diverse population. Christine started yoga in the Extended Day program at Club Boulevard School in 2002 for grades K-5.  In the past, she has taught classes in the local community at Wellness Partners in the Arts, Durham Academy, and Duke Faculty Club, youth groups, summer camps, support groups and church groups. Christine combines her natural gift of teaching, knowledge of varied curriculum, and her love for yoga to create a program that is fun, educational, active, and relaxing.

Gaspard Louis, Dance Instructor

Gaspard was a member of Pilobolus Dance Theater. He has performed worldwide and has collaborated on the choreography for nine major dance works with the company. He continues to engage in special projects with Pilobolus, the most recent being a commercial for Hyundai. He has also danced for Shirley Mordine and Company in Chicago and AllNations Dance Company in New York.  Gaspard has choreographed for the Kentucky University Dance Ensemble and collaborated on four works for Freespace Dance Company in New Jersey. He has been a guest artist for the New York Renaissance Dance Festival and has choreographed for and performed in a Caribbean music video. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Montclair State University and continued his studies on scholarship with Gus Giordano in Chicago and Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab in New York. Gaspard is currently directing the American Dance Festival’s creative movement outreach program. He founded his own dance company, Gaspard & Dancers, in 2009.

Liz Melvin, Music Teacher

Name a music venue in the triangle area and Liz Melvin has probably played double bass in it, whether it is with a bluegrass, old-time, rock 'n' roll, or folk band. Ironically, Liz started off her musical career on a high note with the flute, which was initially taught to her in a classical context. As her interest was waning, her teacher thought to explore with her the folk songs she so loved and grew up on. It worked and, Liz says, "I'll never forget my first note of Pete Seeger's 'Where have all the Flowers Gone?' " It set the foundation for her love of music. She wants to set this foundation for her students at CPSC and hopes they embrace the instruments they learn in her class, whether it be the recorder or ukulele. "I want them to know that music can be a great way to bring a community of people together. Come to a one of our Friday afternoon meetings and you will see one of the classes welcoming our entire school community with a piece of music they are learning in music class." Please take a moment to check out CPSC's musical adventures.

Lucia Marcus, Art Teacher*

Lucia graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts in Winston-Salem and has a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. In 1997, Lucia received a graduate degree in Supervision and Administration from Bank Street College of Education and Parsons School of Design. She has been an art teacher for grades K-8 in the Sampson County Schools, in elementary schools in Washington, D.C., and at the Smithsonian Institute. Lucia directed the Opequan Day Care Center in Winchester, Virginia, and most recently taught art at the Duke School. Lucia also has a studio in Durham where she creates and shows her own art.
*Lucia is also on our administrative team as CPSC's Professional Development Director.

Steve Kauffman, Aikido Instructor

Steve, a 6th degree black belt, is the chief instructor at Open Sky Aikido School of Martial Arts in Hillsborough, NC.  Additionally, Steve teaches Tai Chi and Aikido at Duke University in the Physical Education department. He is a certified public school teacher and taught grades K-8 in Oakland, CA, and in Chatham and Orange Counties, NC. He also has certification in learning disability instruction from UNC-Chapel Hill. Steve presented many workshops in violence prevention for 6th grade teachers and their students in Durham Public Schools through a research program co-sponsored by the CDC and Duke University.  Steve’s years of public school teaching and a lifetime of intensive martial arts training combine to give him insight into how to effectively conduct a positive learning environment, so students can grasp how to peacefully handle aggression.

STUDENT SUPPORT

Alicia Kollmar, Occupational Therapist

Alicia grew up in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts with her M.S. in Occupational Therapy.  She started her career in geriatrics, primarily working in nursing homes, which she continues to do on days she isn’t at Central Park.  After a couple of years she got the travel bug and took contract positions around the country as a traveling occupational therapist, which is how she realized the joy of working with kids and how she discovered the beautiful sunny skies of North Carolina.  Before coming to Central Park, she worked in Alamance Burlington Schools for three years, where she was a member of the Assistive Technology and Autism Teams.  She believes that it is important that therapists, teachers, and parents work as a team to help students be successful and feels that Central Park is a great place for this.

Elizabeth (E.K.) Kesling, Exceptional Education Teacher

Elizabeth joined Central Park in 2010 after relocating from Indianapolis, where she worked in special education for the previous four years.  She graduated from Earlham College in Indiana with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, returned to school to get her teaching license in special education at Butler University, and will finish her master's in Early Childhood Special Education at Ball State University in the spring of 2011.  Elizabeth is a trained artist and dancer and has performed with companies in Turkey, Senegal, and Indianapolis.  As an avid traveler, she has lived for periods of time in Turkey, Senegal, France, and Spain, and just recently returned from Ethiopia, where she worked with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to develop inclusion practices and project-based learning.  In her spare time, you can expect to find Elizabeth out and about on her bicycle, weaving, and supporting local music, art, and food.

Elizabeth Ricker, Exceptional Education Teacher

Elizabeth received her bachelor's degree in English and her master's degree in Education, from North Carolina State University. She taught 5th grade at the Central Park School for Children for four years before transitioning to our Exceptional Education program. She loves teaching at CPSC because of the close community of students, parents, and teachers. The project-based approach to learning and teaching also gives every child a chance to succeed — and this is extremely important to Elizabeth. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, quilting, camping, and spending time with her husband, Pete, and daughter, Isabel.

Glenda Davis, Speech Pathologist

Glenda has worked as a licensed speech and language pathologist for most of her career. She taught 4th and 7th grades while pursuing her Master's degree in speech pathology at the University of North Carolina. She was certified and hired by the Raleigh City Schools after her first summer of course work. She has worked as a speech therapist for the Alum Rock / San Jose School District in California, Wake County, Raleigh City Schools, and Orange County Schools in Hillsborough. She received her Master's degree from North Carolina Central University and became licensed by the Board of Directors in Speech and Language Pathology for North Carolina. In addition, she holds five areas of certification, including mentoring new teachers.

Kate Millard, Assistant Teacher

Kate began as an assistant teacher for 2nd and 3rd grades in 2009. She has also often served as a substitute teacher and math tutor.  Kate studied German language and culture at the University of Salzburg, received a bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has nearly completed Duke University’s Documentary Studies Certificate Program. Prior to joining Central Park’s staff, Kate was for many years the director of Carolina Library Services, Inc., a research and library service company based in Chapel Hill. If and when she has any spare time, she likes to dance, garden, start a "project," or research just about anything, particularly genealogy. 

Kenny Levine, School Social Worker

Kenny is a Durham native who holds a bachelor’s in psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters in Social Work from Barry University in Miami.  Upon completion of graduate school in 1998, he returned to Durham so that he could help local social service agencies develop bilingual and culturally appropriate services for the region’s growing Latino population.  He has provided mental health services in both public and private sector settings since 1999, and has held a license in clinical social work since 2003.  When he is not working or spending time with his two young sons, Kenny enjoys pursuing his interests in cooking, foreign languages, and current events.

Kristen Gerondelis, Assistant Teacher

With a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in education, Kristen has taught children in the Peace Corps in Nepal and in the inner city of Rochester, NY. While she has been raising her three children, she has been active volunteering in the Durham community, from serving as a parent mentor for the UNC Chapel Hill TEACCH Program to serving on CPSC's School Council and organizing the Strawberry Festival.

Natalie Dunn, School Counselor

Natalie received an undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill in Early Childhood Education and American History and an M.S. degree from NC State University in Counselor Education. Before coming to CPSC, she taught elementary school for 5 years, spent 3 years as an elementary school counselor, and worked as an independent counselor for children for 9 years. Natalie focuses on effective internal and external communications with a firm commitment to student-centered learning. "I believe in a school atmosphere that promotes multicultural appreciation and gender sensitivity, and I am excited to be a part of CPSC's staff. I believe that if students feel safe in their environment — and look forward to attending school — they will want to learn!"