Faculty & Staff

Our staff includes five Master’s-certified Lead Teachers. Lead Teachers are certified with Maryland State Department of Education, credentialed and trained in CPR and First Aid. We participate in a minimum of 45 hours of professional development per year, and employ undergraduate students of Towson University as our classroom assistants.

Nicole Vasanth

Director

Nicole Vasanth

Nicole received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2006 and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Towson University in 2011. She is working towards a master’s in Reading Education at Towson University. She has been with the Child Care Center since 2002 and became a Lead Teacher in 2007. Her experience at Towson University Child Care Center helped to develop a passion for the play-through-learning philosophy which enables her to teach the whole child academically, socially and individually.

Emma Auffarth

Assistant Director

Emma Auffarth

Emma is a Towson graduate and received her bachelor's in Early Childhood Education in May, 2014. Emma is planning to undertake her master's degree in Reading at Towson University. In 2011 Emma starting working as a student assistant and became a Lead Teacher in the summer of 2014. Emma’s teaching style is collaborative, child-centered, engaging and promotes the independence of every student. She views herself as the facilitator of inquiry, often starting her day with her students’ lively discussion and questions to guide her instruction.

 

Melissa Kelly

Lead Teacher

Melissa Kelly

Melissa is a 2015 graduate of the master’s in Child Life, Administration, and Family Collaboration program at Towson University. She began her career at Towson University Child Care in the summer of 2010 and became a Lead Teacher in the fall of 2015. She has had extensive clinical field placements which have helped her formulate her own unique approach to young children. Her warmth, keen observations, and belief that the social aspects of a child’s development are so connected to the overall learning experience inform her instruction every day. Melissa says she is continuously learning something new from her students. She hopes to begin her journey on a second master’s degree at Towson University in Early childhood Education.

Ilene Grodzinsky

Lead Teacher

Ilene Grodzinsky

Ilene received her bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1990 and received her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Towson University in 2009. She has been teaching at the Towson University Child Care Center since 2003 and has been teaching pre-school since 1990. She has a passion for teaching pre-school, believing that she learns as much from the students as they from her.