OUR STAFF

Our highly qualified staff is the foundation of our commitment to early childhood education. All staff members exceed state requirements for education and experience, and are required to maintain their professional credentials on an annual basis. The school places a high priority on teacher training and devotes annual funding to professional development. To distinguish their qualifications further, all of our staff members are parents and many had children who attended the school. All are devoted to our family partnerships, our Christian emphasis, and our belief in play as a methodology for learning.

Administration | 2s Class Staff | 3s Class Staff | PreK Class Staff | Enrichment and Extras

Administration

Amy Zandarski-Pica

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Director, Saint Luke Christian Day School

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 5

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. She also earned the Maryland 90-hour Early Childhood Certificate from Howard County Community College. As both a professional social worker and a parent, Mrs. Zandarski-Pica understands the importance of early childhood education. Prior to her employment at Saint Luke, Mrs. Zandarski-Pica spent more than 15 years in local and national non-profits. She began her career working with Georgetown Ministry Center, a homeless outreach center. For a decade, Mrs. Zandarski-Pica served as the national program director for Experience Corps, an intergenerational literacy tutoring program for children in grades K-3. Mrs. “Z-P,” as her students call her, believes every child deserves to be loved and have the opportunity to learn.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Zandarski-Pica lives in Silver Spring with her husband of 19 years and their son. She enjoys reading, gardening, and everything to do with the beach.

Liz Garifo

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Administrative Assistant

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 10

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree from Montclair State College in New Jersey.
She previously assisted in both of our two and three-year-old classrooms. She is a long time active member of Saint Luke, and coordinated the Youth and Family Ministry program for seven years.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Garifo lives in Silver Spring with her husband and dog. She has three sons and two grandsons. She likes to sew, crochet and work in her garden.

2s CLASS

Mindy Gibbs

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Assistant Teacher, 2s Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 4

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland. Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from East Carolina University and nine years of teaching kindergarten in Montgomery County.

HOBBIES: She fell in love with CDS when her son and daughter attended starting in 2010, and just couldn’t leave. Mrs. Gibbs enjoys reading, being outdoors and volunteering at her children’s school, but most of all, spending time with her family. She lives in Silver Spring with her husband and two children.

Candace Olsson

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher 2s Class, Assistant Teacher 2s and 3s Class, Manager for State Licensing and Regulations

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 8

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s Degree in Theater and Medieval Studies from Smith College and the Maryland 90-hour Early Childhood Certificate from Howard County Community College. She previously worked in retail advertising and as a substitute teacher at Saint Luke.

HOBBIES: She lives in Silver Spring with her two children, both former Saint Luke CDS students. Mrs. Olsson too was a Saint Luke student, from the class of 1970, and still has fond memories of the red box with the steering wheel and her best friend Wolfgang

Karen Riedlinger

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Assistant Teacher, Older 2s Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 18

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree is in Art Education from Carlow University and additional coursework in elementary art, math, and reading. Prior to joining Saint Luke, she had more than 17 years experience as an art teacher, an elementary classroom teacher, and as a preschool aide. She is also the illustrator of a published children’s book.

HOBBIES: In her free time, she enjoys both ceramics and gardening. Mrs. Riedlinger lives in Laurel and is the mother of four children with 7 grandchildren.

Karen Yep

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher, 2s and 3s Classes

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 10

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County; Elementary Education Certification; and, has completed the Maryland 90-hour certificate in Early Childhood Education. She previously taught at Saint Mary of the Mills School in Laurel and the Kensington Forest Glen Children’s Center in Kensington.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Yep enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding, cross-stitching, four-wheeling, baking and quality time with her two sons, and Mr. Yep too. Mrs. Yep loves animals, especially her turtle, Mikey, and her bearded dragons, Draco and Ender. You might catch Mrs. Yep singing or dancing in her car on her way to school rocking to Queen, the Beatles, or Harry Belafonte.

Ashley Marchionini

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher, 3s Class and Older 2s Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 8

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maryland, with 18 years of classroom experience.

HOBBIES: She had wanted to teach at Saint Luke ever since her oldest son was a preschooler here in 2003. Mrs. Marchionini lives in Silver Spring and is mom to three St. Luke alumni. She loves to read, listen to music, and spend time with her family.

3s CLASS

Evelyn Lear

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Assistant Teacher, 3s Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 1 year as a teacher, and 3 years as a CDS parent

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from James Madison University. Prior to Saint Luke, Mrs. Lear gained classroom experience in several settings including: being a long-term substitute teacher on two military bases in Guam, substitute teaching in Virginia and Maryland, and working in extended day care programs before and after school.

HOBBIES: When she is not teaching, Mrs. Lear particularly enjoys reading short fiction, volunteering for service events with a local Moms club, doing arts and crafts, and building Lego creations with her two daughters, both of which are alumni of CDS. She lives in Silver Spring with her family.

Ashley Marchionini

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher, 3s Class and Older 2s Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 8

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maryland, with 18 years of classroom experience.

Karen Yep

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher, 2s and 3s Classes

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 10

PreK

Athena Gaalswyk

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher, 4-Day Pre-K Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 9

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and she has completed the Maryland 90-hour Child Care Certification at Howard Community College.

HOBBIES: Reading and baking. She lives in Silver Spring and is the mother of two teenage children.

Betsy Hatcher

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Lead Teacher, 3-day Pre-K Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 16

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree from the College of New Rochelle and a Master’s degree from The George Washington University. Prior to joining Saint Luke she enjoyed a career with the Distance Education and Training Council and has done extensive volunteer work in the educational environment.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Hatcher lives in Silver Spring, has three grown children, and is recently an empty-nester! In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening and walking the best dog in the world!

Laura Heinle

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Assistant Teacher, 4-day Pre-K Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 3

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has previous experience in children’s publishing, including writing and editing middle school books and multimedia for Time Life Books, as well as creating media resource materials for teachers across the country as an editor for KIDSNET in Washington, D.C.

HOBBIES: She lives in Silver Spring with her husband and two sons who are both graduates of Saint Luke CDS. She enjoys reading, music and traveling with her family.

Claire Pretzfelder

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Assistant Teacher, 3-day Pre-K Class

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 11

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University and has completed coursework in child psychology and language development in children, including obtaining her Maryland 90-hour Early Childhood Certificate from Howard County Community College. She worked previously as a classroom aide at Saint Bernadette’s Catholic School in Silver Spring and in a prior career in administration and marketing.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Pretzfelder lives in Silver Spring and is the mother of two teenagers – one in high school and the other in college. Mrs. Pretzfelder’s hobbies include reading, hiking and spending time with her family.

Enrichment and Extra Activities

Barbara Lanman

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Science Resource Coordinator

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 22

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: She has completed the 90-hour course in Early Childhood Development and Curriculum through the Montgomery Child Care Association Training Institute.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Lanman lives in Silver Spring and is the mother of three adult children. Besides interacting with children, Mrs.Lanman enjoys spending time at the Outer Banks with her family, playing with her Jack Russell Terrier, and reading.

Linda Pannebaker

CLASS ASSIGNMENT: Music Coordinator and Chapel Director

YEARS WITH SAINT LUKE: 30

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Master’s Degree in Sacred Music from Wittenberg University. She has completed the 90-hour course in Early Childhood Development and Curriculum through the Montgomery Child Care Association Training Institute. She retired in the summer of 2018 from a rostered position in the ELCA and the Director of Children’s Choirs at Saint Luke Lutheran Church.

HOBBIES: Mrs. Pannebaker lives in Silver Spring and has two adult children and five grandchildren. When not engaged in musical activities, she enjoys reading, gardening and cooking.