Our People

Our People


Mr. David Buffum

Head of School

(973) 410-0400
dbuffum@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Heather Babington

Director of Admission, Financial Aid & Marketing

(973) 410-0400 ext:27
hbabington@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Yveslaine Gadzi

Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

(973) 410-0400
ygadzi@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Kellen Kent

Associate Head of School / Early Childhood & Lower School Division Head

(973) 410-0400 ext:31
kkent@chathamdayschool.org

Mr. Dan Opperthauser

Director of Finance

dopperthauser@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Erin Oxner

Assistant to Division Head & Assistant Director of Admission

(973) 410-0400 ext:15
eoxner@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Maria Pormilli

Director of Auxiliary Programs / Advancement Associate

(973) 410-0400 ext:19
mpormilli@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Heather Albrecht

Teacher – 2nd Grade

halbrecht@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Cassandra Andresen

Teacher Assistant – Prekindergarten

candresen@chathamdayschool.org

Caitlyn Bardi

School Counselor
Student Aide
Teacher Assistant – Preschool

cbardi@chathamdayschool.org

Muta Blanford

Director of Security

mblanford@chathamdayschool.org

Andrew Bromstedt

Teacher – Grade 6 Advisor
Teacher – US History
Teacher – Chess

abromstedt@chathamdayschool.org

Ryan Buchanan

Teacher – Perf. Arts

rbuchanan@chathamdayschool.org

Keeneh Comizio

Teacher – Preschool Playhouse

kcomizio@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Lindsay de Zutter

Early Childhood & Lower School Assistant Division Head
Teacher – Kindergarten

ldezutter@chathamdayschool.org

Shayna Doyle

Teacher – Kindergarten

sdoyle@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Sheryl Eccles

Teacher – Grade 1

seccles@chathamdayschool.org

Mary Emanuelli

Teacher – Mathematics
Teacher – Grade 7 Advisor

memanuelli@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Robin Fresco

Teacher Assistant – Preschool

rfresco@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Yveslaine Gadzi

Teacher – Grade 6 Advisor
Teacher – Science

ygadzi@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Jennifer Gates

Teacher – Grade 4/5 Advisor
Teacher – Middle School Math & Science

jgates@chathamdayschool.org

Mr. Eben Gordon

MS/US Advisory Team Leader
Teacher – Grade 8 Advisor
Teacher – Communications/Drama/Grade 5 English/Grade 5 Advisor

egordon@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Susan Greenspan

Teacher – US English
Teacher – Grade 7 Advisor

sgreenspan@chathamdayschool.org

Melanie Hart

EC/LS Curriculum Coordinator
Teacher – 3rd Grade

mhart@chathamdayschool.org

Xavier Hosta

Teacher – Spanish

xhosta@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Helen Isip

Front Desk Manager

hisip@chathamdayschool.org

Peggy Kane

School Nurse

nurse@chathamdayschool.org

Cherley Labady

Teacher Assistant – Prekindergarten

clabady@chathamdayschool.org

Mr. Brian Lariviere

Teacher – Robotics
Teacher – US Math

blariviere@chathamdayschool.org

Sharon Lee

Teacher – Preschool

slee@chathamdayschool.org

Mr. Steven Lesnewich

Athletic Director / Teacher – PE

slesnewich@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Kalyna Macko

Teacher – Spanish

kmacko@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Cathleen Mccoy

Teacher – Preschool

cmccoy@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Catherine McCutcheon

Middle School Advisory Leader
Teacher – PE

cmccutcheon@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Kathryn Moebius

Teacher – 3rd Grade

kmoebius@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Lissa Montgomery

Teacher – Grade 4/5 Advisor
Teacher – Middle School Humanities

emontgomery@chathamdayschool.org

Sharon Murray

Teacher Assistant – Prekindergarten

smurray@chathamdayschool.org

Marianne Opperthauser

Teacher – Visual Arts

mopperthauser@chathamdayschool.org

Ms. Wendy Racine

Teacher Assistant – Kindergarten

wracine@chathamdayschool.org

Mrs. Heather Schlitt

Teacher – Prekindergarten

hschlitt@chathamdayschool.org

Tara Sheeleigh

Teacher – Prekindergarten

tsheeleigh@chathamdayschool.org

Joan Smith

Odyssey of the Mind Leader
Teacher Assistant – Preschool Playhouse

jsmith@chathamdayschool.org

Kelsey Smits

Teacher – Grade 1

ksmits@chathamdayschool.org

Carolyn Vallario

Learning Specialist

cvallario@chathamdayschool.org

Jim Witzel

Maintenance Technician

jwitzel@chathamdayschool.org


Board Chair: Mrs. Amy Kelley
Past Board Chair: Mr. John Doucette
1st Vice Chair: Mr. Jayesh Gopalji
Treasurer: Mr. Daniel Mon
Secretary: Dr. Deborah Yu
Members: Mrs. Karen Alegria, Ms. Kelley Dealhoy, Dr. Mario Jimenez, Mrs. Lauren Hand, Ms. Sabrina Hunte, Dr. Ashish Parikh, Mr. Dominic Redd, Mr. Jack Rogers, Mrs. Marija Sebastian, Dr. Abby Wellington,
Trustees Emeriti: Mary Beth Backof Bayersdorfer, David Bradford, Samuel A. McKeown*, Lynne Rathgeber, Esq., Sonja H. Rickert, Chiming Tse, Dean Vanech
(*deceased)