Staff Bios

Stacie Zink-Duda

Director

This is Stacie’s first year as Director. She was the summer camp director at ESNS for 6 years from 2015-2020. She also has 19 years experience teaching preschool and pre-k children.  She taught at University United Methodist Preschool in University City until it closed in 2020 and taught at Harper School for two years. All four of her young adult children live and work in St. Louis. She enjoys coaching grade school volleyball and basketball and running a small local food pantry. She has a MS in Child Clinical Psychology from SIUE.

Jamie Reese

Two- and Three- Day Green Room

Jamie Reese has been working in early childhood education for 9 years. The last 7 years have been spent as a nanny to some wonderful alumni of ESNS. She lives in south STL city with her husband and daughter, Hadley. She is so excited to be working in the Green Room this year. She loves working with children of this age as they enjoy participating in dramatic and sensory play, using their imaginations and developing their motor skills as they grow more independent each day. She feels it’s truly a joy and an honor to be part of this phase of their lives, and is looking forward to a great year ahead!

Amy Cavato

Yellow Room

This is Amy’s first year at ESNS. She is very excited to join the team and become a part of the community. Amy has enjoyed teaching preschool for 13 years, including experience at University United Methodist preschool and The Lab School. Prior to preschool, Amy taught First grade for 8 years in both public and private schools. She has a BA in Elementary Education from John Carroll University and a Masters in Elementary Education with a Reading Specialization from University of Missouri-St. Louis. A St. Louis native, Amy and her husband have 2 children. Abby attends Fordham University and Ryan attends SLUH. She also enjoys baking, reading, spending time with her family and cheering on the Cardinals.

Jill Allen

Blue Room

Jill is the former ESNS Director after having taught in the Blue Room for nine years. Jill’s relationship with the school started as the mother of three ESNS graduates. As a parent, Jill served on the ENSN board and as a substitute teacher. She has experience as a past Board President at The College School, years of HR, AR and management work during the time she helped run a local bakery/café and currently coaches swimming at Clayton High School. Jill has a degree in art history from Old Dominion University.

Maggie Horn

Two Day Green

A former board member and parent at ESNS, this is Maggie Horn’s sixth year in the 2-Day Green Room! She holds a BS in theater and French from Northwestern University and spent more than ten years performing in the vibrant Washington, DC theater scene. She wrote grants and raised funds for different arts organizations too. Maggie has three sons in the Ladue School District: seventh graders, Charles and Paul and fourth grader, Wesley. Maggie enjoys baking and experimenting with new flavors when cooking.

Mindy Keller

Yellow Room

This is Mindy’s tenth year at ESNS, and this year she will be teaching in the Blue Room! Mindy has a B.S. in Elementary Education from DePaul University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Iowa. She taught third and fourth grade in Chicago for five years and spent one year teaching second grade at Kennard Classical Junior Academy in St Louis. Her son, Graham, is in 10th grade and daughter Sasha is in 12th, both at Clayton High School. Her son Max is in his first year at Carleton College. Mindy’s favorite thing away from ESNS is taking hikes with her husband and dogs.

Laurence Guillot-Smith

Blue Room & Summer Camp

This is Laurence’s 4th year at ESNS. Prior to teaching with Katie in the Blue Room, she was a preschool teacher in Kirkwood for 6 years. She graduated from Missouri State University with a degree in Business and Minors in Marketing and French. Laurence and Katie work together as Summer Camp co-directors.

She has been married to Ken for 28 years and they have 4 daughters. Sophie, Caroline and Emily are triplets attending University of Missouri, Columbia. Her youngest, Hadley, is a freshman, also at Mizzou.
 Laurence enjoys exercising, travel, golf and family time. She also owns a screen printing and embroidery business on the side.

Becky Craig

Science – Nature on the Move

Becky has retired as a lead teacher in a pre-K classroom after eleven years to take over the Nature on the Move program which exposes and educates young students about Missouri natural flora and fauna. She and her husband have worked very hard in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Conservation to improve their property in Northern Missouri for the benefit of their wildlife neighbors.

Her passion for conservation and education inspire young children to “take care of our community” by taking care of our wildlife neighbors and habitats. Her monthly topics include: backyard animals, the food chain, turkeys and hibernation. She brings pictures, pelts and live animals to help children understand the importance
of our natural world.

Katie Ryan

Blue Room, Ext Day & Summer Camp

Katie is starting her 11th year at ESNS and will be moving to the Yellow Room this year. Katie and Laurence teach the Extended Day Program together. Katie and Laurence work together as Summer Camp co-directors. Katie has a BS in elementary education with a concentration in children’s literature from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. She has taught pre-k through 4th grade and PE in four cities (including Monterrey, Mexico.) Her son, Mac, is a sophomore at Marquette University. Her daughters, alumni of the nursery school, are Annie, a senior at St. Joseph’s Academy, and Mia, a 8th grader at Visitation Academy.
In her free time, Katie enjoys spending time with her family, reading and cooking.