Bridge
Mike and Sylwia McNamara, are popular, well-known bridge professionals. They are ACBL accredited teachers, ACBL certified directors and accomplished tournament players.

Career • Finance
Genevieve Chorhummel has a MS from Northeastern University in Applied Educational Psychology and coaches job seekers to identify their skills and interests to conduct targeted job searches.

Neil Lubarsky, a Harvard Law graduate with an L.L.M. in tax law, has over 25 years of experience in estate planning, tax, and elder law and practices in White Plains.

Rob Sciglimpaglia is a successful voice-over artist whose clients include PBS, TGI Friday, AMD, Reebok and the Marines.

Computers
Claudia Boyle has been involved with computers for more than 25 years, teaching elementary after-school to college level classes. This is her 7th year with BAS. In her spare time, Claudia reads user manuals.

Karen DeMatteo has taught practical computer classes for BAS for the past four years.

Alison Larkin is a local resident and former Bronxville School parent with a professional background in systems.

Diane Luisi has taught a variety of computer classes for BAS for the past four years.

Lisa Maxwell is an advertising and graphic design professional with over 25 years of experience.Lisa has also been teaching since 2002, at FIT and the Westchester Art Workshop. Lisa does private tutoring and has conducted seminars in affiliation with Vision Project, a not-for-profit organization based in Westchester County. See www.lisamax.com.

Mary M. Mooney, M.B.A., Iona College, is an Adjunct Professor of Computer Information Systemsat Concordia College with a background in corporate information technology and finance.

Mark G. Young is a writer, editor, teacher and PR professional.

Cooking
Felicity Bhagwat, a former Bronxville School parent, has taught a wide variety of cooking classes for BAS. Originally from Austria, Felicity studied cooking abroad, developing a passion for multinational cooking while living all around the world.

Nancy Contessa’s long-time passion for cooking is well-known to all those who still use the 1997 Bronxville School Cookbook she helped to produce. Nancy’s favorite place to be is in the kitchen cooking for family and friends.

Sheila Landsberg, a local resident and former Bronxville School parent, enjoys cooking for family and friends and is committed to using only the freshest local and seasonal ingredients available.

Toni Lydecker is a food journalist and cookbook author who lives in Irvington, New York. She has written on food and culinary travel for many magazines and online publications. Her most recent cookbook is Seafood alla Siciliana: Recipes and Stories from a Living Tradition (Lake Isle Press,2009). To sample Toni’s writings and recipes, visit www.tonilydecker.com.

David McCann is an actor, playwright, teacher, food writer and recipe developer whose recipes and articles have appeared in Great American Home Cooking and Everyday with Rachel Ray.

Linda Sanchez has been cooking since the age of eight - she learned from her grandmother, a professional chef. Linda also studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York, and she has been a caterer, cooking teacher and food writer. Some of her recipes are included in the Westchester County Tricentennial Cookbook. Linda travels extensively, always on the lookout for something new to incorporate into her cooking of the cuisines of the world.

Current Events/History/Reading/
Habiba Boumlik, Ph.D. is an adjunct professor in Social Sciences at SUNY Purchase and has been a Guest Professor in Modern Languages at Sarah Lawrence College and an Adjunct Professor in Humanities at Fordham University

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, earned a doctorate from Oxford and has taught at institutions including Oxford, Harvard and Columbia. He holds the Christian Johnson Chair in Middle Eastern Studies and International Affairs at Sarah Lawrence College. Dr. Gerges is the author of several books, including the recently-acclaimed Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy (Harcourt Press, 2007) and The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global (Cambridge University Press, 2005). He has been the recipient of MacArthur, Fulbright and Carnegie Fellowships, and his articles and editorials have been widely published by leading newspapers and periodicals. He has appeared frequently on prominent shows on major US television networks and on Al Jazeera, and he was a senior ABC television news analyst from 2000 until 2007.

Jean Geiger writes grants for a living and reads mysteries to keep sane. Her dream is to finish the mystery novel she has been working on for many years. Jean has taught at BAS since 1996.

Dance
Carol Sundquist has taught for more than 20 years in schools including the Sandra Cameron Dance Center in NYC. Her background includes all forms of ballroom dance. An associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC), Carol has taught at BAS since 2003..

Fitness/Tennis/Golf/Paddle Tennis
Shayna is a professional belly dancer and instructor with more than ten years’ experience. She teaches popular adult classes for all ages and populations. See www.shaynassolution.com for more information.

Mary Beltran, LMT, RYT, is a registered Yoga teacher certified in Kripalu Yoga with over 5,000 hours of experience, a certified Feldenkrais practitioner, and a certified Pilates and breathing-work teacher. She is also a licensed massage therapist and is certified by the American Council for Exercise as a personal trainer and group instructor.

Kevin Chin has been a teaching professional at Lake Isle Country Club for the past eight years. He is a TGS certified instructor who has passed the PGA Playing Ability Test. He has also produced and been featured in instructional golf videos for Westchester County public access television.Visit www.kevinchingolf.com for more info.

Master Domingo Colon, Director of the Tai Chi School of Westchester, has over 42 years of Tai Chi experience and is the author of Seniors’ Tai Chi Workout and Teaching Tai Chi to Special Populations.

Sugar Genereaux is a member of the Village Paddle Courts, a paddle teacher and a long tiem paddle player.

Heidy Pashinin has more than eight years of experience as a fitness instructor and a background in dance, Pilates and yoga. Currently teaching at a popular local sports club, Heidy is dedicated to making the choreography of her dance classes/workouts exciting, fresh and fun. Her enthusiasm and energy are contagious!

Mike Virgilio is a popular tennis instructor who has taught tennis for the Village of Bronxville for more than 25 years.

Health and Safety
Margaret Sewell, Ph.D. is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. She specializes in the neuropsychological evaluation of children, adults and geriatric patients. Dr. Sewell also offers psychotherapy to adults. She maintains offices in Nyack, NY and New York City.

Karen Sheer, a NY State Emergency Medical Technician, has been an active officer in the ScarsdaleVolunteer Ambulance Corps for 25 years. She has managed the Public Access Defibrillation Program at Citigroup U.S. and has taught CPR and First Aid for many community groups.

Hobbies/Leisure
Sharon Abrams has more than nine years of experience in stamping and related skills. She is a partner in sisterslinkedbyink.com, and her specialty is handmade memory books. She also creates invitations, shadowboxes, ornaments and a wide variety of other items for her clients.

Rose Asprea, a member of the National Mah Jongg League, is an experienced instructor who teaches both individual and group lessons. Although Rose has been playing Mah Jongg for over 25 years, her passion for the game is still growing.

Joe DeMauro is a Correspondence Chess Grandmaster who has played First Board for the United States Team in the Correspondence Chess Olympiad.

Kristine DesMarais has quilted more than half her life – she started as a teenager. Her works include wall hangings, bedspreads and countless baby quilts. She machine and hand quilts.

Irwin Finger is a professional singer/songwriter/guitarist with 40 years’ teaching experience. In the 70’s and 80’s he wrote many famous jingles, including “Ban de Soleil for the St. Tropez Tan.” Currently, his time is split between teaching and performing.

Florence Restivo Kooluris has been a resident of Bronxville for over 30 years and the owner of The Fine Arts Gallery for more than 20 years. A Fine and Commercial Art major and graduate with honors from the Pan-American Art School of New York City, she is a former Senior Graphic Designer for Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical company.

Aina Holtz-Lagor has a Bachelor’s degree in classical singing from Munich, Germany and a
Master’s in Arts and Media Management from Salzburg and Linz, Austria. She performed in Vienna as a coloratura soprano for more than ten years. She is currently the Associate Director of Arts in Education at ArtsWestchester in White Plains.

Bird Walk Guide Sandy Morrissey is a member of Bronx River – Sound Shore Audubon Society. She has been an avid bird-watcher for more than 30 years.

Mary Anne Young is an ecologist specializing in the interaction of people and nature in urban and suburban environments. Her career has spanned both government and academic institutions. She has written and lectured on a variety of natural history topics.

Home/Garden
Bob Krause has owned Mrs. Morgan’s Flower Shop in Bronxville since 1990 and has been
involved in the business for the past 35 years. Mrs. Morgan’s has been in Bob’s family since 1950 and has been making Bronxville beautiful since 1925.

Mary Moross is certified as a Feng Shui practitioner through the New England School of Feng Shui. Mary has completed a course of advanced study in China on Feng Shui and Oriental Philosophy from Central China (Huazhong) Normal University, Wuhan, P.R.C. Mary lectures and teaches Feng Shui for a number of colleges in the Northeast. She is an experienced artist and home furnishings designer with commercial and individual clients. See www.neschoolfengshui.com.

Barbara J. Riccardi is the president and owner of Riccardi Landscape Design Inc. in Bronxville. Barbara loves to play in the dirt!

Carmella Sirico is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Languages
Almira Bubesi teaches Italian and French at the Thornton-Donovan School.

Habiba Boumlik, Ph.D. is an adjunct professor in Social Sciences at SUNY Puchase and has been a Guest Professor in Modern Languages at Sarah Lawrence College and an Adjunct Professor in Humanities at Fordham University.

Michele Celestino has taught French and Spanish in middle and high schools and has been teaching at the Bronxville Adult School for more than 7 years.

Jacqueline Considine is a teacher, a native of France and a local resident.

Nathalie Dunn, Paris native and popular private tutor, joins us for her fourth year.

Susanne Servin, a native of Vienna, is a cross-cultural consultant for German speaking countries.

Personal Development
Mary Reilly Nichols began the study of meditation in 1976, and spent five years in residence in meditation ashrams both in India and the United States. She has taught yoga, meditation,stress management and visualization since 1982.

Jennifer Warren, CSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Scarsdale and Manhattan specializing in the treatment of stress, anxiety and relationship issues. She received her CSW fromColumbia University and was a staff member at the Payne Whitney and Westchester Divisions of New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Studio Art
Jessica Cioffoletti is an artist, arts administrator and arts educator who currently teaches oil painting and drawing privately and at Concordia College’s Art at Concordia program. Jessica holds a B.A. from SUNY Albany and an M.S. in Studio Art from the College of New Rochelle.

Bonnie Cotnoir is an experienced teacher who has won numerous awards for her work. Please see www.artandflowersny.com for more information about Bonnie’s work.

Joseph Fama, an award-winning artist, often captures inspiration from scenes in nature and from history. His “Western Collection,” detailed oil paintings of the Old West, has been widely exhibited. He has been an advertising agency art director, a designer for Christopher Radko and and an adjunct art professor at Westchester Community College. See www.josephfama.com.

Jean Vincenza Liggio is listed in Who’s Who of American Women. A long-time teacher, she has received more than 250 awards and has staged numerous exhibitions of her work throughout the NY metropolitan area.