MA | Co- Founder

Marie Lupinski, is a life-long educator with more than thirty years of experience in the field of special education. She holds dual teaching certifications in both early childhood and special education and has a Masters Degree in Educational Administration. In addition to her teaching certifications Marie is also certified as a supervisor and principal.

MA | Principal

David Ruzich has a Masters Degree in special education from New Jersey City University, a K-12 Principal's Certification, and a pending Masters Degree in educational leadership also from NJCU. After a successful career in the business world, David returned to his true calling of working with special needs children.

Master Teacher

Maria DeMauro received her BA in Communication Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University and her Masters in Education as a Teacher of Students with Disabilities from William Paterson University.  She holds several standard NJ teaching certifications including Pre-K, Elementary Education, Teacher of Students with Disabilities, and Supervisor. 

PhD | Behavioral Consultant

Dr. Gladys Williams is a specialist in curriculum design and verbal behavior with Doctoral Degrees in both Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from Columbia University. She is the author of journal articles and chapters on teaching social and language skills to children with autism and other learning disabilities. She has also written on school effectiveness, eating disorders, and parent training and presented at both national and international conferences.

BCBA / Special Educator 

Sara received her Masters degree in Special Education and a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She received her BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analysist) certification in January 2013.

Ed Paone earned his Bachelor Degree in business from Montclair State University. After graduating, he began working at David Gregory School as a teacher assistant. This enabled him to realize that his love of teaching required him to go back to school for an education degree. Ed has since earned his Master’s Degree in education and has been at David Gregory School for 15 years.

Jacki Pletsch graduated from Dominican College with a Bachelors Degree in history. She joined David Gregory School staff in 2014 as a teacher assistant, and realized education was her career path. Jacki went back to school and received her Master’s Degree in both General Education and Special Education. She has not only been an educator at David Gregory School, but also our amazing tech person.

Stephanie Wechsler graduated from the University of Buffalo with a degree in interdisciplinary social sciences. She got her teaching degree from William Paterson University and has been a teacher for more than 10 years.

Nick Malato earned his anthropology degree at William Paterson University. He joined the staff at David Gregory School in 2012 and realized that he wanted education as his career path. Nick has taught at the Liberty Science Center for the past 14 years and he is our own “science guy”.

Demi Masterson has a Bachelor Degree in Psychology and a Masters of Arts in Child Advocacy and Policy from Montclair State University. She began at David Gregory School in 2012 as a teacher assistant, and realized that teaching was her passion. She went back to Montclair State University to earn her degree in Special Education and has been an educator at David Gregory School since 2015.

Chris Romaglia graduated with a degree in environmental science from Ramapo College. He started working as a teacher assistant at David Gregory School in 2013, and realized his compassion and love of teaching. As a result, he went back to school to complete his degree in education.