Our Staff

Stephanie Remencus

Stephanie Remencus has over a decade of experience in early childhood education, having worked in New York City public schools. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education and a Master’s degree in Literacy Education. During her time in NYC, she had the privilege of working with families from diverse cultural backgrounds and supporting students across a wide range of abilities, including those with special needs and gifted learners.

Her journey with WLCN began as a class parent and board member while her daughter attended the school. Inspired by the community, she later joined the staff as an assistant teacher in the 3s and 4s classroom. Ms Stephanie is a passionate advocate for purposeful play, believing it is essential to fostering social-emotional development, physical growth, and foundational learning in young children. She looks forward to welcoming and getting to know the next generation of WLCN families.

Danielle Cuozzo

Danielle Cuozzo joined the Wilde Lake Children’s Nursery community in the summer of 2022 when her daughter enrolled in the 3’s class. After spending the 2023-2024 school year as the 4’s Class Liaison and part-time Assistant Teacher, she decided to come on board full-time when her daughter graduated from WLCN! In addition to raising her own three children, Ms Danielle has prior experience teaching preschool, providing respite care for special needs children, as well as many years working in education administration. She loves the co-op experience and getting to know all of the families! Ms Danielle has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Rutgers University.

Jo Smetak

Jo Smetak has worked and trained in early childhood education since 1987, including 33 years as the lead teacher at Running Brook Children’s Nursery. She is a career-long advocate for play-based learning, specializing in integrating arts, literature, and nature into an early childhood curriculum. Ms Jo loves talking about children and offers parent workshops in child development. Early childhood education is her heart!