Preschool Team
Kathy Autieri
Kathy holds a Bachelors degree in Management Information Systems from St. Joseph’s University and a law degree from Villanova University. She worked for a healthcare software company, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and law firms before deciding to stay home to raise her three children. Kathy’s youngest son spent two years at GFS, an incredibly positive experience for the whole family. She is thrilled to join the GFS staff this year.
Her previous experience includes 12 years as a volunteer art appreciation teacher with the Art Goes to School Program, as well as teaching 2&3 year olds at The Goddard School, and the preschool program during Mass at St. Helena’s Church. She also enjoyed volunteering at her children’s schools as a lunch volunteer, Reading Olympics Coach, library volunteer, and field trip chaperone.
Kathy believes teaching young children is the most important job. She enjoys seeing the world through their eyes, encouraging their natural interest in and enthusiasm for the world around them. She believes that providing a loving, nurturing, inviting environment, both inside and outside, encourages children to explore, play, create, imagine, and interact with others. She saw how wonderfully the GFS teachers and culture influenced her own son and looks forward to sharing that experience with GFS students.
Emily Bertl
Emily holds a Master’s Degree from University College London and a Bachelor’s Degree from Tulane University. She first joined the Gwynedd Friends School community as a parent and later joined the teaching staff after her children moved on to elementary school. Before having her own children, Emily was a nanny for many years, later transitioning to being a stay-at-home mom.
Emily believes that instilling a love of learning in children at a young age sets them up for success as they grow, and that play-based learning and allowing children to explore the world around them helps to build that foundation. She is drawn to the Quaker principles and strives to emulate them in her own life and in the lives of her children. Teaching children to be active, kind community members is important to her and she loves seeing children work towards building their own community at Gwynedd Friends.
Tess Genuardi
Tess holds a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from the Tyler School of Art. She was first introduced to the culture and ideologies of Quaker education as a student teacher at Greene Street Friends School, where she went on to work as a First Grade Teaching Associate for two years. She became part of the Gwynedd Friends School community as an assistant teacher in the Pre-Kindergarten classroom and later transitioned to the Preschool program.
Tess is a passionate educator committed to supporting teachers and helping young students engage with their learning, both in and out of the classroom. She is dedicated to creating a safe, warm and open-minded classroom where students can bravely explore new ideas, cultivate a growth mindset and develop their independence.
When she’s not teaching at Gwynedd Friends School, Tess is either running her small crochet and sewing business, teaching classes at her local fabric store or snuggling with a cat. She also likes to tend to her flower beds and reorganize closets and drawers if she can find the time. She lives with her partner and their three cats in Jenkintown.
Mary Beth Garrett
Marybeth Garrett is happy to be back at Gwynedd Friends School! Marybeth has 3 grown children who all had a wonderful learning experience while attending Gwynedd Friends School many years ago.
Marybeth began her career with a Computer Science degree and worked on engineering and finance applications. When her second child was about to arrive, she became a stay-at-home Mom and volunteered her way through her children’s school years as classroom parent, soccer coach, Girl Scout leader, H&S Treasurer, parent Band Treasurer and more. When her youngest finished elementary school, Marybeth was thrilled to get jobs working at Gwynedd Friends school and then Corpus Christi preschool as a teacher’s aide.
Marybeth believes the most important job as a teacher’s aide is to help the little ones learn to love school! Outside of school, Marybeth cherishes her time with family and stays active hiking, biking, and babysitting her granddaughter.
Andrea Reek
Andrea Reek is a mother of two amazing daughters, wife to the love of her life and grandmother to three energetic and incredible grandsons. She enjoys gardening, hiking, exploring the country and building (home renovation). She has been working in the field of Education for 30 plus years. She began as a teacher's assistant in the toddler program at a Montessori school. This experience cemented her desire to be an educator so she would be able to work with children of all ages and abilities. While raising her family she continued to work in early childhood and completed her BA in Early Childhood and Special education. Andrea has worked with early intervention to high school and most recently acted as the interim head of school at a farm-based preschool / kindergarten during the pandemic. It is her joy to come to school each day to help guide young ones into discovering the gifts they have to share with the world.
