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Marianela Jimenez
Founder & CEO
My name is Marianela Jimenez. I am the founder and CEO of Early Bird Educational Center I, II and III. Prior to owning them, I worked as a teacher for the New York City Department of Education for over 35 years. Working with children and watching their enthusiasm, eagerness and curiosity for learning inspired me to further my studies and expand horizons. I obtained three Masters: Bilingual Education at City College of New York, School Psychology and Counseling at Universidad Autonomous de Santo Domingo (UASD) in Dominican Republic and School Administration at the Long Island University (LIU).
In my leisure time I enjoy reading, listening to music (all kinds) and dancing. Most of all, family gatherings with my son, daughter and grandchildren. I particularly enjoy reading and writing with my son who has special needs.
While working as a teacher I always embraced a vision to share my experiences with others. My vision was the fuel that ignited my passion for 35 years “to give to my community part of what the community has given to me”.
I believe that a happy child is a successful one for this reason I have devoted my entire life to the field of Early Childhood Education and after I retired, I decided to crystallize my vision by founding Early Bird Educational Centers. Our focus and goal is to prepare children to succeed in this challenging and complex world that provides love for learning as well as a child’s emotional, physical and cognitive development.
I passionately believe in the power of education. Education transforms and empowers children’s lives. It teaches them to look at the world from another perspective.
Our holistic approach builds, and promotes respect for diversity, the important of values and community involvement.
Eyeri Gonzalez
Co-Owner & Executive Director
My name is Eyeri Gonzalez, and I am the Co-Owner and Executive Director at Early Bird Educational Center. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a minor in English. I bring over 15 years of relevant business administrative experience from the private sector. Prior to joining the education field, I held a senior-level Human Resource Administrative/Management position with a prestigious multi-billion dollar financial investment firm in New York City for over 7 years. In addition, I worked for other financial institutions in an administrative capacity.
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I first began my career in Early Childhood Education in 2012 working with infants and toddlers at Early Bird Educational Center in Far Rockaway, Queens. Working closely with the Founder and CEO of Early Bird, Marianela Jimenez, I assured that her vision and ideas were instilled in our day-to-day operations. Through this partnership, we were able to open Early Bird II Educational Center in 2015 in Jamaica, Queens. During the 2012-2019 time frame, I served as the Multi-Site Early Childhood Executive Director while continuing to focus on the growth of our schools, locations, and how to better serve our community.
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In January of 2021, Early Bird III Educational Center opened its doors, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and we were able to offer the community a free full-day 3K program in addition to our existing free full-day Pre-K program.
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As a Multi-Site Executive Director working closely with my Assistant, Educational Director, and teaching staff I take great pride in knowing that our Centers strive for excellence and quality in childcare while promoting our cooperative spirit. We have a wonderful complement of staff; dedicated and truly amazing at what they do. Which intern assures that Ms. Jimenez's vision is executed beautifully.
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I also actively represent Early Bird Educational Center in the community with committees such as the Jamaica Community Partnership.
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When I am not busy dedicating myself to the school, staff, and community I am busy being a wife, and a mom to a wonderful daughter and son. I also enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, going to the movies, and the pool, and going on long nature walks/hikes.
Yogeeta Singh
Assistant Director
My name is Yogeeta Singh also known as Ms. Singh and I am the Executive Assistant Director and School Administrator for Early Bird Educational Centers. I have a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Economics with a minor in Psychology from CUNY Queens College. I am also actively working on achieving my Certified Public Accountant (CPA) License.
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I was born and raised in Guyana and migrated to Queens, New York with my family where I currently reside. New York City definitely grew on me with the diversity of people and their incredible taste in food from around the world. New York has brought me many opportunities and one of those was working here at Early Bird Educational Center where I am able to give back to my community. Through conversations with Ms. Jimenez and Ms. Gonzalez, I was inspired to switch gears toward a different direction in my career to be able to broaden my horizons. Working in Early Childhood has inspired me, especially watching the little ones grow and achieve their milestones as the school year progresses. My goal through this inspiration has now led me to start working on a Master's in Early Childhood Education (Birth-2nd Grade) at Queens College to be able to provide better support to both the staff and students here at Early Bird.
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Besides furthering my education, which keeps me busy and occupied. I enjoy going to new places and traveling. New York and the world around us are full of new inspirations and places to go. There is always something new to learn out there whether it is just for fun or as a tourist.