Our Staff

Prior to joining the Teachers College staff as a Library Assistant, I was employed at City College of New York as a CUNY Office Assistant. There my job involved the purchasing of print books and electronic books for the campus libraries. I also assisted in the commercial binding operations of library materials. As a person with roots in the Caribbean I do have a love of African American and Caribbean history which directed my path to a bachelor of arts degree in History with a minor in English from Hunter
College. In my spare time I look forward to the outdoors and also expanding on my love of Broadway plays and musicals. I look forward to seeing as many as possible mainly the newbies and some of the older favorites.

Soeun is an Art and Design Library Associate of Gottesman Libraries. Previously, she worked as a Circulation and Reference and Library Assistant at RISD's Fleet Library. She holds a B.F.A. in Sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design. Soeun is a multidisciplinary artist working with sculpture, performance, and technology to question what it is to be living inside of a body. 

Chyanika Bajaj is currently pursuing an M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Before her studies at Teachers College, she earned a Bachelor of English (Honors) and a Bachelor of Education from India. Chyanika possesses a C2 level of proficiency in German, certified by the Goethe Institute, and has dedicated eleven years to teaching German as a foreign language in schools in New Delhi.

She has been instrumental in implementing significant initiatives, including the introduction of the German Language Diploma (DSD) examinations, the school’s affiliation with PASCH (Schools: Partners for the Future) and integration of UNESCO's Green Academies into the school curriculum. She has organized numerous cultural and educational events to enhance students' understanding of the German language and its rich cultural heritage. She has been awarded prestigious scholarships for advanced teacher training programs in Germany, focused on refining her pedagogical strategies.

Fluent in English, German, Hindi, and Punjabi, Chyanika enjoys leveraging her linguistic skills to connect with diverse student populations and is eager to make meaningful contributions to the academic community at Teachers College. As an international student, she loves exploring New York City, going for nature walks, and immersing herself in the vibrancy of her new surroundings.

Carolina is a Library Associate at Gottesman Libraries and a first year graduate student in the Counseling Psychology, School Counseling Program. She is passionate about supporting high school students in both their academic and personal lives, and is particularly interested in the ways students can be best guided through the college admissions process. Before attending TC, Carolina earned her B.A. in English at the University of Notre Dame. In her free time, Carolina loves to read and write poetry and play ultimate frisbee.

Lauren is currently pursuing an M.A. degree in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College. Prior to her enrollment at Teachers College, she obtained a Bachelor of Science and Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin in Human Development and Family Science with certification in Forensic Science. Her academic and research interests center around Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, violence, and aggression. In her free time, Lauren enjoys writing for her blog The Forensic Perspective, engaging with the fashion world, and spending time with her cat Luna.

Hi! My name is Ashley and I’m currently pursuing an MS in Computer Science at Columbia Engineering. I did my BS in Game Design and Development at RIT, and have made games for personal projects and for work. I decided to continue my education here in order to become a more competent programmer and I aspire to become a software engineer. In my free time I like cooking and painting.

Tim is the Web Services and Systems Librarian at Teachers College. Prior to joining the staff, he served as the Online Services Librarian at Manhattanville College. He brings his mastery of content management systems and data migration from that position. A long, long time ago he graduated from CUNY-Queens College with a Master's Degree in Library Science. Before that, he received a Bachelor's Degree in Peace Studies from Manhattan College. He likes to teach himself graphic design and coding languages in his free time, and is a slow learner on both. He is a native and lifetime resident of the tristate area, and likes to lord his knowledge of how to drive, walk, and bike around Manhattan over others.

Kaili is a Library Associate at the Gottesman Libraries and is pursuing her Masters in Social-Organizational Psychology. Prior to her enrollment at Teachers College, she received a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Bachelors of Sciences in Brain & Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester. She is passionate about improving working conditions, job satisfaction, and understanding human behavior. In her free time she enjoys walking around NYC, visiting museums, or curling up with a good book. 

Born in Washington, D.C.  and raised in Chicago, Jennifer grew up in a family that engaged with justice, art, and education. Her father was a corporate lawyer and constitutional delegate for the state of Illinois; her mother, an artist from Maine who worked with lithograph, acrylic, cloth, and mixed mediums; her stepfather, a British geology professor and university finance administrator; her English stepmother, an English teacher in Africa. Their example inspired in her deep respect for binding human customs or practices; learning, teaching, and research; and creativity in expression.

The most interesting aspect of libraries, for her, is creating spaces that nurture the continual educational growth of our patrons -- spaces, both physical and virtual, that are research-oriented, collegial, collaborative, innovative, creative, tuned to our needs and times, yet informed by history, its life lessons, and future thinking. These spaces embrace the wide scope of collections, services, and that little bit extra -- the Gottesman Libraries' Education Program. As Library Director and Senior Librarian she provides direction and oversees the work of all all units, with a focus on administration, budget, relations, content management, communication, programming, and user engagement.

Jennifer brings wide experience through decades of dedicated work at Teachers College in reference service, library collection management, K-12 collections, archives, access, and outreach. She holds a BA Combined Honors in English and French from The University of Exeter, England, and a Master of Librarianship from The College of Librarianship Wales, The University of Wales. She taught English in southern France; has family throughout the United States and United Kingdom; and was once described by a library colleague as a "world citizen" though she has lived with her own family in Manhattan for many years.

Kiara is currently pursuing an Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology, with a focus on Mental Health Counseling, at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Deeply passionate about mental health, Kiara is particularly dedicated to destigmatizing mental health challenges within the Black community. Her academic and clinical interests revolve around trauma recovery, anxiety, and mood disorders. In her free time, Kiara enjoys curating content for her bookstagram, reading, and exploring new cafés with friends.

Ava is the Research and Instruction Librarian at Gottesman Libraries. A native New Yorker, she grew up just a few blocks east of Morningside Park in Harlem. Prior to joining the team at Teachers College, she worked at CUNY’s Bronx Community College Library and Pratt Institute Libraries. She was a Junior Fellow in the Library of Congress' Office of Literary Initiatives and spent a year in Spain teaching at a bilingual high school. She received an MSLIS with an advanced certificate in Digital Humanities from Pratt Institute’s School of Information and a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago. She enjoys going camping, discovering new authors, and editing Wikipedia articles. 

Pragati is currently working as an Associate in the Technical Services unit at Gottesman Library, while pursuing her MA in Curriculum and Teaching with a concentration in Education Policy Analysis. Before joining Teachers College, she worked as a Monitoring and Evaluation researcher with the Ministry of Education in India. Her curiosity about how policies are implemented in classrooms sparked a shift in her focus from policy analysis to exploring the intricacies of teaching. In her free time, Pragati enjoys knitting, doodling, and taking long walks in the park, where she finds joy in photographing the dedications inscribed on park benches. Recently, she has developed an interest in science fiction and tries to steal moments to immerse herself in a good book whenever possible!

Roshnara Kissoon is the Reserves and Support Services Librarian at Gottesman Libraries. Before joining Teachers College, Roshnara managed the course reserve service and collections at the Newman Library, Baruch College, CUNY.  

Roshnara is most gratified when she can more easily connect students and faculty to resources needed for their coursework, teaching, and research, and when locating particularly elusive materials.

Roshnara received her MLS from Queens College, CUNY and has a BA in English and Economics from NYU. She has also studied English Literature at NYU’s GSAS and remains an amateur Victorian literature scholar.

Julia Levin is a Library Associate at Gottesman Libraries and is pursuing her MA and initial teaching certification in secondary math education at Teachers College. Prior to TC, she obtained her BA in mathematics at Middlebury College, where she also minored in French and education studies. Outside of the classroom, she loves to swim, read, sing, and dance. She is passionate about the arts and is interested in the ways in which the arts intersect with and complement mathematics.

Conrad Lochner joins the Gottesman Libraries as the new Special Collections and Digital Librarian. In the past, he has enjoyed the opportunity to engage with a multitude of collections and non-profit organizations such as Sesame Workshop, PEN America, Swiss Institute, and Performa. A curator at heart, Conrad seeks to discover and increase the accessibility of the diverse holdings that archival and library collections steward. 

As a graduate of Pratt Institute’s School of Information (2013), Conrad utilized technology-driven pedagogy to develop a critical understanding of art-based collections, focusing on intersectional issues concerning ownership, provenance, and decolonization. Previous to pursuing his graduate degree, Conrad attended Hunter College (2010) where he pursued degrees in Literature and Philosophy, with a particular interest in post-war poetry, counter-culture, and thought—three areas which continue to influence the acquisitions of his own personal collection. 

Anthony is a Library Associate at Gottesman Libraries and a second-year student in the Mental Health Counseling master’s program with a Bilingual Latinx concentration. His passions include mental health initiatives and language accessibility to underserved populations, especially immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. In his free time he enjoys learning to cook new cuisine, traveling and learning languages! Before attending Teachers College, Anthony received his B.A. in Psychology and Romance Languages from Wesleyan University.

Amber is the Manager of Operations at Gottesman Libraries. A first generation NY native, she's lived all around the state including Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, Westchester and Orange County. While she holds an undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College in biology and sociology, her career path has led from STEM non-profit to higher education. A self proclaimed foodie, she appreciates connecting with her Asian, Latin, and European roots through cooking and discovering new restaurants. When she isn't frequenting her kickboxing, yoga and cycling classes, she enjoys the arts of reading and writing poetry, canvas painting and listening to music.

Victoria is the Processing Archivist for Special Collections at the Gottesman Libraries. Prior to joining the staff, Victoria worked at the New York Public Library and was a museum collections management intern at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. Before delving into the world of libraries, archives, and museums, Victoria worked in higher education as a writing tutor and writing specialist at Manhattanville College and Concordia College New York. In preserving and stewarding collections, Victoria hopes to forge connections with researchers across disciplines so that the public can have a better connection to and understanding of  scholarship.  

Victoria earned their MLIS from St. John’s University, concentrating their coursework on archives and academic librarianship. They received a Master’s degree in English and American Literature from New York University where they studied nineteenth-century travel writing. These studies informed Victoria’s professional practice, through which they strive to acknowledge the power that descriptive language and narrative hold over access to and interpretation of information. 

Victoria’s creative work can be found in the journals Impossible Archetype and Cathexis Northwest Press. In their spare time, Victoria reads, writes, watches movies, and plays video games. 

Sally is a Library Associate at Gottesman Libraries and a graduate student in the Mental Health Counseling program at Teachers College. She has a particular interest in couples therapy, as she perceives it as a way to help individuals understand that each person has their subjective reality, and that these realities can coexist. Before attending TC, Sally earned a B.A. in Psychology at Vanderbilt University. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her cat, Dodo, as well as her roommates’ cats, Umi and Kimchi. She also likes bouldering and reading.

Aoife (he/they) is a Special and Digital Collections Library Associate at Gottesman Libraries. They are pursuing their MFA in poetry at Columbia's Graduate School of The Arts. Before TC Aoife worked in early childhood education and as a cataloger for Babylon Revisited Rare Books. Aoife received his BA in The Study of Women and Gender and Anthropology from Smith College. In their free time Aoife enjoys fiber arts, zines, and cooking. 

Deidre Thompson is the Head of Technical Services and Metadata Librarian. She was born in Belize, Central America and grew up in the Bronx. Prior to joining Gottesman Libraries, she was the Collection Services Librarian at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She received her BA in Art History from Bard College and an MLIS from Pratt Institute with an advanced certificate in Digital Humanities. She enjoys reading, visiting art museums and has encyclopedic knowledge of the tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Ashley is an Art and Design Associate at Gottesman Libraries. After receiving her BFA from the Cooper Union, she continues creating multi-medium works, writing about, illustrating, and animating a fantasy world that expresses her eerie ridicule of the ordinary everyday life of hers. Her works were featured in solo and group shows in the United States and East Asia. You’ll often see her around with a measuring tape drafting designs for the library.

Lauren J. Young is a science and tech journalist by day and a Gottesman Libraries' Services Associate by night. She covers climate and public health, conservation and wildlife, environmental justice, education and culture. She attended NYU's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program and received a Master's degree in journalism. For fun, she collects comic books and browses digital library archives. You can see her writing and reporting on her portfolio and follow her on Twitter.