United Friends School has highly educated, qualified, progressive faculty and staff who are not only among the best in their field, but also committed to Quaker principles and practice. See below for UFS faculty and staff profiles:
Head of School
Daena Berdougo
Head of School | Email
Daena Berdougo is a champion of lifelong learning both for herself and for her faculty. She has rich experience as an educator and school administrator with the ability to recognize challenges as opportunities for learning and growth.
Faculty and Administration
Ben Bowles
Helman-Osborn Class Teacher (Middle School), Science and Math | Email
Ben has a degree in physics from Boston College and has worked in education since 2005. He has taught secondary school math and physics, tutored extensively in middle school and high school math, and taught instrumental music and performance at Music Training Center in Montgomeryville.
Betty Cheung
Librarian/Media Specialist | Email
Betty graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and then received her Master of Education from Holy Family University. She holds Pennsylvania certifications in Elementary Education (K-6) and Reading Specialist. At UFS, she taught 3rd and 4th grades for three years.
Stephanie Evangelista
Paul Class Teacher (1st Grade) | Email
Stephanie graduated from West Chester University with a dual degree in Early Grades (PK-4) and Special Education (PK-8).
Bill Evans
Facilities Manager
Bill has been our facilities manager since 2001. His company, Zarza Inc., provides UFS with many services from grounds keeping to handyman tasks. Bill specializes in carpentry, painting, masonry and landscaping.
Shonne Jurin
Penn Class Teacher (2nd Grade) | Email
Shonne has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Purdue University. Her most recent teaching position was in 2nd grade at Loudoun Country Day School in Leesburg, Virginia, where she taught for 10 years as well as offered private tutoring services. She has taught grades K-4.
Noemí Lee
Spanish Teacher / After School Program Lead | Email
Noemí was born and raised in Bolivia to an American mother and Bolivian father. Having attended an international American school and church with the locals while growing up in Bolivia, Noemí is both bilingual and bicultural.
Delilah Maestri
Mott Class Teacher (Pre-School) | Email
Delilah received her BFA in Acting from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and moved to New York City in 2008. In the following years she returned to academia to pursue a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College in New York.
Daphne Naudascher
Helman-Osborn Humanities (Middle School), Language Arts, Learning Support | Email
Daphne holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Kentucky and has PA teaching certification. She began her involvement at UFS as a classroom parent in 1998. Daphne brings her love of learning through literature to her classroom. She leads lively discussions about literature that motivate her students when they write their own creative works. Daphne and her family live in Spinnerstown.
Sarai Nieves
Director of Admission | Email
Sarai taught at Brooklyn Friends, Bank Street, and Beginning with Children Charter School. Before becoming the Director of Admission, Sarai was the kindergarten teacher at UFS. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Early Childhood Education and has done doctoral work in curriculum and teaching with an interest in early childhood, urban education and multiculturalism.
Bethany Schwendy
General Music and Choir | Email
Bethany is a certified music educator. She received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Messiah College and has completed over 30 credits of graduate studies at various institutions including the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and Towson University in Maryland.
Stacie Scott
Art Teacher | Email
Stacie taught at UFS from 1992 through 2006 and returned in 2010. Scott’s mixed media and collage works are in collections regionally and nationally. Stacie has thirty years of experience working with the visual and performing arts in educational, community-based and therapeutic settings. While at UFS, Scott developed and implemented an arts program for 5-8th graders utilizing dance, theater and visual arts.
Holly Sharp
Front Office Manager | Email
Dara Shomer
Fox Class Teacher (2nd and 3rd Grades) | Email
Dara has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Hofstra University. She went on to get her master’s and certification in education from Arcadia University. She has over ten years of experience in private and public schools.
Nicole Skinner
Mott Class Teacher (Pre-School) | Email
Nicole Skinner holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in English with a minor in Studio Art from Rosemont College and a Master of Science in Education from St. Joseph’s University with Pa certification in English Literature 6-12 and Special Education K-12. She has over 10 years experience working with children of all ages, backgrounds and needs.
Roger Sternfeld
Assistant Head of School/Business Manager | Email
Roger first came to UFS as a board member, where he served as a representative from Gwynedd Monthly Meeting. He previously taught for sixteen years at Media-Providence Friends School as a Middle School math teacher and as a 3rd and 4th grade teacher.
Jane Walsh
Anthony Class Teacher (4th and 5th Grades) | Email
Jane has been a teacher for more then 20 years. She has a degree in elementary education from the American University with a minor in Jewish Studies.
Amy Wall
Rustin Class Teacher (Kindergarten) | Email
Many school families know Amy as the director of the Stretch-n-Grow Youth Fitness Program where she develops physical education programs for preschool, childcare, and fitness centers and creates and directs All-Star Sports Programs for children ages 2-6. Prior to Stretch-n-Grow, Amy was a kindergarten teacher in North Carolina.
