I have over 20 years of experience in education as a teacher and school leader, so when I had my daughter, I thought my skills and experience as a teacher would translate. They didn't! When she was about 15 months old and I started seeing those “terrible two” behaviors, none of my veteran teacher techniques worked on her. I felt helpless and defeated. 

I didn’t understand her behaviors and why they suddenly changed. I knew from my years in teaching that yelling and screaming weren’t effective, but in moments of frustration that’s all I knew how to do. That wasn’t the parent that I wanted to be, and more importantly, it wasn’t changing her behavior. 

My breaking point was the day I plopped our daughter in bed with my husband (covered in food!) and told him, “I need a break.”  

I went downstairs and broke down. I just sobbed as I cleaned up the mess she’d created. I knew that I needed to figure out how to bridge the knowledge gap that I had between teaching and parenting. So I read book after book, and studies that helped me understand what was happening in the minds of young children, as well as research-based, effective, approaches to discipline. 

As I applied what I learned, I didn’t just see a change in my daughter’s behavior, it totally transformed me, along with my parenting and my work in education. I now understood the behaviors I was seeing, so I was able to shift from being reactive to being proactive and responsive. She and I were no longer in a combative relationship, we were now in a connected one. 

I’m an educator to my soul, so when I learn something new I want to share. I realized that I could help other moms, hopefully before they reach their breaking point. I thought if I could learn something new after 20 years working with kids, there must be other people who need this information too. So now I’m on a mission to give moms, especially moms of color, the tools they need in order to end the cycle of frustration, yelling, and ineffective punishments. With my support, I can get help you strengthen the connection with your children in conscious and creative ways. 

Ready to start transforming the relationship with your child from reactive to responsive?

Professional Background

I’m a native New Yorker with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, a Master’s Degree in Early Education and nearly 20 years of experience in arts education and leadership.

I have 14 years of teaching experience in NYC pre-schools and elementary schools, including band, private lessons, mommy and me classes, and predominantly early childhood/elementary general music classes, where I consistently designed my own unique curriculum. As an instructional coach, I specialized in supporting enrichment teachers in instruction, curriculum development and classroom management. 

In 2013, I became the lead curriculum writer and staff trainer for the “Dan Zanes House Party” program, an early childhood music program created in partnership with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, in Park Slope, Brooklyn. One year later, I became the Managing Director of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (read more on this below). After a few years with the Brooklyn Conservatory, I moved on to become the Arts Director for Bronx Charter School for the Arts, supervising theater, dance, visual art and music departments

After giving birth to my first child in 2018, I chose to resign from full time work in order to focus on motherhood and entrepreneurial ventures. I’m now working as a parenting coach, and Arts Education consultant in several NYC schools and arts organizations. 

Additionally, I’m a social media influencer, reaching 70,000 followers between my two pages, @joymarile and Lyric_laughter_learning, where I share conscious parenting tips, how to incorporate creativity into play and learning, my journey as a Montessori homeschooling mom, as well as the loving and funny moments that are an inevitable part of parenthood. 

Since leaving full time work, I’ve shared my knowledge by presenting at several parenting and education conferences including, The Childhood Potential Conference, Discovering the Child Conference and The Toddler Play conference. I now serve as Loveevery’s Music expert, featured on their social media pages and recently released app.

Current Offerings

Additional Music Background

Struggling to find music that was engaging to the students and their families in urban communities that she served, Joy tapped into an undiscovered talent and began writing and producing songs for her students to perform. Seeing an unexpected level of enjoyment and engagement from her students and their families, Joy knew that she should attempt to have her music heard beyond her own school. 

In 2012, Joy wrote and produced an album of music geared toward elementary aged students entitled “Journey”. While working to promote the album, Joy met Grammy award-winning family music artist, Dan Zanes at a conference for independent children’s music artists. The two developed a relationship that led to Joy performing with Dan locally, as well as becoming the lead curriculum writer and staff trainer for the “Dan Zanes House Party” program, an early childhood music program created in partnership with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. 

About a year after beginning her work with Dan Zanes and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Joy became the Managing Director of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in Park Slope, Brooklyn.