Gayathri Iyer earned her Masters in School Counseling at Hunter College after a BFA in Cinema Studies and Journalism at New York University, where she currently serves as adjunct faculty in the Department of Applied Psychology. A midwest native of strong South Asian roots, Gayathri brings her work background in arts, media, feminism, social justice, and nonprofit administration to a love of learning, listening, and lifting up young women's potential at TYWLS Astoria. In her time as a counselor, she has provided group and individual therapy, preventative programming, restorative discipline, academic guidance, career exploration, crisis management, teacher development on social-emotional learning, and consultation on special education and school culture. She is passionate about bringing the skills for self-reflection, sisterhood relationships, stress management, and citizenship in using technology to all middle school students, and encourages visits from those who need any kind of support, or just want to celebrate and expand their own superpowers.
Meryem Ibrahim earned her Masters of Education in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University after receiving her Bachelor's in Psychology from SUNY New Paltz. In addition to being a School Counselor, Meryem also teaches and supports future counselors through her Adjunct Instructor Role at New York University. Meryem's work is driven by her passion and commitment to public education and graduation requirements! She works hard to build relationships with all families to ensure every child is en route to post-secondary success! As a born and raised New Yorker with strong Middle Eastern roots, Meryem's work supports and advocates for diversity, multicultural awareness and supporting every girl through their academics, peer relationships, and family dynamics.