Meet the Rella’s Spielhaus Team!

Barbara Rellstab, Founder/Program Director, Infant Group Teacher

Barbara was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland. Growing up in a family of theater professionals, musicians and writers (mother Ursula a journalist for NZZ and, Ludwig Rellstab a great-great uncle) her interest for the performing arts was sparked early on. After the Matura B (Latin & English major) she went to the Schauspiel Akademie Zürich (today’s ZHDK.ch) which at the time was under the direction of her late father, Felix Rellstab. After winning several performance grants and graduating as the Valedictorian, Barbara performed 5 years at German and Swiss “Stadttheater”.

Since 1997 when Barbara came to New York, she performed extensively Off-Broadway (ie lead role(s) in “The Donkey Show” Dir. Diane Paulus), founded the International Department at the International Fringe Theater Festival, and taught voice and Gyrotonic. Barbara also spent 7 years as a Manhattan Real Estate Broker and eager to use the six languages she speaks, traveled the world as a producer for Bugatti International for 3 years.

When her son Oliver was born in 2009, Barbara sensed the need for a “Mommy and Me” Story Time format in German. And in 2011 “Lieder & Geschichten” (now “Kinderklassen”) was created, first as picnic in Central Park, then at the Central Harlem Library and soon in various studios from Brooklyn to White Plains with a total of 16 classes per week. As Barbara got more familiar with the German Language Families of New York, she decided to open the Harlem “Rella’s Spielhaus”, the first German Language Daycare in Manhattan which ran for 9 years. She also went on to Columbia’s Teachers College to pursue her MA in Bi-lingual and Bi-cultural Childhood Education.

Today, with the newly renovated Upper West Side Rella’s Spielhaus open und running, Barbara is as committed as ever to serve the German Language community through various educational offerings: In person in Manhattan and online and in the Tristate Area and along the East Coast.


Saima Sarfaraz, Educational Director

Saima Sarfaraz was born in Dubai, UAE. At a very young age she moved to New York which now has become her home for the past 23+ years. She recently earned my MS in Early Childhood Education from CUNY-Brooklyn College, an honored member of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education. Saima received her BA in Early Childhood Education/Special Education & BA in Arts at Brooklyn College and holds NYS Certification – Teacher Certificate in Early Childhood Education.

As a passionate Early Childhood Educator for 7+ years, she worked as an Education Director in another Manhattan Preschool. In the classroom she loves teaching various ages from 2 to 6 years. Over her career, she has gathered experience in settings, such a Gifted & Talented program, UPK- 4 and Private Day Care Centers.

Saima is not a German speaker, but she is innately familiar with multi-lingual settings as she is fluent in Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi.

As the Educational Director Saima is thrilled to be part of Rella’s Spielhaus to provide a fun, safe, and high quality educational experience for every child at Rella’s.


Jaleh Zare, Preschool Group Teacher

Jaleh was born in Iran and moved to Germany at the age of eight, where she successfully completed her bachelor’s degree in the field of Industrial Engineering and Management. During her employment as an engineer with a major German automotive company, she discovered her passion for teaching young children and started working as a private tutor and volunteer teacher in her spare time.  

In 2018 Jaleh moved to the US and decided to follow her passion and become a teacher. Since then, she has worked as an educator in both private and public schools as well as a private tutor. Jaleh has four years of experience as a classroom teacher of young children in NYC German schools. She is currently enrolled in the MA Program for Childhood Education at Hunter’s College, which she will complete in 2024.

Jaleh is thrilled to be a part of Rella’s Spielhaus as a Group Teacher to create an engaging and nurturing classroom that promotes learning as well as social, cognitive, and emotional development.


Birgit Kieft, Preschool Assistant Teacher

Birgit was born and raised in Weinheim, Germany where she received a degree in Business Administration. She moved to the US in 1993 and has lived in the Bay Area, Connecticut, Washington DC and Colorado. She recently moved to New York City and is very excited to be part of Rella’s Spielhaus.

Birgit was a stay-at-home mom for many years and always enjoyed helping in her children’s classroom. She enjoyed it so much that she decided to work as a paraprofessional at her neighborhood Elementary school. She worked there for 6 years in a first-grade classroom, giving small group instructions in math and reading and working with special needs children. Birgit also worked at a Montessori School in Denver, in both the primary and pre-primary classrooms. Her interest in younger children led her to take Early Childhood Education classes. During her studies, she was an intern in a play-based Kindergarten classroom in Denver. Birgit has a passion for young children, and she loves to watch them learn and grow.

In her free time Birgit enjoys the outdoors, hiking, biking and getting to know New York City.


Lisa Hammel, Toddler Group Teacher

Lisa Hammel was born in Wiesbaden, Germany and moved to the United States in 2012.

When Lisa moved to the US she lived in various states all across the US including Arizona, Florida and the Bay Area, before she moved to New York City in December of 2022. Everywhere she lived she was a child care provider for private families with at times multiple children and also children with special needs. In 2017 she graduated Daytona State College in Florida with an associate's degree. Lisa’s special interest lies in the earliest stages of child development. To see the infants and toddlers blossom in her care is her true passion.

Lisa has joined the Rella’s Spielhaus Team in April 2023 and is excited to be the Toddler Assistant Teacher. She lives in midtown Manhattan with her husband Brett who runs a financial start-up and her dog Tanuki who enjoys long walks in Central Park.


Elke Nominikat, Samstagsschule, Mini-Klassen and Online Private Teacher

Elke was born and raised in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. 

Fascinated by language, music, and connecting with people from a young age, she studied German Linguistics and Psycholinguistics at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. With a master's degree in hand, she worked in Munich as an Online Community Manager back when the field was new, well before 'social media' became a big deal.

Since April 2001, Elke has been living and working in New York City. She managed online communities for over ten years before co-founding an indie music blog and managing indie rock bands.

In the summer of 2023, Elke joined the Rella’s Spielhaus team for its Summer Camps, where she continued to use her knowledge of the German language, complemented by her caring, creative, and upbeat nature. She is happy to continue teaching kids at Rella’s at the Miniklassen, Saturday School, and online classes and looks forward to the 2024 Summer Camp.

Elke has authored over a dozen books on computer and travel topics. She enjoys drawing, painting, photography, and cooking healthy meals. She also loves tending to her balcony flower and veggie garden.


Jürgen Yookwon Chung, Business Manager, Preschool Assistant Teacher

Jürgen “Yookie” Chung was born in Düsseldorf, Germany and grew up in Recklinghausen, in the heart of the Ruhr Area as a child of Korean immigrant workers. After studying Pedagogy, Social Sciences, and German Studies at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, he went on to receive a master’s degree in European Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Jürgen moved to New York in 2002 after getting married. He fell in love with the diversity and the vibe of New York City and is happy to call it home. He has great experience managing different small businesses, helping them to grow and improve their operations.

Additionally, Jürgen has always been interested in teaching children and has a lot of experience tutoring children of all ages in Germany, Korea, and the US.  He also taught German as a Second Language for international students in Bochum, Germany.

Jürgen shares Rella’s Spielhaus’ passion to educate young children and create a joyful, instructive, inspiring, and safe environment.

He is an avid soccer fan and enjoys music, especially live concerts. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and has a 15-year-old son, who are also bilingual in German and English.