Keri Willey
Coming soon.
Lulani Lampkin
Ms. Lampkin was born and raised in the SF East Bay where she explored her love for music, drama and athletics. She loves to cook, read, and is a self proclaimed craft Queen. She is the daughter of two Early childhood educators and the middle child of six! Ms. Lampkin Studied at the University of Santa Cruz California where she received her B.A.s in both Education and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. Ms. Lampkin looks forward to her first year with Grand Lake Montessori where she will learn how to teach students self-reliance and compassion for their peers.She is passionate about providing playful, engaging and equitable education to the next generation and hopes to instill confidence in all of her students.
Paul Contreras
Mr. Contreras is from the San Fernando Valley, where he first started working with students with developmental delays while in the 6th grade. His passion for empowering and advocating for youth blossomed from that experience. Paul quickly fell in love with the multiculturalism of the Bay Area while studying Sociology at UC Berkeley. After operating his own business in Berkeley, with a brief stint in the corporate world and an after-school program in Oakland, he decided to return to school to attain a degree from the Peralta Colleges in Child Development so that he could work with younger age groups and their families. He worked with the City of Oakland’s Early Head Start program for a year before making the transition to the GLM community in June of 2013. Paul spends his free time at dog parks with his two Pugs, jogging Lake Merritt, playing softball & basketball, attending concerts, and enjoying the numerous festivals and events the Bay has to offer.
Mariana Bissonnette
Mariana was born and raised in the SF Bay Area and is grateful to have family close by! She has had various roles in education – from health education to teacher recruitment, after school programming to classroom instruction. She could see that the current educational model didn’t seem to meet the needs of children, teachers or even parents and started looking for something that might just do all three – and she found it! Mariana found Montessori Education through Grand Lake Montessori in 2010 when she came for an observation for an opening in the Camellia class. She was instantly hooked! Here was an educational framework flexible enough to meet the needs of all students and structured enough to allow the child to maximize their potential! Mariana earned her AMI 3-6 credential in 2012, her AMI 0-3 credential in 2016 and self-published a Montessori parenting book, Babies Build Toddlers, in 2020. At Grand Lake Montessori, she spent 8 years in the classroom as both a support and lead teacher and is excited to be working with the greater school community of staff, parents and children as Director of Instruction. Mariana also runs the parent support program, The PEACE Program, at Grand Lake Montessori that offers free and sliding-scale parenting support for the broader community. Mariana has two children – two GLM alums! – and in her “free” time, she loves being outdoors with her husband, kids and dog, Sequoia.
Tina Huang
Tina Huang was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to the Bay Area when she was 3 years old. She holds a Bachelor’s in Biology from Hawaii Pacific University and a Master’s in Forensic Science from UC Davis. After working in different areas of education, Ms. Huang realized that early childhood education is very important. She made the decision to go back to school and received her AMI Primary certification this past June from Montessori Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Tina is very excited to be back in the Bay Area and to join the GLM community this summer. She believes in a hands-on-approach to learning, supporting children in using their hands to build their intelligence and personality. In her spare time, Tina enjoys knitting, hiking, reading, playing board games, and traveling.
Celeste Stanley
Born in San Francisco, Celeste grew up in both Southern and Northern California. Always drawn to the world of education, she spent several years working at colleges and universities throughout Northern California. Celeste was introduced to the philosophy of Montessori while researching preschools for her oldest son. Inspired by Dr. Montessori’s consummate respect for children, she pursued the Montessori ECE program at Saint Mary’s College. An introduction to Ms. Leck led to an internship in the Ginkgo classroom for the 2016-2017 school year. When not at GLM, Celeste is working on her Montessori ECE credential and spending time with her family (husband Brian, 8 year old TJ, 6 year old Parker and an old brown Lab named Wags).