Ashley Vanderford

Ms. Vanderford was born and raised in the Bay Area, predominantly spending her childhood in San Lorenzo. After University she decided that she wanted to work with children and came to be an Assistant Teacher in the Brown Cottage. She fell in love with the Montessori principles and wanted to learn more. She then had an opportunity to travel and live in London for an extended time, so said goodbye to her beloved Camellia class. As luck would have it, her new job in London offered Ashley a chance to study at the Maria Montessori Training Institute (A.M.I.) and become a Montessori teacher, specialising in working with children ages 0-3 years. After 5 lovely years in the UK she has returned back to the Bay Area and her Brown Cottage team. She strives to encourage independence and a love of learning in the children that come through her classroom. During her free time she enjoys singing with friends, swing dancing and attending aerial circus classes.

Ms. Mollel (she/her)

Ms. Mollel was born and raised in Arusha Tanzania, East Africa, as were both of her parents. After finishing college she worked at the the NGO-Tanzanian Norwegian Aids Project in Arusha and the Kilimanjaro region as an account assistant for five years. She traveled to the United States and Oakland, California where she worked as a nanny for several years before joining GLM. She has worked as a support teacher in one of our toddler classrooms for more than 10 years. Her philosophy in her work with both children and adults is for all to be acknowledged, respected and treated with love. Her passions includes cleaning, organizing, music and spending time with family and friends.

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).

Ms. Bright (she/her)

Ms. Bright was born and raised in Oakland. She loves her hometown and appreciates all of the diversity of people living within it. She has a twin brother and was raised in a diverse family with a host of cousins, aunties and uncles. Her interest in working with children began when she was in high school and was involved in a program called the Future Teachers Academy, as well as through time spent taking care of her younger cousins, nieces and nephews. She began working at Grand Lake Montessori in 2001. During her time at GLM she has earned her AMI Montessori Primary teaching credential. She strongly believes that children should have fun while learning. Her goal is to help them develop a love of learning, so that they continue to pursue their passions and interests throughout life. Her own passions include music, dance and a new-found love for theatrical arts.

Ms. Somsy (she/her)

Ms. Phonexaysitthidet (PON-SE-SIT-TI-DAY) was born in Laungprabang, Laos and came to the United States in 1980. She graduated from high school in 1984 at Fremont High. In 1985 she began working at a public elementary school as a Laotian bilingual support teacher and stayed until 2003. While in the service of public education, she went back to college for five years to study liberal arts. In mid 2003 she was introduced to Montessori and impressed with the philosophy, she decided to take the Montessori training at the Montessori Teacher Education Center in San Leandro. She then worked at Rising Starr Montessori school for seven years years, before joining GLM in 2011. She has been living in Oakland for three decades and married for thirty three years to a wonderful husband who served in the social services in Oakland. It is an honor for her to support and teach within the GLM community. In her spare time she enjoys working out at the gym and cooking healthy food from scratch.