Teachers

He/Him

I found my passion for freedom

early education as a parent volunteer in my own daughter’s preschool in 2013. What started as a cooperative service position has become a career change into early education and a desire to help create learning environments where children are respected as equal members of their communities. While I have a bachelor's degree in political science and a previous career in business management, I have found that it is with young creative minds that I learn the most and feel the most comfortable. I have focused the last four years of my professional life to developing conflict resolution and communication skills as they relate to younger children. It is my desire to continue and hone those skills further at Elements. It is my goal to support each child at Elements in developing a pathway to a confident, curious, well-rounded love of learning.

She/Her

From the moment that I first came to Elements, I fell in love with their philosophies of authenticity and being our whole person. My background in music has taken me from studying music theory at Western Michigan into life in Detroit & then on to New York to explore life learning. Traveling in the Middle East to connect with family before returning to Michigan, I experienced a variety of ecosystems in nature and among people! Primarily a gardener for the last thirteen years, and caring for friends' children at home has been part of my winter livelihood. I am gratefully surprised at how much I enjoy working with larger groups, and am learning so much every day about creating playful education. I have been working and caring for children at Elements for the past 2 years. With a passion for music and plants to inspire us, I intend to create a healthy environment for imaginative play & believe wholeheartedly that the world we are creating together is to be founded in the wisdom of the youngest among us. Blessed to be growing with all of you.

He/Him

I am a 27-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan who went to Michigan State University. I studied business and social work, and my overall goal is to become a Child Life Specialist. Ever since I was about 15, I knew that I wanted to work with kids. I was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and the thing that helped me to cope the most was the fellow patients who were younger than me. I have worked as a volunteer at Mott Children’s Hospital where I helped patients and their families. I have also worked as a program leader at a camp called NorthStar Reach, which is a camp for kids with life-threatening illnesses. I worked there for three years, and I helped with everything from designing new programs, helping kids come out of their shell, and providing a normal camp experience for kids with abnormal life circumstances. I’ve always viewed myself as a kid at heart, and even though it is only my second year at Elements, I already feel at home.