Alison has been an educator in one form or another for her entire professional life. As a teacher at The Little School, Alison enjoys fostering a classroom environment in which motion, play, laughter and purposeful activities enliven the imagination of her students. It is her goal to utilize the experience she has gained from being a classroom teacher, an assistant head of school and a parent educator to create a welcoming, joyful learning environment for her students and families. Alison’s interests lay in how both adults and children learn to incorporate and act upon new information, work with one another and see themselves as agents for good in the world around them. Alison’s favorite thing to do in her spare time is lay around with her children and friends in the beautiful garden her husband, Crai, created in their backyard.

For as long as she can remember, Becky has benefited from amazing teachers. They instilled in her a love of school and a strong belief in the importance of the relationship between student and teacher and, by extension, family and school. Becky taught first grade before pausing her professional career to raise her children. When returning to the workforce, it was a natural fit for her to work in Development and help support and share the amazing experiences happening in classrooms. In her personal time, Becky enjoys traveling, reading, listening to music and spending time with her family.

Having always worked with children, Colleen holds a degree in dance education and was the director of a school of ballet in South Africa before emigrating to the United States with her husband and four children. Coming from an education system that was structured and rigid, Colleen values the contrasting progressive education program at The Little School and appreciates the school's experiential approach that promotes both curiosity and critical thinking. She appreciates that The Little School environment fosters lifelong learners capable of becoming active and inclusive participants in their communities. She has taught ballet in and around Seattle, including at the Preparatory Division of Cornish College of the Arts, for 20 years.

Jackie has worked with young children for most of her career. She was trained and then taught at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA, where she gained her progressive approach to teaching. In the early 90s, she moved to Seattle where she and her husband had joyful teaching years at The Little School. Later, she founded Jackie's School, a home-based preschool which she ran and taught for 15 years. Jackie delights in developing caring bonds with her students, providing them with extensive opportunities for creative expression, and supporting engaging learning opportunities. Jackie and her husband, Richard, live in Seattle and have two adult daughters. In addition to cooking, art, traveling, cross-country skiing and Scrabble, she enjoys regular swims in Lake Washington. 

Jessie has spent her career helping youth build connections to the natural world in a variety of settings, from estuary education in Connecticut and Florida to forest and garden-based education for Seattle Public Schools on Bainbridge Island. Her time as an IslandWood graduate student provided opportunities to bridge place-based environmental learning with social-emotional growth and community stewardship. Having landed her dream job at The Little School, she is able to spend her days in the garden and forest, guiding young stewards as they fall in love with nature. What a dream! When not at TLS, Jessie loves to play guitar, get messy in the garden and meander along the Olympic coastline.

Julie has a range of experiences working with children - as a teacher, a reading specialist and a mental health counselor - all of which enhance her work as the counselor at The Little School. Julie is passionate about cultivating social and emotional skills, both in the classroom and on the climber. Outside of school, Julie enjoys running, backpacking, eating chocolate and playing with her dog.

Kary came to Washington from North Florida, where she worked as the academic director in an independent school for 13 years. Other professional roles include speech-language therapist, community program developer and family literacy coordinator in Florida, Ontario (Canada) and North Carolina. While completing her doctoral program, Kary was awarded a Fulbright grant to study at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She has served as a volunteer and educational consultant in the West Indies and Bangalore, India. Since making the Pacific Northwest her home, Kary has enjoyed exploring the Washington coast and the San Juan Islands with her family.

Keiko has always enjoyed playing soccer. This passion led her to work with a child development program that used soccer as the tool in both a lead and management position. She realized the best place to continue that development track was in the classroom. Keiko has a passion for working with young children and enjoys helping them to build confidence while also fostering their natural curiosity and creativity. Keiko has been doing child development work for the past seven years in a variety of settings. She is happy to have found her place here at TLS. She also enjoys baking, hiking, getting outdoors, and spending time with her expanding family and close friends.

Ken became the first Facilities Manager for the school back in 1993 after the live-on-site caretaker decided to move his mobile home off site. Ken enjoys the variety of work that the school’s amazing campus offers. He has an appreciation of The Little School’s progressive model of education, engaging with students on campus and working with some great colleagues. Away from work, Ken enjoys traveling, short jaunts to Vashon Island where he has family and barbecuing year round, and he is passionate about hitting the local golf courses whenever he can.

Mandy has spent time throughout her career working with young children in a variety of settings, including both public and independent schools. Before joining The Little School, her most recent position was as a preschool teacher at an art- and nature-based preschool in Brooklyn, NY. She also took part in a research study conducted by Bank Street College of Education looking into the impact of math enrichment in early childhood settings and served as an evaluator of public pre-kindergarten programs for the NYC Department of Education. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking, reading and spending time with her husband and two cats.

Since 1984, Michael has been working with information technology in direct support of K-12 education. A “jack-of-all-trades,” he has done everything from coding, system design, networking, web design, server management and training. But his favorite part of the job is providing direct tech support to teachers and staff. There is nothing more satisfying to him than supporting people trying to use the technology as a tool to do the important job of educating students. Because of the progressive education philosophy of The Little School and the wonderful spirit of the staff and students, this has been his dream job! Outside of work, Michael likes to play with his grandson, hike in the Cascades, row on the Snohomish River and build things, and he is desperately trying to learn the banjo.

Mike passionately facilitates social justice and equity learning at TLS, as well as with Eastside Race and Leadership Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing racism and xenophobia in East King County communities. He is also active in homeless and low-income outreach. When he’s not following these passions, you’ll likely find him at either Bellevue or Seattle Pacific Table Tennis clubs, both in Bellevue.

PJ has worked in multiple after school and extended day programs, including the Redmond/Sammamish branch of the Boys' and Girls' Club. He is honored to have the ability to positively impact kids and make a difference in their lives and our community. PJ likes to serve as his church and spend time with his friends.

Regan first came to The Little School as part of her teacher training through the Pacific Oaks Credentialing program. As a child she attended schools that focused on the development of the whole child, and she has always been associated with schools that teach using experiential and integrated strategies. Initially, she has worked as a teacher of preschool through fifth grade classrooms in gifted, parent cooperative and independent schools. More recently, her focus shifted to supporting teacher professional development. Having written her master’s thesis on how parents choose a school, she has assisted many families through the school search process. Away from TLS she enjoys gardening, kayaking and cooking with her family and friends.

Sophia has worked with young children in a variety of educational settings, and she believes strongly in fostering a sense of wonder and curiosity in children as they discover and construct meaning from their experiences and ideas. She sees herself as a co-learner and guide for children as they learn to become independent, responsible members of their community. Sophia feels at home in The Little School community. She loves sharing books and stories with children, as well as exploring various ways of expressing oneself through different forms of art. Outside of work Sophia loves finding new places to adventure with her tiny dog, watching hockey and taking time to create things.

During her time at TLS, Tammy has worked in a variety of areas and been a tremendous support to students, families, faculty, staff and visitors. Before joining The Little School, she worked in retail and corporate accounting. Tammy spent several years volunteering for Panther Pride Unicycle Team, Unicycling Society of America and Girl Scouts of America. One of the things she loves is to see the wonder in the students’ eyes over simple everyday things. Away from work, she enjoys spending time with family, photography and always looking for new adventures.