Teachers
Director – Chelsey Loper
Chelsey has been in the early childhood field for over 10 years. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from Spring Arbor University in Family Life Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood. She has taught inclusion preschool in diverse settings and has started preschool programs. She graduated with her Master’s Degree in Education, Instruction, and Curriculum (Early Childhood Education Emphasis) from Grand Valley State University. She is married and has two daughters.
Lead Teacher, Infants Room – Kristin McLain
Kristin has been in the early childhood field for over 6 years. Kristin will have her CDA in 2021, and excited for this new chapter. She has been working in our infant classroom for many years, and loves watching them reach their milestones. She has been married for 9 years and has 2 fun loving boys. In her spare time, she enjoys nature walks and spending time with her family.
Lead Teacher, Toddler 1 – Amanda Santiago
Amanda has been working with children of all ages for over 10 years. She is excited to further her education and will be completing her CDA in 2021. She has 3 daughters named Emma, Lillian, and Harper. In her free time, she enjoys being outside walking the trails, laying in their hammocks, or going to the beach. She is excited to see her tiny humans grow.
Lead Teacher, Toddler 2 – Alisha Rodriguez
Alisha has been married for 8 years to her husband. They have 5 children together, ages 14, 11, 7, 5, and 3. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where she received both her bachelor’s degree in elementary education 1-6 grade and special education PK-12 in cognitive impairment, and a master’s degree in Special Education. In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her family, doing activities outdoors, reading, writing her own book, and anything crafty. Her unique teaching style is to teach each child at their level and with activities that are engaging and fun. If playing can be made educational, then all the better. She also likes to switch up the way she teaches concepts using a variety of teaching methods.
Lead Teacher, Toddler 3 – Laura Miller
Laura has been in the early childhood field for over 16 years. She obtained her CDA and loves learning new teaching styles. She has a son who is 7 years old. In her spare time, she loves working on vehicles, fishing, and spending time with her family and friends.
Lead Teacher, Early Preschool – Nina Brinkley
Nina has been in the early childhood field for over 5 years. She loves building relationships and she treats them as if they were her own. Her favorite thing to do with her students is to get messy with sensory activities. Nina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a CDA, and is currently working on her Masters’s in Social Work at MSU. In her free time, she likes to relax with her cats, dog, and family.
Lead Teacher, Preschool – Joy Riekena
Joy lives in the Kenowa Hills area with her husband and 3 children. Her favorite things to do are playing board games with her family and reading. She grew up in Iowa and attended parochial school all the way through high school. Joy went on to Hawkeye Community College where she received an A.S. in Early Childhood Education in 2008. After graduating she started working at a local center as a lead teacher. She spent 8 years there before moving to Michigan due to her husband’s job. In 2016 Joy started a job teaching in the Great Start Readiness Program at a local community-based organization where she taught until 2020. Joy received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 2019. She truly loves helping and seeing children grow and looking forward to helping children grow their faith in God.
Lead Teacher, Pre-K – Geraldine Brusseau
Geraldine has been teaching children since 2015. She has her Child Development Associates and is working on her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. Geradline is also the mother of two. She enjoys teaching 4-5 year olds and believes that learning should be fun and it’s her goal to make that happen!
Lead Teacher, School Age – Brittany Kulikamp
Brittany will graduate with her Elementary Education bachelor’s degree from Baker College in Winter 2021. She has been in the early childhood field for over 5 years. She enjoys creating new lesson plans and ideas for her students. In her spare time, she loves to be outside. Brittany is excited to build positive relationships with her students and watch them grow.