Meet Our Staff

Nicole Baptista was a Montessori child! She was born and raised in the Bay Area and attended Seaview Montessori, a public Montessori school in San Pablo. She is thrilled to continue with The Child Unique Montessori School community this year. She feels passionate about Montessori education and is currently enrolled in Montessori training and Early Childhood Education courses at Contra Costa College. Nicole hopes to inspire everyone at The Child Unique with her love of crafting and gardening.

Lindsay earned an Associates degree in Early Childhood Education from Merritt College. She has worked in the childcare field for 3 years and loves to read, dance and cook. Lindsay has traveled to many countries, including five wonderful trips to Vietnam. She dances with a vietnames dance company that performs traditional vietnamese, contemporary/modern, ballet and hip hop styles. Lindsay is looking forward to working with the children this year.

Marcela is from Santiago, Chile. She received a Bachelor’s degree in pre-school education from Blas Cañas University and completed a post-graduate program in education at the University of Chile. She has worked for more than 22 years in Santiago pre-schools with children, ages of 3 months to 5 years, and served as Director of the same school for 13 years. She recently moved to the United States and is still learning English. She is especially happy to continue working with children at The Child Unique as a volunteer, where she can become acquainted with the Montessori method.

Laurie has been painting and in involved with the arts since she was 10 years old. She earned a B.A. from the California College of the Arts in Fine Art Textiles in 2015. Laurie has lead communities in creating murals and volunteered teaching painting and drawing with the non-profit CoachArt and worked at the Children's Creativity Museum, creating an array of story-telling and art and craft activities for children and parents. Laurie is excited to share the joy, creativity, and passion for life that she received through Montessori principles in her own education.

Miesha Lampkins was born and raised in the Bay Area. She received Montessori training and has worked with Montessori children for more than 8 years as a lead teacher. She has always had an interest in event coordination and is excited to join The Child Unique and MESA as the event planner. Her warm and bubbly spirit is perfect for hosting and coordinating events. She seeks to complete a Bachelor’s degree program in Hospitality at California State University Eastbay.

Zoe has been an assistant teacher at The Child Unique, and is excited to return to The Child Unique, after time off to become a mom. She spent several years working as a dance instructor for children and working at a local gym daycare. Currently, she is completing a degree in Psychology, and enjoys increasing her knowledge of the mental, social and emotional development of children. Zoe loves working with children of all ages and enjoys watching them learn and discover the world. In her spare time, Zoe loves learning, reading, dancing, listening to music, spending time outdoors, working out and enjoying her new baby.

Johanny was born in Santo Domingo and has worked in a Montessori classroom in the Dominican Republic for 14 years. She received her Montessori teacher certification from the American Montessori Society in 2005. She has a degree in Clinical Psychology, specializing in children with learning disorders and also has a degree in Elementary Education. She is the mother of two beautiful children who inspire and encourage her to a better person. In her spare time, Johanny likes to read, watch documentaries about space and nature and spend time with her family.

Karen Mitchell has been seen around The Child Unique since 2008 as Cindy's Executive Assistant, and the website, enewsletter and public relations contact. Karen studied Voice Performance and Communication Studies at UCLA for her undergraduate degree and received her Teaching Credential from SFSU. She enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter and puppy. She can bee seen performing in the Bay Area, reading, painting, traveling and writing stories.

Emma was born and raised in Paris, France where she obtained a Master’s degree in marketing. She moved to the U.S. in 2007, where she earned an MBA from the University of Maryland and worked for several years for Rosetta Stone managing a team of over 100 language teachers. Following the birth of her first child, she decided to become a teacher at a multilingual Montessori school. She now has three daughters and is working towards her Montessori teacher certification. During her free time, Emma enjoys photography and writing.

Dawn Ocampo is Filipino-American and was born and raised in the Bay Area. She has been a Montessori teacher for 9 years and has enjoyed teaching in Primary classrooms at schools on both the East and West Coasts. She has a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and is a certified yoga instructor. Dawn loves her family, the outdoors, music, dancing, creativity, reading and learning.

Nina Peret grew up attending a Montessori school in the Philippines. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at Perpetual Help College of Manila. Since that time, she has loved the Montessori Philosophy. She came to the United States in 2011 to train at the Montessori Teachers Education Center in San Mateo. Nina holds two Montessori credentials, Infant/Toddler and Early Education. She is bilingual and is looking forward to teaching Tagalog this year.

Annette Serwanga has worked as an Early Childhood Education Consultant for several years.  She earned her M.A. in Education with an emphasis in Leadership & Policy at Mills College in 2016. Her thesis was on how to support children with complex social emotional needs. Annette is very passionate about social justice and policy as it pertains to children and the educators who serve them. She enjoys coaching girls soccer in Sacramento and the Bay Area at various soccer clubs and high schools. She believes in valuing each child through a "Strength based lens" and celebrating small wins in every child. Annette is happy to join The Child Unique community.

Jazmin has been working with children since she was 15 years old. She has worked as a tutor for an Oakland after school program and as an Arts & Crafts lead mentor. Coming from a large family, she enjoys being around a large community of children. She likes to create art, read and pursue healthy activities. She has a strong interest in history (like her mom) and likes attending sports events. Jazmin is fluent in Spanish and will continue teaching it this year.

Kwang, (Thitiyaporn) Sriprommasa graduated from Bangkok University in Thailand with a bachelor's degree in English. She recently completed her Early Childhood Credential at The Montessori Institute of Advanced Studies. Kwang enjoyed working at the Encinal and Pacific campus in past years and is looking forward to joining the Taylor campus this year.