Executive Director

Susana joined the Step One team in 2013. She holds a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley and an Ed.M. from Harvard University. She has worked as a Play Therapist for children in the Head Start program, at Habitot Children’s Museum developing parent education programs, as well as, Life is Good Playmakers supporting preschool teachers in implementing therapeutic play into their classrooms.

Program Director

Angie has worked at Step One full-time since 1999 first as a teacher and then assuming an administrative role in 2024. “Step One is a very special place to me. It’s a supportive, talented, diverse group of people who ooze with commitment to teaching young children. I knew this was the place where I wanted to stay for a long time.”

Teacher

Aaron began teaching at Step One in 2000 and has been an early childhood educator since 1996. Aaron enjoys playing music for and with the children.

Teacher

Alyssa has been a teacher at Step One on and off starting in 1998. Alyssa’s two children are also Step One alums. In her time away from Step One, Alyssa was a second grade teacher and also studied storytelling at The Moth.

Teacher

Amalie began teaching at age 18 at the same preschool she attended as a child. Her tenure at Step One started in 1991 as a substitute teacher and she has been teaching in Room 2 for nearly 30 years. She is a talented artist and brings her enthusiasm for drawing to the classroom.

Teacher

Anthony began working in Early Childhood Education in 1991 and worked at several large and small child development programs before joining Step One in 2005.  He dedicates many extra hours to enriching the outside environment at Step One and is also passionate about our work in anti-bias education.

Teacher

Christina studied Early Childhood Education at Solano Community College and has 15 years of experience working with young children. She brings a wonderfully positive and compassionate spirit to her teaching.

Administrative Assistant

Daniel has worked in the front office since 2001 and has a successful private practice as an acupuncturist.

Teacher

Emily received her Masters in Early Childhood Education at the University of Texas at Austin. A Bay Area native, Emily is a deep lover of sports, music and animals.

Teacher

Ika has been a teacher at Step One since 1991. She has over 40 years’ of teaching experience, both in her native Brazil and in the U.S. She has a teaching credential from Brazil, and two additional years of study in Education and Child Development at the Federal University in Brazil. She also teaches Portuguese and Brazilian dance.

Teacher

Isa’s preschool career began in 2008 working at places such as the New School in Berkeley as well as the Early Childhood Mental Health Program in Richmond. As a teacher in the therapeutic preschool, Isa supported children’s emotional development and helped them build relational capacity to prepare them to succeed in mainstream classrooms. She also supported parents with home visits and parent education and facilitated Spanish speaking parent support groups.

Teacher

Over the past 17 years, Jaq has worked within many different sectors of childhood/youth education, such as a fine arts teacher, curriculum developer, lead preschool teacher, after-school program lead, family assistant, camp counselor, gender inclusivity consultant and nanny. They hold an MFA in dance, BFA in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in dance within early childhood development, and an AAS in human services. A life-long student, Jaq is currently working toward their M.Ed. in advanced teaching, while deepening their knowledge of anti-racist, anti-bias education.

Teacher

Kevin has taught at Step One since 1988. He brings an infectious love of sports and story telling to the children. Kevin received his BA in English from UC Berkeley and lives with his wife and two children in Berkeley.

Teacher

Laura started working at Step One in 2012 and loves its encouraging and diverse community. Laura received her B.S. in Microbiology from New York University and a B.A. in Human Development with a specialty in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College. Outside of the classroom she enjoys backpacking, dancing, tennis, reading, writing, playing music and Boston sports.

Financial Controller

Lolla joined Step One in 2009 as Financial Controller, bringing more than 10 years of accounting and finance experience to the school. In her “prior life” she was a Controller for software companies in Palo Alto and Oakland. Her first language is Russian.

Teacher

This is Mari's 16th year teaching in the classroom. "Exploring alongside children can become many things, and I am always interested in where their ideas will lead. I love collaborating with children to build on their curiosities while forming a strong sense of self and community."

Office and Operations Manager

Marisa joined the office team in 2011 and loves being a part of the everyday magic that happens at Step One School.

Teacher

Myriah studied early childhood at the City College of SF and Contra Costa College. “I believe in nurturing a child's innate sense of curiosity and exploration. With each experience or connection comes a better understanding of one’s self, others and their environment. I love practicing mindfulness and doing random acts of kindness and I invite children to explore their own mindfulness and kindness. Children have so much to offer us and I love to find the magic in each and every day. “

Resident Substitute

Noah has been working in education since 2010. He grew up in Berkeley and has taught children at the Lawrence Hall of Science, as a Trackers Bay Camp counselor and most recently at the Alameda Young Naturalist Club. Noah is a skilled ceramicist, naturalist and storyteller.

Teacher

Patty began working with children in 2011 when she was inspired to go back to school and study Child Development.  She has been working as a preschool teacher for several years at various schools in the Bay Area.  In her free time she teaches Spanish. She also loves to cook, dance and travel.

Teacher

Raquel has been working in the field of Early Childhood Education since 1999. She enrolled her son at Step One in 2008 then later joined Step One’s faculty in 2012. Alongside her study of Early Childhood Education at Contra Costa College, she is very interested in diversity and inclusion issues, and she incorporates Spanish into her teaching role.

Teacher

Robyn’s career in Early Childhood Education began in 1999. After 8 years of teaching, mentoring, and directing in San Francisco, she took a break from her career to raise her family of 3 boys (2 of whom attended Step One). Robyn returned to Step One in 2015 and loves connecting with children in deep and meaningful ways through art and literature.

Teacher

Steve has been teaching at Step One School since 1999 after working in several preschools and with the East Bay Conservation Corps. A Piedmont native, Steve earned his BS degree in Science, Health and Living Systems from JFK University.

Administrative Assistant

Tina has worked at Step One since 1983. Her children each attended Step One in the 1980s. Her daughter, Alexis, was also a long time teacher of the Two Year Old Program.