2023-2024 is Michelle’s 21st year at EPMS. Prior to moving to California, she served as Assistant Principal of Alief Montessori Charter School in Houston, Texas, and taught in the public Montessori program in Waco, Texas. All of Michelle’s teaching and administrative experience has been dedicated to working in public Montessori school environments. She also served as a field consultant for the Houston Montessori Center, observing and evaluating intern teachers at various Montessori schools. Michelle formerly served as chair of the Public Policy Committee for the American Montessori Society and served on their Board of Directors for two years. She has previously been a part-time instructor in the St. Mary’s College Montessori program. Michelle works as a guest instructor/advisor with the Charter School Development Center.
Michelle earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Baylor University. She returned to Baylor to earn a Post-Baccalaureate Elementary Education certification and began her teaching career in the Waco, Texas public school system at J.H. Hines Montessori Magnet for Visual and Performing Arts. She reconnected with her childhood Montessori roots while training at the Houston Montessori Center, where she received her Montessori Teaching Credential. Michelle earned a Master’s in Educational Administration in 2002 from Baylor University and holds both Texas and California Administrative Credentials Executive Director. This will be her twenty-sixth year as a Montessori educator.
Michelle loves to travel, write poetry, read, go to the movies and spend time with her niece Sophie and nephew Evan when possible.

Leslie Brown-Van Sickle is a long time parent at EPMS, starting in 2003 and ending in 2016. Her oldest son Chase, an alum of Eagle Peak Montessori and Clayton Valley High School, lost his battle with cancer in 2016. Her daughter Lulu (Annaliese) is preparing for her junior year at Sonoma State. Her son Clayton is preparing for his Senior year at Clayton Valley High School. Leslie worked in the corporate world for many years. In 2016, she had the opportunity to retire and she gladly accepted. When she realized that retirement is not all TV and bonbons, Leslie happily accepted the position to work in the EPMS office. Leslie and her husband Mo live in Concord. Along with her kids, Leslie is happy to be mama to 2 cats and 3 dogs. In her spare time, she fosters Boxer puppies.

Erin and her husband live locally down the street from Eagle Peak. She has two children. Her daughter graduated from UCSD and is pursuing graphic design and her son is attending UCLA. Erin previously worked as a licensed CPA and worked in the public accounting field. She holds her BS in business from San Diego State and her MBA from Golden Gate University.

Ariana has been a part of Eagle Peak Montessori since 2023. She has a 5 year old son who is currently in Kindergarten. Ariana lives in Pittsburg with her son Anthony. She loves concerts, going to the movies, and being around friends and family. 

Amy completed her Montessori elementary training at St. Mary’s College of California, her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential through California State University, and her Master of Education with an emphasis on Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Pedagogy in Montessori Environments at St. Catherine University. She has been a part of the Eagle Peak community since 2012, when her children started attending. Previously, she led the Garden Program at Eagle Peak, studied permaculture and sustainable community design, worked in veterinary medicine, and holds an undergraduate degree in French Literature from University of California, San Diego. 

Jennifer has been a part of the Eagle Peak community since 2002 as a board member. She remained on the board and served as secretary until 2012. Jennifer was born and raised in Oakland and attended Bishop O’Dowd high school. She earned her AA degree from DVC and transferred to Chico State where she earned her BA in Child Development with a minor in Psychology. It was a year into her first teaching job that she was approached to take her 3-6 Montessori training at the San Francisco/Bay Area Teacher Training Center. She completed her training in 1995 and soon after, moved to New Orleans with her husband, Spencer. She taught there for almost 3 years, then moved back to California and taught at Alice’s Montessori. After starting a family and staying at home for a few years, she started working at Myrtle Farm Montessori in 2007, where both of her children attended. She loves the Montessori Philosophy and loves EPMS. Her daughters Hannah and Emma are both alumni of Eagle Peak. Hannah will be in her junior year at Chico State and Emma will be a junior at Northgate High School. Jennifer enjoys being part of the staff and the Eagle Peak community.

When not teaching, Jennifer loves to cheer on her daughter’s sports teams, travel & photography

Jennifer is in the 17th year of her teaching career with Eagle Peak. She holds a master’s in education from St. Mary’s College. Jennifer also holds her California State Teaching Credential and Montessori 6-12 teaching credential.
Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Jennifer’s family moved to the United States when she was 12 years old. Even as a child, Jennifer dreamed of becoming a school teacher. Jennifer is the mother of two sons, Elliot and Evan who both attend Eagle Peak.

Maria has been a long time parent at Eagle Peak Montessori and began working as on staff in 2018. She is a mother of three children. Her oldest is a graduate of Eagle Peak and her youngest is in the Lower Elementary Program.
Maria has been an educator for 16 years, including 11 years in a Montessori classroom. She has taught children of many ages including pre-school and lower elementary.
She loves spending time at the park with my kids and visiting the local libraries. Working with children is her passion and she looks forward to teaching your children.

Meg came to Eagle Peak in 2021 after having been an elementary school librarian, museum curator and oral historian. Meg will complete her Montessori elementary training in December 2023 from Gulf Coast Montessori. She has been a part of the Eagle Peak community since 2019, when her younger son started 1st grade.

She holds a BA in Anthropology and Art History and a MA in Museum Anthropology. She grew up in Texas but now calls Walnut Creek home, where she lives with her husband and two sons, one dog, three cats and five chickens. When she is not at school she enjoys exploring California’s natural beauty. 

Sibyl was a founding teacher of Eagle Peak and as such this will be her 20th year with the school. She brings with her over 25 years of professional Montessori experience at both the early childhood and lower elementary levels. Sibyl was first introduced to Montessori as a child while attending a Montessori preschool in Germany. Although it was for a brief time, she still has fond memories.
Sibyl has taken Montessori training for teachers of children from birth through age nine, earning a master’s degree in education from St. Mary’s College. She has taught Montessori teachers and supervised interns at St. Mary’s College, the Montessori Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Montessori Teacher Education Center, work that has taken her to Canada, Europe, and Asia. While Sibyl attended college, her mother opened a Montessori school. Soon after graduation, she joined her mother and together they opened three schools. Sibyl was the founder of the Das Montessori Kinderhaus Elementary School, where she taught until joining the faculty of Eagle Peak. She enjoys travel and gardening.

This is Adrienne’s second year at Eagle Peak Montessori School. Adrienne’s love of learning began in a Montessori preschool and grew throughout her years in a Montessori elementary school. Adrienne values very highly the gifts her teachers gave her and finds joy in sharing those gifts with her students here at Eagle Peak. She earned her BA and completed the Teacher Credential Program at California State University. Adrienne spends her summers working for the National Park Service as a Park Ranger. Adrienne has always found joy in teaching.

Jamie started her teaching career in the 2021-2022 school year at Eagle Peak Montessori. She grew up in Walnut Creek and returned here to raise her family. She and her husband Kevin have 3 daughters aged 9, 12, and 14 and are all about sports and the outdoors. She and her husband are both coaches and their daughters play soccer, softball, basketball, and dance. When they are not out on the field, they love hiking, fishing, and going to the beach. She is looking forward to another amazing year at Eagle Peak!

This will be Molly’s third year on the teaching staff at Eagle Peak. She was introduced to Montessori as a senior in high school, volunteering at our local Montessori Children’s House. Later, she began working as an assistant teacher in their elementary school. While earning my California Teaching Credential, my research project led me further down the Montessori education. After earning my credential, she began teaching in traditional schools and saw how that system was not serving all children.

Molly earned my Bachelors in Child Development and California teaching credential from California State University San Marcos.

Molly was born and raised in San Diego. She and her husband  are going on 20 years of marriage. They have 2 daughters together, Riley and Abigail who both attend EPMS. They moved to the Bay Area in 2015, where they fell in love with the community and found Eagle Peak. They love softball, bike riding, camping, and going to the beach. She and her husband traveled around the country on a baseball road trip in 2007, going to 20 stadiums and Cooperstown, New York for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.

Amy joined the Eagle Peak community in the spring of 2025, bringing more than a decade of Montessori teaching experience at both public and private Montessori schools. Prior to receiving her AMI diploma from Montessori Northwest in Portland, Oregon in 2013, Amy taught outdoor education in the Santa Cruz Mountains where she was reminded that children learn best by doing. Whether classifying botanical specimens, gently capturing newts, calculating

areas and volumes to build garden boxes, or navigating complex dynamics with classmates, her work there was a natural segue into the Montessori training and then classroom as a full time guide. Amy holds a BA from Macalester College, a Masters of Education from Loyola University of Maryland and a California Multiple Subject credential.

Bio coming soon.

Shakira is originally from Inglewood, California. She moved to San Jose in 2003 to attend San Jose State University and majored in Child and Adolescent Development. During her last year at SJSU, she fell in love with the Montessori method due to her employment at Milpitas Montessori School. Shakira stayed at MMS for 5 years, enrolling in the Elementary Montessori graduate program at Saint Mary’s College of California during her last year there. Shakira held several positions at MMS, including Elementary teacher and Interim Director. She moved on and spent a year at Pacifica Montessori School in Culver City, California in a K-6th grade classroom. She is happy to be working with the students, staff and parents at Eagle Peak. In Shakira’s spare time she likes to cook and do yoga. She travels as often as she can, especially back home to Los Angeles where her family is. You can often find her laughing and google-ing everything.

Annie’s connection with Eagle Peak began over 19 years ago when her oldest son, Miguel, enrolled as a first grader, followed by Diego and then Gabriela. We were fortunate to welcome her to our staff in 2013.
Annie’s passion for education and unique learning environments is definitely informed by her experience with her own children. She spent eight years as a co-oping parent at Creative Play Center and while there recreated and maintained their outdoor animal learning environments and curriculum. In the early days of Eagle Peak, Annie was the volunteer Field Trip Coordinator and then Co-Chair of PTLG for two years and most recently, the EPMS Communications Liaison. She has a strong belief in community building and will continue to strive for genuine connections between the student, teacher-staff, and parent bodies.
Simultaneously while raising her family, Annie has worked as a veterinary hospital administrator, a doula and with her husband, is the owner/operator of Pegasus Bicycle Works. She brings to her teaching, a plethora of real-world experience. Annie currently holds a Montessori Secondary Certification from the CMStep(Cincinnati Montessori Secondary Teachers Education Program), as well as her California Teaching Credential.

Sascha joined the Adolescent Program in 2019 after spending 27 years in the Outdoor Education field. In his varied roles as backpack and sea kayak expedition instructor, wilderness medicine instructor, outdoor program manager and new instructor preceptor, he has taught students ranging in age from 14-75 the outdoor, risk management, interpersonal and leadership skills needed to travel and lead others safely in the outdoors. Most recently, Sascha spent 14 years at the Sierra Club as the Outdoor Activities Training Manager, designing curriculum for volunteer outings leaders and program managers to deliver around the country on topics ranging from creating and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive space, team building, conflict resolution, trip planning, group management and more. Sascha earned his BA in Anthropology with minors in Third World Studies and African Literature, is a current Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (W-EMT) and is currently working on his California Teaching Credential via Cal State TEACH. In his spare time, Sascha enjoys hiking, biking and backpacking outdoors with his family, cooking new and interesting meals, building and repairing things, and exploring what can be learned next.

Noah began working with Eagle Peak during the 2024-2025 school year as the Algebra and 3D Modeling teacher for the Adolescent Program, and he looks forward to teaching 8th grade math as well in the coming year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from UC Riverside, and found his love for teaching through working as a substitute teacher. After five years of substituting, Noah is proud to have found a home with Eagle Peak. Learning from the Montessori teaching philosophy and the incredible community at Eagle Peak has inspired him to pursue a single subject teaching credential in mathematics. Noah lives with his wife and two cats and enjoys writing, reading, and watching movies.

Annaliese Van Sickle is ecstatic to begin her first year at Eagle Peak Montessori School. While it will be her first year teaching, she is no stranger to the EPMS community, having started her time in 2006 as a student. She loved the Montessori principles so much that she promised she’d return after graduating from fifth grade. For many summers, Annaliese came back and helped organize the office, build furniture for classrooms, and found great joy in immersing herself in a place she missed so dearly. 

Believing in the power of lifelong learning, Annaliese pursued a B.A. in Early Childhood Studies (Education) and a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Dance (Acting) from Sonoma State University, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from the University of San Francisco. Looking toward the future, Annaliese is thrilled to return to the community that brought her so much and is excited to learn from and connect with her students. 

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel – Maya Angelou

Ava Huovinen is our Physical Activity Coordinator and teaches the Physical Education Program for lower and upper elementary.  Ms. Ava has been our Physical Educator since 2001 and celebrates her 20 year anniversary teaching at EPMS.

Ms. Ava was born in San Francisco; graduated from Mt. Diablo High School, Diablo Valley College, and attended UC Davis.  Ms. Ava is also a US Army Veteran, and graduated as a Surgical Nurse Technology from the Academy of Health Science at Fort Sam Houston.

Ms. Ava brings her dedication, knowledge, and resourcefulness to the playing fields of Eagle Peak Montessori School! She maintains a soild commitment to the physical, mental and social growth and development of every child.

She enjoys walking her dog, Tyr, reading, outdoor-camping and training for a  black belt in Tae Kwon Do.  Ms. Ava and her husband, John, are also part of our parent alumni. Their children Johnny, and Annelise completed their elementary school years at EPMS.  Johnny attended Arizona State University and currently serves in the US Army, and Annelise graduated from UC Berkeley last year.

Jonathan is a recent graduate of Diablo Valley College with an AA in Studio Art. He previous was the Youth Instructor at OMA in Pleasanton.
We are excited to welcome Jonathan to Eagle Peak Montessori.

Jenny has five years of classroom teaching experience and has worked for three years supporting students through small-group intervention. A Bay Area native, she returned after earning a bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Cal State, San Marcos. In addition to teaching, Jenny gives back to the community by volunteering in local schools, serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster with Scouting America, and sitting on the board of the service-based organization, Orinda Juniors. She lives in a neighboring community with her husband, three children, and their Chihuahua-Terrier mix. When she’s not teaching, volunteering, or cheering from the sidelines at her kids’ sports events, Jenny enjoys running, camping, and reading.

“Within the child lies the fate of the future.” – Maria Montessori

Music has always been an essential part of Diana’s life. She began studying piano at age 7, and throughout her young adulthood she avidly practiced classical repertoire and informally composed. At the same time, she grew up surrounded with traditional folk music from all over the world (especially Balkan music), because of her family’s connection to a vibrant music community and our yearly music camps. In 2006 she discovered the accordion, and hasn’t put it down since. Diana is an Orff trained music teacher and is a student of multicultural dance and folk music as well and is a classically trained pianist. Diana also performs around the Bay Area playing the accordion.

Jason has spent his professional life involved with education and technology. He began as a classroom assistant and instructor at Diablo Valley Montessori School in Lafayette and Brighton Elementary in Pacheco while attending college, before settling into a career as an IT operations technician and systems administrator. He returned to campus with the Contra Costa County Office of Education before finding his way to us.

Jason joined Eagle Peak in 2011 as site technician and Childcare Director, and has two nephews who graduated from EPMS.

Kimberly has been part of the EPMS community for the past 11 years. The first eight as a parent and the last three as an employee. This year Kimberly will be working with students on extra reading support.

Kimberly was introduced to Montessori through her son’s preschool. She also enrolled in Montessori training for Early Childhood. She is currently pursuing her degree in Early Childhood Education.

Kimberly and her husband Nandi have one son, Dante. She also has 4 beautiful cats names Ashton Von Bigglesworth, D’artagnan, Onyx, and Sable. She loves to camp, cook, read, and spend time with her family. They look forward to spending time hitting the road in their new RV.

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch

An East Bay Area native,Valerie, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 13 years of experience working with kids and families. This is her second year at the school, and she is passionate about supporting students’ emotional well-being and helping them thrive both in and out of the classroom.

Kimberly was introduced to Montessori through her son’s preschool. She also enrolled in Montessori training for Early Childhood. She is currently pursuing her degree in Early Childhood Education.

Kimberly and her husband Nandi have one son, Dante. She also has 4 beautiful cats names Ashton Von Bigglesworth, D’artagnan, Onyx, and Sable. She loves to camp, cook, read, and spend time with her family. They look forward to spending time hitting the road in their new RV.

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch