Our Staff

Sharon has been with VVELC since 2018. Educated and trained as a dental assistant, she found her passion for early learning when volunteering in her granddaughter’s pre-K classroom. She made a career change, and has been teaching in early  childhood settings ever since then.

Sandee has been with VVELC since 2005. She has a BS from Eastern Montana College with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Biology.

Dot joined VVELC in 2019. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Washington. She has a passion for working with children from birth - age 5 and has been an educational assistant in early childhood settings for over 5 years.

Clerk/Health

Assistant

Amy joined VVELC in 2019. She has transitioned from a medical office to the school setting.

Kristy has been with VVELC since 2016. She has a BA in Humanities and a Masters in Arts and Teaching from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Spanish
Immersion
Educational
Assistant

Abby has been an Educational Assistant in CFSD for several years. Prior to joining the VVELC staff, she worked with Elementary students.

McKenzie has been with VVELC since 2014. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Western Washington University.

Inclusion/
Special
Education
Teacher

Laura joined VVELC in 2018. She has a Masters in Early Childhood Education from St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA and is certified in Early Childhood Special Education. She brings 20 years of experience in Early Childhood programs and has a passion for Project Work with young children.

Jen started her CFSD career in 2005 as a teacher at Valley View.  She has a Masters in Early Childhood Education as well as a Masters in Educational Leadership with a principal certification.

Spanish
Immersion
Teacher

Educational
Assistant

Anne joined VVELC in 2019 after 9 years of subbing. She has a K-12 Multi-subject Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Colorado.

Inclusion/
Special
Education
Teacher

Nancy has been with VVELC since 2004. She has a Masters in Special Education Severe,  Profound and Multiple Disabilities from the University of Arizona.

Melissa joined VVELC in 2019. She has a BA in Elementary Education and endorsement in Early Childhood Education from Northern Arizona University.

Karynina Johnson

Educational
Assistant

Karynina joined VVELC in 2019. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Arizona State University. She has worked with children and families in the educational setting for over eleven years in Head Start and local preschool programs.

Educational
Assistant

Kelli is joining VVELC in 2019 after enjoying many years volunteering in classrooms with children of varying ages. She has a BA from Scripps College with a major in Psychology and minor in Studio Art.

Dana returned to VVELC in 2018 upon completing her BA in Early Childhood Education. She taught several years at VVELC as an Inclusion Educational Assistant. She is working on a Masters in Early Childhood Special Education.

Samantha Mainman

Sam joined VVELC in 2019. For five years, she has been working with early childhood children from various backgrounds. She has a BS in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona, aswell as a Masters in Early Childhood Education from the College of Charleston.

Lu joined VVELC in 2016. She has a BS in Physical Education and Health Education from the University of Wisconsin at La Cross.

Savannah joined VVELC in 2018. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education from The University of Arizona.

Latisha has been with VVELC since 2016 and is a SETTA grant recipient for Post BA studies in Special Education in Early Childhood. She has a BA in Social Behavioral Science with minors in General Business and Spanish from the University of Arizona.

Maria-Kathrine has been with VVELC since 2016. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education.

Leah has been with VVELC since 2015. She has a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Arizona. She holds an Elementary Education certification with an Early Childhood Endorsement.

Beth has been with VVELC since 1999. She has a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Marywood University in Scranton, PA and a MS in Speech-Language Pathology from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Zhiwei has been with CFSD since 2015 and joined VVELC in 2018. She has BA in English Education from Qufu Normal University, China. She has an Arizona Standard Professional Elementary, K-8 teaching certificate and an Early Childhood Endorsement. She has been teaching Chinese Immersion classes since 2011.

Karen has worked at VVELC since 2000. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 1977 with a degree in Physical Therapy. She received her Masters Degree in Motor Control in 1993 from the University of Arizona. She was a fellow in the Arizona Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities through the University of Arizona Medical School.

Aiko joined VVELC in 2017, and she is currently working on her BS in Early Childhood Education from Grand Canyon University.

Jean has been with VVELC since 2011. She has a BA from the University of Arizona in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood Education Endorsement.

Ming-Hui
Tseng

Chinese
Immersion
Educational
Assistant

Ming-Hui has been with VVELC since 2019, initially working as a substitute teacher for CFSD. She has a BA in Fashion Management from University of Art London, U.K. and a BA in Fashion Design from Shin Chien University, Taiwan. 

Inclusion
Educational
Assistant

Camille started in CFSD in 2004, and joined VVELC in 2005. She looks forward to completing her BA in Early Childhood Education once her children are a little older.

Miaomiao joined VVELC in 2017. She has a BS in Physical Education from Xuzhou Normal
University and a MA in Sports Science from Beijing Sports University.

Konnie Yazzie

Educational
Assistant

Konnie joined VVELC in 2019. She has been working with children in early childhood classrooms for over 3 years and is currently pursuing a BA in Early Childhood education at Western New Mexico University.