Faculty & Staff

Teacher

Andrea has enjoyed being a part of the Allen Creek community since 2018. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Michigan. After many years working in the film business, her focus shifted to motherhood, learning about child development, and early childhood education. Andrea has had the privilege of learning with children for over 15 years.

Teacher

Cortney holds a Bachelor of Arts from Siena Heights University with a focus in English and Language Arts. She has a ZA Endorsement (specializing in Early Childhood Education ages 0-5 years old). Additionally, she holds a Michigan teaching certificate for Kindergarten-5th grade classrooms. She has been teaching preschool for 10 years. Cortney took a break from teaching full time in order to concentrate on family. Fast forward a few years and her daughter is 11, she’s been married 14 years, and she shares a home with a cat named Isabelle and a dog named Willow. She considers herself very fortunate to be teaching here at Allen Creek Preschool for the first time and is excited to get to know all of the families in our community.

Creative Arts Specialist

Artist, Mother, and Teacher. Dina combines these three important roles to bring a unique voice to the Allen Creek community. Born in Arizona and raised in the Midwest, Dina attended the Art Institute of Chicago where she was awarded full Honorary Scholarships. Through continuation of her own work as an artist, she remains fresh and flexible to change, believing this nurturing of her own skills is inherent to passing on the gift of learning.

Teacher

Early childhood education has been the joy and focus of Betsy’s adult life, from working in childcare centers, teaching in an Early Childhood Developmentally Delayed classroom and Infant/Toddler Intervention program, providing at-home child care, to raising her six children. Betsy graduated from Eastern Michigan University with degrees in Elementary Education, Special Education (Cognitively Impaired) with an Early Childhood (ZA) Endorsement. After teaching at Lincoln Consolidated Schools, she continued providing at-home child care while raising her children. She and her husband have called Ann Arbor home for 30 years, only recently moving to Chelsea to (sort of!) homestead and renovate their 1890 farmhouse. She is thrilled to be joining the collaborative, early childhood focused team at Allen Creek!

Teacher

Em has been working with children and families since 2016. They graduated from Eastern Michigan University with bachelor degrees in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education, and they’ve had a variety of roles teaching and nurturing children in toddler classrooms, preschool classrooms, and family households since. Most recently, they’ve worked at Green Apple Playschools in Ann Arbor and have spent the past 2 years nannying for one of their Green Apple families. Em has a special focus on teaching through building relationships with children, and feels most drawn to the social-emotional aspects of development. They also love working with art, nature, and sensory play, both in the classroom with children and by themselves as an adult. Em is very excited to be joining a school that includes families, educates care-givers, and prioritizes spaciousness and a secure attachment in children as they transition into school.

Teacher

Kumiko joined Allen Creek Preschool with a couple decades of experience working with young children (infants to school aged children). Her passion and love for nature provides the opportunity for young children to reconnect with nature in and out of her classroom. She recently became a part of the MSU extension community as a Master gardener, and has been volunteering in local gardens. She holds a BS in Elementary School Education with Early Childhood Education, Creative Arts, and Math and Science minors.

Teacher

Lorna graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2000 with a BS in Elementary Education and concentrations in Early Childhood and Children’s Literature and Drama. She first taught at Allen Creek from 2002 to 2008. She went on to teach at two other preschool programs then stayed home for two years after the birth of her son. She returned to Allen Creek in the fall of 2015 and has since taught in the Yellow, Green and Red rooms. Lorna enjoys working at Allen Creek because the collaborative approach with staff and parents gives her the resources to be the best teacher she can be.

Teacher

Marcia joined the Allen Creek teaching staff in 2010. Teaching is the beginning of a new chapter in her professional life. A software engineering position with Bell Northern Research brought her to Ann Arbor after graduation from Western Michigan University in 1985. While her grandson attended preschool at Allen Creek (2006–2008), she was in graduate school at Erikson Institute in Chicago studying early childhood development. After graduating with a Masters in Early Childhood Education and Illinois Teaching Certification, she returned to her home in Ann Arbor and now holds Michigan Teaching Certification with an Early Childhood Endorsement (ZA).

Teacher

After being a parent in all four classrooms at Allen Creek, Paula is now working alongside the educators who helped foster and grow her own approach to parenting and teaching. While initially focusing her career on improving children’s and family lives through a child care policy non-profit and later an immigration law firm, she couldn’t ignore the call to work directly with children. She enrolled at New York University’s Steinhardt School, where she graduated with a Masters in Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education. She taught 2nd and 3rd grade in New York’s East Harlem neighborhood, where her primary focus was bringing the vibrant outside community into the classroom. She and her husband credit Allen Creek with helping cultivate a sense of wonder and curiosity in their children.

Child Development Director and Family Consultant

Ellen Grosh earned her BS (Biomedical Sciences) and MD from the University of Michigan. She completed two years of Pediatric training at the University of Chicago. She completed her Adult Psychiatric residency and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Yale University and is board certified in both Adult and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Since 2009, she has been in private practice in Ann Arbor, working with patients mostly through psychotherapy, using a psychodynamic and developmental approach.

Family Consultant

Marissa earned her MA in Counseling and Psychotherapy from The Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. She currently works as a psychodynamic psychotherapist with children, adolescents, and adults in Plymouth, MI. She has a background of working with young people in grief support groups as well as co-facilitating wellness groups for young adults struggling with depression and emotional regulation.

Child Development Director and Family Consultant

Susannah received her M. Ed. from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education with a concentration in child development and risk and preventative factors in early childhood. She spent the first decade of her career working in the early childhood mental health field in San Francisco, supporting children, parents, and educators in a variety of settings. Susannah spent the next decade teaching parent/child classes, including at First Steps-Ann Arbor. Susannah’s introduction to Allen Creek was as a parent, and she has been thrilled to return first as a teacher in the Purple Room and now as a Family Consultant. Susannah loves working with parents and teachers to create a rich shared understanding of children’s inner worlds.

Family Consultant

Hannah holds both an undergraduate and graduate degree in social work, receiving her Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan. Hannah has spent her career working with children, teens and families in a variety of settings, including nonprofit organizations and schools. She currently works as a psychotherapist in Ann Arbor, where her clinical practice is rooted in connection and collaboration. Hannah has a particular interest in supporting parents as they learn, grow and adapt alongside their children.

Family Consultant

Caressa Shafer is a clinical therapist in private practice. She got her MS from Northern Illinois University in Marriage and Family Therapy and completed her training at Streamwood Behavioral Health Center where she worked with children and adolescents with behavioral and emotional difficulties. Caressa’s clinical interests are in attachment theory and she loves working with individuals and families helping them grow in their attachment bonds. She is extremely excited to be at Allen Creek working with the community of families.

Executive Director

Meghan has taught in a variety of preschool settings, including many years at Allen Creek, a special education inclusion classroom in Colorado, and a wonderful cooperative nursery school in Chicago. She holds a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in Leadership and Advocacy from Erikson Institute in Chicago. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science degree in Speech/Language Pathology from Purdue University, and is a licensed Speech/Language Pathologist. Meghan is deeply committed to the mission and vision of Allen Creek, which is to support the healthy growth of children and families in our community. She is a steadfast advocate for educational programs that are empathic, progressive, and inclusive.

Office Manager

Jennifer has taught and worked with children at many age levels in a variety of ways over the past 36 years. She holds a degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Michigan University, with an emphasis on reading remediation. She continued her education through Marygrove College, focusing on Classroom Management. She began working at Jill’s House, a licensed child care home in Ann Arbor, during college and continued to work as a nanny for several years. For the past 17 years, she has been a full time substitute teacher at Dexter Community Schools and served multiple times as Librarian. Jennifer feels a deep connection with Allen Creek and their philosophies regarding children and families.