Meet Our Team!

Ms. Carrillo was born and raised on Bainbridge Island and she is thrilled to be teaching in Kitsap County. Working at Catalyst is Ms. Carrillo's first step in transitioning into her career in elementary education. For the past 10 years Ms. Carrillo has worked in the field of early childhood education. She has worked with newborns up to 5 year olds and has also worked in before and after school programs. Most recently, Ms. Carrillo spent time as an Education Coordinator for a Seattle early education center working with the teachers to develop meaningful curriculums and engaging daily plans.

Ms. Carrillo has also spent 2 years living in Prague, Czech Republic teaching English to children ages 2-15 years old.

In April 2020, Ms. Carrillo graduated from Western Governors University with a BA in Education Studies and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in elementary education.

Ms. Carrillo feels that being able to work at such a unique and amazing school as Catalyst is an incredible opportunity. She is very excited to get to know each Catalyst family and scholar.

Ms. Buschelman is excited to be part of the Catalyst team. She was born and raised in Long Beach, CA and moved to Boston for college in 2016 where she played on the women’s soccer team at Lesley University. There, she earned her Bachelors in Elementary Education and Psychology and she is currently pursuing her Masters in Special Education.

Ms. Buschelman has recently relocated to Washington to join her husband who is in the US Navy. Sh ehas completely fallen in love with Washington and is thrilled to continue her love for teaching in a new state!

When she not teaching, you can find her playing soccer at the park, coaching, or going for long runs to explore!

Ms. Mapp is joining the Catalyst team from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She has recently relocated here due to her husband being in the military.

Ms. Mapp received her undergrad at Old Dominion University, majoring in Human Services. She decided to continue her education and received her Masters through Grand Canyon University, with a focus on Elementary Education. In 2015, Ms. Mapp was a Site Director for after school programs for 3 years and then decided to return to the classroom. She has taught both 1st and 2nd grade and loves being in the classroom and providing the best academic learning experience for my students and parents.

In my free time, Ms. Mapp enjoys spending time with family and friends. She also likes trying new restaurants and going shopping. Ms. Mapp looks forward to creating and building new relationships with the wonderful people of Catalyst.

Ms. Walters graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma in 2021 with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology as well as two minors focused in education.

She plans to continue through her Master’s degree and receive her teaching certification starting in August 2021. During her free time she likes to sit down with a good book or watch one of the many Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. She is excited to be working with all of the Catalyst scholars and getting to know each and every one of them!

Ms. Helou is originally from New Jersey, and she recently relocated to Washington. She graduated from Providence College in Providence, RI where she studied education psychology, child psychology, and sociology with an emphasis on special education.

Prior to starting at Catalyst Ms. Helou worked in various childcare and classroom settings, wherein she was able to learn and apply different teaching styles, as well as experience different cultural settings. It is through these experiences in other schools that I learned to value the concepts and importance of diversity and belonging.

These experiences are also what sparked Ms. Helou's interest in Catalyst Public Schools. She believes that making students and families feel like they belong in school settings is one of the critical aspects for educational success, and it is something she strives to cultivate as a Small Group Instructor at Catalyst.

Ms. Nystrom is a born and raised Pacific Northwesterner and she has loved every second of it. While she was born in Portland Oregon, she was raised in Vancouver Washington. In Vancouver, she had the most incredible educational experience she could have dreamed of. She wants nothing more than to give her students all that she had, and more!

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Ms. Nystrom graduated from the University of Washington in June of 2020 with her Bachelor’s degree in Law, Societies, and Justice. She is completely fascinated by law and the inner workings of the legal system. She has always wanted to dedicate herself to bettering the lives of children; whether it be in the classroom or the courtroom, Ms. Nystrom will always do all she can to give scholars room to flourish.