Staff
Megan
Executive Director
Megan Wilson (she/her) has been working with preschool children for over 15 years and has been at Tree House Hollow since 2007. She has a California Early Childhood Education Program Director Permit and has attained more than 30 units in Early Childhood Education. She holds a BA degree in Environmental Studies with a focus in Outdoor Leadership, and a minor in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University. She was also a certified wilderness first responder for six years. Megan has a large theatre and gardening background and deep interests in education, the environment, sustainability, and helping young people become good stewards of our planet. One of her greatest joys is helping children learn to identify plant and animal species and marvel at them. She co-created and led our Adventure Day Program at Creekside- bringing students off campus to climb, wade, and immerse in nature. She left her Creekside Director position at the end of the school year in 2017 to have her son, and returned in November 2017 to take over the Executive Director position- overseeing both campuses. She has since also welcomed a daughter into her family in May 2019. Megan is passionate about Tree House Hollow and early learning, and continues to guide the vision for our school.
Holly
Interim Creekside Program Director
Holly Link (she/her) has been learning together with children and families for over 15 years, five of which were spent as a teacher and then, director, at Creekside up until January of 2020, when she moved on to a new adventure in education. She spent 18 months working for a local community organization as a specialist in preschool special education and behavioral/mental health support, before being asked to return to Tree House Hollow as Interim Creekside Director. She is thrilled to be back! As a teacher, she enjoys learning from children as much as she enjoys leading their learning, and as a director, she looks forward to every opportunity to collaborate with parents and other caregivers in supporting the development of the children they treasure most. Her approach in the classroom is child-centered, using play opportunities to nurture the interests and learning styles of each child, with a joyful and open heart. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development, with a specialization in Early Childhood, and came to Sonoma County in 2014 to work on her Master’s Degree in Early Education. The focus of her studies in both programs has been in children’s mental/behavioral health, and the different ways we can support the diverse learning styles and developmental needs of children. Her specialized areas of education include children's literature, sensory processing and development, art experiences with young children, and children with special needs. A self-proclaimed hobbit, Holly enjoys rolling up her sleeves to bake yummy things, adventuring into the wild as often as possible, and has a great love for tending to things that grow (both children and the garden, alike).
Satyra
Redwood Program Site Supervisor
Satyra Gentry (they/them) has been working with young children in preschools for five years. They attended Santa Rosa Junior College where she received her Teachers Certificate and specialized in care for children under three. A passion for alternative education and holistic care for children led her to many styles of school. Satyra feels that Tree House Hollow represents their personal values and passions for nature, art and community. Outside of school she spends most of their time outdoors- hiking and backpacking. They are a California Pomo and works to connect deeply with their ancestral land in Sonoma County, and carry on and teach traditional Pomo skills and values. Their favorite part of teaching is guiding children to become connected with the world around them, and they hope to nurture a new generation of nature stewards.
Michaela
Adventure Program Lead, Creekside Teacher
Michaela Mackenzie (she/they) grew up halfway in between San Diego, California and Dublin, Ireland. As a child, she developed a deep fascination with apple seeds - convinced that with enough luck and love that she could sprout an entire tree from a buried half-eaten core. For years she tried and tried again, but not a single tiny green leaf ever popped up. Although her apple tree never grew, her observation of and love for the natural world flourished. After receiving a B.A. in Visual Anthropology, with minors in Studio Art and Queer Studies, from San Francisco State University, Michaela returned to her apple seed planting ways. She spent several years teaching young ones and apprenticing as a farm worker on educational farms - including Fairview Gardens and Slide Ranch - throughout California. Eventually, she hung up her dirty farm boots and moved back to the city to be the garden educator at Argonne Elementary in San Francisco. While working with her kindergarteners, she discovered a true love for early childhood education. Following that love, Michaela went on to teach at Parks Plus Creation, a forest preschool rooted in the heart of the Presidio. As an educator, Michaela works to weave quiet moments of observation with playful moments of storytelling, holding space for children to connect to and to create within the wilds their wandering. She is currently working towards her early childhood education certificate at SRJC. When Michaela is not teaching, she spends her time deepening her plant ally relationships, dabbling in fiber arts, and walking anywhere her feet guide her.
Maricela
Redwood Bilingual Teacher
Maricela Rodriguez (she/her) was born in Michoacán Mexico. She came to the United States with her family (her four children and her husband) 12 years ago. She has an Associate Teachers Certificate from Santa Rosa Junior College and has more than 7 years of experience working with elementary school aged children in her country. She has worked at Tree House Hollow since 2009. Her four children have attended Twin Hills School District and her youngest daughter luckily also had the opportunity to attend Tree House Hollow Preschool. Maricela loves to share her heritage through teaching curriculum that is both bilingual and bicultural and teach Spanish to the children in their daily interaction. She exudes warmth and humor and believes a curriculum is the most meaningful when it arises from the true interests of the children. She loves cooking with the children, writing story plays, practicing positive discipline techniques, and playing cooperative games that reinforce children’s self-esteem, teamwork, and self-managing skills.
Maya
Creekside Teacher
Maya Thompson (they/them) has been studying early childhood development since high school, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree at Sonoma State University focusing on the many benefits of children's play. Their passions include children's inquiry-based learning (asking questions to foster creativity), helping children develop their social-emotional skills, the educational power of guided play in the classroom, and LGBTQ+ equality in young children. Maya has observed and volunteered all over the west coast and taught at summer camps for young children, they have worked with Tree House Hollow for nearly two years (through the COVID pandemic, nonetheless!), and they look forward to helping the children blossom and grow in Tree House Hollow's little outdoor sanctuary. When they’re not studying or teaching, their free time is spent drawing, singing, and spending time with their spouse Ari and their cat Aspen.
Lili
Creekside Teacher
Lili (she/her) received a BA in Psychology from Lewis & Clark College, in Portland, OR. While she was in college, she spent a year interning at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) with the ECE department, 0-6 years. After graduating from college, she spent two years working at a local charter Waldorf school, SunRidge as an assistant teacher in second grade. Since then Lili has been working toward her Teaching Certificate at Santa Rosa Junior college. She now has twenty ECE credits. Lili interned last year at Tree House Hollow’s younger Campus. She loved her time at Redwood and is excited to be part of the community again. When Lili is not busy with school work she enjoys crocheting, knitting, and cuddling with her cat, Marco.
Natalie
Redwood Teacher
Natalie Debode (she/her) has had many passions but none of them have quite felt the same as working with children. From first starting as a nanny, then pastry chef, to preschool teacher, it has felt like she has had many lives. Natalie has worked in childcare for over 10 years, emphasizing Montessori and Waldorf practices, and is now completing her teaching certificate at Santa Rosa Junior College. She is most excited about creating art, and exploring our every day surroundings in nature and in the classroom with the students at Tree House Hollow, She believes in the inquisitive nature of children and strives to nourish children’s curiosity. Natalie has always felt a meaningful purpose when working with children. She is able to make connections with students and build lasting positive relationships. In her free time, Natalie enjoys hiking, painting, creating new recipes and spending time in nature.
Alejandra
Creekside Teacher
Alejandra Marquez (she/her) grew up on a ranch in Freestone on an 11 acre farm with lots of space for walking, raising chickens and with lots of fresh fruit to eat such as apples, pears, cherries, grapes, and plums. She started working at a daycare as an assistant when she was younger and knew children were her passion. She received her Teacher Associate Certificate at Santa Rosa Junior College and hopes to continue her education to finish her AA in Child Development. She has been a Preschool Teacher for three years for ages 2 to 5 years of age. She really enjoys being outdoors, cooking, singing and dancing with the children. She believes that children learn best when they are having fun and engaged in a curriculum that sparks their interest. She also likes to incorporate Spanish into her daily interactions.
Amy
Redwood Teacher
Amy DeJung (she/her) grew up in San Jose, CA and decided to move to northern California to attend Humboldt State University. While she started her college experience with an interest in studying Environmental Science, she wanted to find a way to combine her love for the natural world as well as working with children. She then decided to pursue a degree in Child Development, with minors in Family Studies and Psychology. She has been working with infants through school aged children for over 6 years in many different settings, including preschools and outdoor science camps. Her favorite part of teaching is learning and exploring alongside the children and making meaningful connections. She loves hiking, roller skating, and discovering new hobbies!
Ruth
Operations Manager
Ruth Wilson (she/her) coordinates enrollment, scheduling, invoicing, and budgets. She also helps Megan with a variety of support tasks, from the mundane to the magical. She is mother to Megan and grandmother to Reid and Serena Bee, which is the most fun ever! She has worked as a part of the catalog production and toy invention team at HearthSong, as a floral designer, technical and creative writer, and office manager. She loves to garden, sew, and bake cakes. Ruth enjoys her occasional visits to the campuses where she sees so many smiling faces.
Franny
Founder, Former Director, Volunteer and Substitute Teacher
At the young age of 19 Franny (she/her) began teaching preschool at the request of her child development teacher and discovered it as her life's work. After receiving her BA and Teaching Credential, with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University, Tree House Hollow opened in 1981 as a large family child care home in Sebastopol. Franny continued her education and taught child development classes at Santa Rosa Junior College, Merritt and Alameda Colleges in the East Bay before moving the program to the Apple Blossom Campus in 2007. Franny believes creating a community of families is an important aspect of your preschool experience. Since retiring 6 years ago she volunteers once a week when not traveling and enjoys gardening, cooking and singing with the children. Franny teaches Positive Discipline Parenting Classes and continues to have family meetings with her 38 and 32 year old daughters, Maggie and Zoe, their partners, Jamie and Dylan and her husband Glenn.
Louie
Substitute Teacher
Louie Ferrera (he/him) is a recently retired 20 year veteran of the elementary school classroom. Thirteen of those years were spent teaching first and second grades at Apple Blossom School. Louie and his wife Carol are the proud parents of twins who were students at Tree House Hollow ten years ago! Their family helped move THH from Franny’s house onto the Apple Blossom campus, so, for Louie, it is particularly exciting to be back. One of Louie’s great passions is music. He is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter and has released two cds of original songs. Of course he loves sharing the gift of music with children. Singing had always been an important part of the day during his tenure in the classroom. Look for Louie with a guitar slung over his shoulder heading towards school!
