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Miss Jenn (back left) with husband Wayne, sons Tyler (peace!), Smith, and daughters Kari & Kali.
Miss Jenn, President
Miss Jenn, President
Jennifer Michaelian, Director II certified
“Miss Jenn” is the owner of Treehouse - A First Step Learning Center, Inc.
Jenn is a mom to Tyler (age 13) and Smith (age 9). Jenn also has two adult step-daughters who live in Georgia - Kari and Kali. Jenn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Child Life from Wheelock College and a Master’s Degree in Communication & Information Management from Baypath as well as the following certifications:
Department of Early Education & Care Director II
Massachusetts Certified Teacher for grades K-3
Department of Early Education & Care Lead Preschool Teacher
Department of Early Education & Care Lead Infant/Toddler Teacher
Department of Early Education & Care School Age Program Administrator
Licensed Large Family Childcare Provider (2012-2021)
Red Cross Lifeguard & Professional Rescuer CPR/First Aid Certified, expires May 2027
Jenn is also an Adjunct Professor at Springfield Technical Community College (since 2020) in the Early Childhood Education Department where she currently teaches ECE 140 "The Exceptional Child" course. Jenn is passionate about supporting the needs of all children in an inclusive early education and care environment.
Prior to opening Treehouse, Jenn worked with children and families in public schools, as a home visitor for Early Head Start, in child care centers, and as a Child Life Specialist and teacher in pediatric hospitals. Jenn has also been a fitness instructor for over ten years, currently teaching weekly spin classes. Jenn and her husband Wayne enjoy spending time with their family at the beach - or snowboarding!
Our program is lucky to have a BIG team of LOVE and SUPPORT. We strive to maintain lower than required ratios and we are often able to offer one-on-one time and attention. I am grateful to have each of the following members on our team.
- Jennifer Michaelian
Our program is lucky to have a BIG team of LOVE and SUPPORT. We strive to maintain lower than required ratios and we are often able to offer one-on-one time and attention. I am grateful to have each of the following members on our team.
- Jennifer Michaelian
The Leadership Team
The Leadership Team
Miss Loren
Miss Loren
Director
Loren Piotrowski joined Treehouse FSLC in October 2022. . Loren lives in East Longmeadow with her husband Mark, and two children, Gemma and Jameson - who currently both attend Treehouse in our before/after/summer school age program - and their 2 dogs, 12 chickens and a turtle!
Loren has a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Hartford.
Prior to working at Treehouse, Loren was a Kindergarten Paraprofessional for Meadow Brook school. Loren has over 15 years of experience in center-based programs in the surrounding area.
Loren currently holds the following Department of Early Education and Care certifications:
Director II
Lead Infant/Toddler Teacher
Lead Preschool Teacher and is Director II
School Age Program Administrator
Loren is also CPR/First Aid Certified, expires January 2027.
Loren strongly embraces every child’s true uniqueness, their wonder, and aspirations. One of Loren’s favorite quotes that helped her develop and grow as an educator was by Lev Vygotsky - “It must not be forgotten that the basic law of children’s creativity is that its value lies not in its results, not in the product of creation, but in the process itself. It is not important what children create, but that they do create, that they exercise and implement their own creative imagination.”
Miss Chace
Miss Chace
Program Support Specialist
Chace Gerrish joined the Treehouse FSLC team as the Before School Coordinator in September 2022; Chace then became our Classroom Support Specialist until July of 2024. Currently Chace offers remote program support with the hope of returning in-house again in the future.
She and her husband Joe are parents to two boys, Hendry and Gage.
Chace holds a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master's Degree of Education. She currently has an Early Childhood Teaching License through the Department of Education in Massachusetts for students grades Preschool - Second with or without disabilities. Chace has also met the qualifications for the Department of Early Education and Care:
Director
Lead Teacher Preschool,
Teacher Infant/Toddler
School Age Site Coordinator
Chace is CPR/First Aid Certified, expires January 2027.
Chace began her career working for Early Intervention and found a love for educating early learners. Her love deepened when she became a Preschool Teacher for the Holyoke Public Schools. There, she taught preschool in both an integrated setting and a substantially separate environment. She furthered her career by becoming a Tiered Interventionist and supported preschool teachers and staff on best inclusionary practices so students can access their education how it best suits their learning style.
Miss Krissy
Miss Krissy
Assistant Director / Classroom Support Specialist
Preschool & School Age focus
Krissy Hathaway joined the Treehouse team in August 2023 and held the role of Mighty Oaks Lead Teacher until her promotion in June of 2024. Krissy is currently our Assistant Director / Classroom Support Specialist.
Krissy moved to Westfield in 2023 after growing up around Northshore MA. She now lives with two of her best friends and their cat Missy. Outside of school she loves reading, playing games with her friends, spending time outside, and visiting her family and their 6 dogs.
Krissy holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, earned in 2020 and 2021 respectively. She currently holds the following Department of Early Education and Care certificates:
Director (to be completed July 2024)
Lead Preschool Teacher
Krissy is CPR/First Aid certified (expires January 2027).
Krissy has been working with children in a variety of settings since 2016. She was inspired to follow a career path in Early Childhood Education after volunteering for the preschool where her mom works as a director and building relationships with the children there. Graduating in 2020 meant she kicked off her career in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, where she independently taught a class of 7 preschoolers while working towards her Master’s Degree and student teaching remotely. Most recently, she has spent the last two years working primarily with the transitional kindergarten program at an outdoor, play based center. This will be Krissy’s fourth year as a lead teacher and she is so excited to further her career and bring her passion for nature based learning to Treehouse!
Miss Lori
Miss Lori
Assistant Director / Classroom Support Specialist
Infant & Toddler focus
Lori Mutti worked at Treehouse Family Childcare from 2014-2018 before taking a leave of absence; she then returned in September of 2021 where she kept the Family Childcare Program open until December 2022 providing infant care until our infants could transition in to the center based program. Miss Lori then became the Lead Infant Teacher in our Saplings classroom until June 2025 when she was promoted to Assistant Director.
Miss Lori and her husband Matt live in East Longmeadow with their two daughters - Grace and Faith.
Lori has a Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy. Lori also holds the following Department of Early Education and Care certifications:
Lead Preschool Teacher
Lead Infant Toddler Teacher
School Age Group Leader
Director I
Certified Family Childcare Assistant
Lori is CPR/First Aid Certified, expires May 2027.
Prior to joining Treehouse Family Childcare - Lori worked as an assistant in another family childcare program, as well as extensive work as a nanny. Lori has completed over 50 hours of training in Early Childhood/Family Child Care topics since joining us.
Miss Melina
Miss Melina
Administrative Support (Remote)
Melina Fortin joined Treehouse FSLC in November 2021 as we began our expansion into a center-based program. Melina and her husband Garrett are blessed with three children: Carter and their twins Norah and Andrew,
Melina has a Bachelor’s Degree and received a Child Development Associate Degree from a National Early Childhood Credential Program. Melina also holds the following Department of Early Education and Care Certificates:
Director II
Lead Teacher Preschool
Lead Teacher Infant/Toddler
School Age Program Administrator
Melina is also CPR/First Aid Certified, expires September 2026.
Melina has over 20 years experience in center-based Early Learning Environments, including non-profit programs and a flagship military program while her husband was stationed overseas. Melina is passionate about Early Learning,
All of our classrooms also have support from our Support Team - as well as our volunteer Miss Connie. Check out "The Support Team" to read their full bios!
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