This is Cecelia's tenthyear teaching the Older Twos. She has also served as an assistant in various Ruth Washburn classrooms during the past five years.

Cecelia and her husband spent six years as dedicated Ruth Washburn parents when their children, now twenty almost fifteen were in the Co-op. As a parent, Cecelia took a major role on the fundraising committee and on the materials committee. She also served as class coordinator and chaired the maintenance committee, along with her husband.

Cecelia has a BA degree in psychology and a BA degree in Recreation from Adams State College. She has attended two NAEYC conferences in Toronto and Atlanta and has attended nine CAEYC conferences. Cecelia worked for 20 years at a facility for developmentally challenged adults, all the while staying active with children through teaching Sunday school, leading a Girl Scout troop, helping out in her children's classrooms, and joyfully caring for numerous children in her home.

In her “spare time" Cecelia enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, scrapbooking, traveling, and many ongoing “projects", but mostly she loves spending time with her family.

Brenda is beginning her 21st year at Ruth Washburn! She has attended Texas Tech University, UCCS, and PPCC, where she has taken numerous courses in the early childhood education field. Brenda has been teaching preschool for over 20 years.

Brenda has represented Ruth Washburn at eight NAEYC conferences in Washington D.C., Denver, Anaheim, Toronto, Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York City. She has also participated in numerous CAEYC conferences in Colorado. Brenda has made presentations on creative art with other Ruth Washburn teachers throughout the state, and along with previous Ruth Washburn teachers, Lee Hesselberg and Pat Jackson, has written a book "Free To Be Creative", focusing on process art and creativity with young children. Brenda also co-administered and taught in the Ruth Washburn Summer Sessions for eight years.

Brenda and her husband have three children and two granddaughters. Brenda enjoys running, reading, gardening and watercolor painting.

Susan is beginning her second year with us at Ruth Washburn as the Middle 3s teacher and is excited to join such a wonderful team of children, parents, and teachers. Susan graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a BS in Elementary/Early Childhood Education and a MS in Reading Education. She started her teaching career in Missouri where she taught the fifth and sixth grades for five years. After moving to Colorado, she continued her teaching career in the Air Academy School District where she taught the third and fourth grades for eight years. After taking a year off from teaching to stay at home with her children, she is looking forward to expanding her educational career into the early childhood program. After watching her own daughter have such a wonderful experience last year in the Middle 3s classroom, she is truly excited to give a new set of children their own wonderful introduction to the preschool years.

Susan and her husband have a daughter who will be attending Ruth Washburn in the Middle 4s class, and a son who is two. He will be attending the extended care program a few afternoons a week. Susan's husband is a figure skating coach at the World Arena and hopes to some day coach an athlete to the winter Olympics.

In her spare time, Susan attends playgroups with her children, scrapbooks with her friends, and is part of a book club.

Carmen is beginning her sixth year at Ruth Washburn and her third year as the Y5s teacher. She has been in the field of early childhood education for 14 years and has her Colorado Director certification. She has also worked as an Assistant Director in Tucson, Arizona.

Carmen has a BA in management from the University of Puerto Rico. She also has attended many early childhood conferences in Colorado. Her goal is to combine her love for the preschool environment with her business background.

Carmen and her husband have a son who is in high school. Carmen's favorite hobbies include reading, collecting world currency and gardening, as well as playing the Ocarina and the Bowed Psaltery.

Lauren is returning for her fifth year teaching the Mixed Age 1 Class. She is also going to be the assistant in the Young 3s classroom. Lauren's experience in childcare started years ago as a nanny while she attended college on the East Coast. After moving to Colorado, she became a nanny for several Ruth Washburn families.

Lauren has a BA in Communications and has continued her education in Early Childhood by attending local and stare conferences. Lauren has been accepted by Regis University to begin her Master's Degree in Early Childhood and plans on starting that program soon.

Lauren has lived in Colorado for seven years and loves traveling around the state to hear live music. She enjoys spending time hiking and camping with her friends, and her favorite hobbies include reading and writing poetry, and just enjoying life.

Kristin grew up in the Denver area and returned to living in Colorado 18 years ago when she and her husband moved from California to work at the Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs. She has taught in the Outdoor Education department at Fountain Valley, dorm parented, taught fifth grade and sixth grade science at the Colorado Springs School, and taught sixth grade and substituted in many of the public schools in the area.

Kristin is teaching the Mixed Age 2 class for the third year. She has been involved at Ruth Washburn in several capacities as well. She was the assistant in the Young 4s classroom and has worked in the Extended Care program. She also has4 years of parent helping under her belt with her own children.

Kristin graduated from Colorado State University with a BS in Range Ecology and has worked with the US Forest Service when she was not involved with her education. Kristin lives in Manitou Springs with her husband, who teaches biology at Fountain Valley, and her two daughters. She loves to travel, be active outdoors, read, and play with her children and anyone else who wants to join them.

Mary Jean is beginning her ninth year at Ruth Washburn. She has a BA in Youth Work with an emphasis on early childhood development from Kansas State University. She is currently working towards becoming Page 5 of 14 Director qualified, and in pursuit of this, has taken classes in guidance strategies and child growth and development, and methods and curriculum. Mary Jean has furthered her knowledge in early childhood at four NAEYC conferences. She has also participated in numerous CAEYC conferences.

Mary Jean's experiences with children are many, including teaching three-year olds and pre-kindergartners, working with emotionally/mentally disabled children, interning at a summer day camp for inner-city children in Kansas City, tutoring, leading a Girl Scout troop, teaching Sunday school classes for three and four year olds, and recently, teaching the Summer Session at Ruth Washburn.

Mary Jean and her husband are the proud parents of two girls and two boys and the proud grandparents of three grandsons. Mary Jean's hobbies are arts and crafts, outdoor gardening, houseplants, walking and reading.

This is Mikki's eighth year as Ruth Washburn's Office Manager. Mikki has administrative experience in other fields such as finance and the automotive industry. Since her employment began at Ruth Washburn, Mikki has attended workshops in accounting, administration and early childhood.

Mikki and her husband welcomed their first child two years ago. Mikki loves to travel (especially to Disney World), paint, sculpt, and write. She is currently in the process of tackling the easier (nontechnical) climbs of the Colorado Fourteeners.

Mikki loves Ruth Washburn and is delighted to continue to be part of such an amazing and loving environment- both for children and adults.