Meet the Team

Director
Director Sabrina joined Laurel Hill in 2015, bringing with her a passion for early childhood education and a background in Montessori teaching. Before joining the Laurel Hill community, she spent four years teaching at a Montessori preschool in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
Originally from the Los Angeles area, Sabrina moved to San Francisco after earning her degree in psychology and criminology from UC Irvine. Her lifelong love of working with children began early—babysitting in middle school, leading day camps in high school, and teaching after college. She’s never had a job that didn’t involve caring for and learning from young people.
Outside the classroom, Sabrina enjoys curling up with a good book, revisiting her favorite shows on Netflix, and exploring watercolor painting as a creative outlet.

Office Manager/Admissions Coordinator
A proud mama of two, Jessica first fell in love with Laurel Hill when she toured for her eldest daughter. During her five years as a Laurel Hill parent, she knew she always wanted to find a way back to this special place where she learned so much. A native San Franciscan, Jessica received her BA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Ethnic Studies at SFSU, and certification in Early Childhood Development at City College. When not at Laurel Hill, you’re likely to see Jessica going for a long walk or playing soccer with her kiddos.

Assistant Director
Justin has worked with children of all ages for many years, but was particularly drawn to early education through his experiences observing and teaching at Stanford’s Bing Nursery School while pursuing his undergraduate degree in child and adolescent development. After taking a quick break to pursue a legal career, he was delighted to return in 2015 to an inspiring play-based school supported by an amazing community

Teacher
Sally earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies at UC Santa Cruz before moving to San Francisco in 2005 to study Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State. She promptly stumbled upon Laurel Hill and has been a part of the community ever since. She has over 20 years of teaching experience, having earned ECE credits at Cabrillo College and at San Francisco City College. She enjoys travel, camping, and spending time with her family and friends (during non-pandemic years).

Teacher
Marissa knew that she wanted to be a teacher at Laurel Hill from the moment she moved to San Francisco. She had heard about the co-op from her sister who had enrolled her daughter (and then later son) but was miles and miles away in her hometown. Born and raised in Los Angeles, her love for teaching began in 2009 when she became an instructor for a music and movement program at an enrichment studio. While working with children and families, she received a bachelor’s degree in Child Development from California State University, Dominguez Hills. After graduating, she made the move to San Francisco where she started nannying for families and later applied for a teaching position at a different school. When a teaching position opened up at Laurel Hill, Marissa jumped at the opportunity to join the team and bring her love of music with her. This year brought changes to the school so Marissa brought music and movement to the children by going virtual while continuing to teach for the PM PreK. She feels so lucky to be a part of this community and looks forward to the days when the school is full of children AND parents.
“I believe that in order to be great at what you do you have to love what you do. I always loved music, but when I was able to share my love of music with the children and parents around me I knew that teaching was the path for me.”

Teacher
Lori entered early childhood education when her daughter started Laurel Hill in 2014. Lori holds an art degree from Sacramento State and is working on a certificate in child development at City College, San Francisco. She was mentored by Anne Randall and inspired by Bev Bos. Presently, Lori's favorite activities are digging/diverting rivers and reading.

Teacher
Alissa grew up in the East Bay Area and has called San Francisco home for the past four years. Her journey in childcare began as a nanny, and over time, she discovered her true passion for early childhood education. With four years of experience teaching children ages 2-5 at a preschool academy in the Mission, Alissa loves fostering creativity and curiosity in young learners.
She finds joy in creating engaging, hands-on learning experiences that encourage children to explore and grow. In her free time, Alissa enjoys painting, cooking, and getting lost in a good book.

Teacher
Nuria was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Her love of music and dance led her to study physical education, and later she served as an aerobics instructor at ORTHOS, Barcelona Sports. After moving to San Francisco, she began studying early childhood education at San Francisco City College. In 2015, her son attended Laurel Hill, and the experience of connecting with the kids strengthened her interest in the field of education. Nuria loves all of the activities she engages in with the kids, but her favorites include obstacle courses, slime and reading. Nuria believes in bilingual education as a benefit of increasing cognitive development and as enrichment of cultural appreciation. She enjoys supporting Spanish language to children into the play-based program through interactions and songs.
She also is Co-founder of Spanish4Fun, teaching Spanish as a second language for after school enrichment program to K-5.

Teacher
Heidi was raised in the Bay Area and moved to San Francisco in 1995. She was immersed in the costume and vintage clothing world until entering motherhood- which soon led her to the magical Laurel HIll. Heidi looked forward to her parent work days and the opportunity to learn about child development from the wise and warm staff- and so, after 5 ½ years in the Laurel Hill community and 3 years away, she was thrilled to return to our sweet school as a Teachers’ Aide, where she draws on her experience as a camp counselor, babysitter, and mother. Once she’s dumped the sand from her shoes, Heidi enjoys spending her time making jewelry, seeing live music, thrifting, taking ECE classes at SF City College, and goofing off with her family.