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Samantha completed a degree in Child Development at Chico State University in 1997. After graduation, she moved to the Bay Area to continue her education and to teach preschool at Hoover Children's Center in San Mateo. In December of 1999, Samantha earned her teaching credential and for the next five years went on to teach Kindergarten at Westlake Elementary School and The Hilldale School, both in Daly City. Samantha holds a California Child Development Permit and enjoys continued professional development through a variety of different Bay Area and National organizations. Being at the beginning of a child's educational path is both inspiring and rewarding to Samantha. Sweet Peas was created shortly after the birth of her first son as Samantha decided to create a family based preschool where children are both nurtured and stimulated, a place where she would want her own children to be if they were in someone else's care. Her vision to offer this kind of nurturing learning environment was what inspired her to create multiple locations for Sweet Peas and she feels very blessed to work with so many wonderful families throughout their children's formative years.

Rebecca is a San Francisco native and has been in the preschool teaching field for 5 years. Her passion for working with young children developed as she helped care for her younger siblings and cousins almost her whole life. Her joy in being around children and learning about them deepened as she grew up watching her aunt and grandmother shared their teaching passions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Adolescent Development with a concentration in Early Childhood and a minor in Special Education from San Francisco State University. She also holds an Associates’s degree of Science in Early Childhood Education from Skyline Community College. Rebecca enjoys every learning moment with children, as it is also an opportunity for her to learn from children. She is passionate about supporting children in realizing their fullest potential, whether it be physically, socially, or cognitively. She loves traveling, exploring hidden gems in her home city, and practicing lettering in her free time.

Angelica has been involved with the lives of children from a young age! During high school, she volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club in their after-school program. After a few visits and getting to know the children and their families, she knew that working with children was where she wanted to be! During college she decided to start taking Early Child Education courses and it became clear that she wanted to become a teacher! She began working with young children in 2006 as a substitute teacher at Bright Horizons in their infant/toddler program and then moved onto teaching preschool, which she enjoys so much. She has a number of units in ECE and dreams of continuing to further her education in the near future. Angelica began working at Sweet Peas in 2014 and feels that it’s been a great place to become a strong and confident teacher! What she loves most about this field is being able to watch the children grow and learn each day, and being able to guide them toward building their social, emotional, motor and cognitive development. Angelica truly enjoys building relationships with the children as well as their families so that we can all work as a team to provide the best care and guidance for the children during their school days! One of her favorite things to do with the children is literacy activities and she enjoys sitting with children and looking through and reading books and listening to their thoughts or questions! She loves using books as inspiration to create fun and engaging art projects too. During her free time, Angelica enjoys family time playing board games, watching movies, and especially bbq’s! Most recently spending time going for walks in the park with her husband and 7 month old Sofia has been such a joy!

Esme discovered her passion for working with children when she started babysitting at age twelve. She went on to pursue childcare in her work as a camp counselor, nanny, youth group leader, and preschool assistant as she developed her joy for understanding how to support children in their growth in the world. Graduating from Chico State with a BA in Sociology and Multicultural Gender Studies, Esme decided to return to her work in childcare as an infant toddler teacher at Sweet Peas Preschool, while taking Early Childhood Development courses at City College of San Francisco. She is passionate about cultivating creative spaces in the classroom for children to freely explore and discover about the world. She believes in treating all children with respect, care, and confidence, and keeps a playful energy to her educational work. In her free time, Esme enjoys hunting for antiques, cooking, going for walks, and watching movies.

Elizabeth (“Eli”) has really enjoyed growing into her career as an Early Childhood Educator and has a passion for fostering a positive journey for the young children in her care. Eli is currently studying Early Childhood Development at City College of San Francisco. One of her strengths is building strong relationships with the children and families in her care, so much so that she has become a trusted babysitter for many of the families she’s worked with! One of her favorite roles as a teacher has been fostering creativity processes for the children.  Art has been a huge part of her own life and she loves helping others find joy in being creative in an open ended process. She believes everyone should have the freedom and support to express themselves creatively and Eli loves being a part of that process for children.  Outside of the classroom, you can find Eli spending time with family and friends, thrifting, perfecting her makeup, or working on inspiring mood boards. 

Alvina is a Bay Area native who has been working in the education field for over 6 years. She developed an interest in working with children when she took a Child Development course in high school. She continued to study early childhood education in college. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Adolescent Development and a minor in Special Education. Throughout her years of working in the field, she has worked with children and adolescents from the ages of 6 months to 18 year olds and has taken on various roles including teacher, school administrative assistant, art instructor, and behavioral skills therapist. Alvina finds this field to be very rewarding when she builds trusting relationships with the children and families and is able to watch her students grow. During her free time, she enjoys drawing, traveling, exploring the great outdoors, doing aerial silks, lyra, and hammock, and performing the circus for her friends and family. Alvina is excited to be part of the Sweet Peas community and hopes to continue to positively impact the children and ensure that each child reaches their fullest potential.

Luci has recently graduated from Drew Highschool in San Francisco and will be continuing her education at UC Riverside where she plans to major in, liberal studies with an emphasis in child development. In 6th grade, Luci began working in the preschool at the San Francisco School and continued to work there throughout middle school. Starting her freshman year in high school, Luci began working for Sweet Peas during the summer. As a Sweet Peas alumna herself she loves returning to the place where her education began. When she’s not working Luci enjoys hiking, cooking, babysitting, and spending time with her friends and family.