Assistant Director Karen Clark Cantu oversees our school-age program which includes Scamp during the summer months. Karen worked as a preschool teacher in a HeadStart Program and at the YMCA for 14 years before she joined Gretchen’s House in 1999. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Health. In her free time, Karen enjoys golf, attending classic rock concerts and walking her black lab. |
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FARM INFANT AND TODDLER |
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Lead teacher Alex Schenk has worked for Gretchen’s House since October of 2016. She has an AS with an emphasis in Psychology. She is happily married to her husband Sean (Pond Preschool) and they have 2 children, Rose and Kristyn. In her down time Alex enjoys reading, playing video games, camping and hiking with her family dog Odin. |
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Teacher Sam Voss has been working at Gretchen’s House since April of 2018 and has worked with all ages, from infants to school age. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Children and Families with a minor is Sociology. Sam was previously a BRT until she accepted the family group teacher position in Farm I/T. In her free time, she enjoys doing yoga, reading, and taking walks with her dog and her boyfriend. |
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Teacher Tyan Brown started working at GH in July 2013. She has worked in both the Infant/Toddlers and the Preschool programs. She graduated from Mt. San Jacinto College in California in 2011 with a degree in Early Childhood Education and a degree in Behavior & Social Science. Tyan and her husband welcomed their first child, Preston in January 2016. In her free time, Tyan enjoys reading biographies, watching documentaries, taking her son to the zoo and going to baseball games. |
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Afternoon Infant & Toddler Teacher Rachel Deren earned her degree from Concordia University as a Certified Family Life Educator in 2013. She has been working with children since a very young age which includes, baby-sitting, vacation bible schools and gym center. Rachel enjoys spending time outdoors, reading and hanging out with her family and friends.
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FARM PRESCHOOL |
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Lead Teacher Danielle Estrada graduated from UMass Amherst with a BA in English and a minor in Education, and from Johnson and Wales with a Masters of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education and Elem/Secondary Special Education. After spending 3 years in elementary classrooms in Rhode Island, she worked for 2 years in an infant classroom and learned that she loved the preschool world! In her spare time she loves books, music, food and exploring with her husband and cat. |
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Preschool Teacher Abby Boerema recently graduated from Central Michigan University in December 2016 with a degree in Early Childhood Development and Learning. For the past 4 summers Abby worked at a preschool in Saline where she gained a lot of great experience. Abby also worked in an after school program at Morey Montessori in Shepherd, Michigan while at CMU. Abby has two older brothers who live in Chicago and Minneapolis. In her free time, Abby enjoys spending time with her family and friends, running, traveling, shopping at Target and watching Michigan football! |
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Preschool Teacher Nikki DeBellefeuille graduated from Monroe County Community College with an AS degree and an AAS in Early Childhood Education at Michigan State University. Prior to Gretchen’s House, Nikki worked for Head Start as a teacher for four years working with preschool age children. She enjoys hanging out with friends, crafting, singing and spending time with her dogs, Moose and Taz. |
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Afternoon teacher Yajaira (Yaya) Caballero recently graduated from The University of Michigan with a Psychology major and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. She has previously worked as a teacher assistant at the Towsley center and is working at Goldfish Swim School. Yaya hopes to further her education as a developmental researcher. |
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DHU VARREN SCHOOL-AGE “THE GRANGE” |
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Jessica Saldana graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelors of Science in Children and Family studies. She previously worked at the Dhu Varren location as a School-age teacher. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her fiance` William and her dog Finn! |
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Lead Teacher Betsy Walsh joined Gretchen’s House in September 2009. She was previously the Young Fives teacher at the Traver location before moving to Dhu Varren. Betsy earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood (ZA) endorsement from Western Michigan University. In her free time Betsy likes to spend time with her family, and read books. She also likes to go kayaking in the summer and knit in the winter. |
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Teacher Laila Green has been in childcare for 5 years including experience as a nanny. Laila earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Claflin University. In her spare time she likes to take her dog to the park, read and knit. Her hobbies include swimming and roller skating. |
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HURON HILLS “THE LODGE” |
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Lead Teacher, Quinton Makgale, also known as “Q” lived in California and East Lansing before moving to Ann Arbor. Q has an Associate degree in Child Development. He is pursuing a Bachelor degree from The University of Michigan in Developmental Psychology and a separate Bachelor degree in Children and Family studies from The University of Michigan- Dearborn. In his spare time, Q enjoys reading, being with family and friends, playing and watching sports, and loves Michigan football! Q has worked at Gretchen’s House since January 2014. |
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Teacher Misty Wesney began teaching at Gretchen’s House in September, 2003. Misty has an Associate’s degree in Science from Monroe County Community College. She has been working in the early childhood field for twelve years. In her spare time, Misty enjoys hanging out with her daughter Elise, painting and camping. |
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Teacher Verity Deselles is currently at Eastern Michigan University pursuing a degree in nursing. This will be her 2nd year working for the scamp program at Dhu Varren. She began working in aftercare at our Northside Community Church in January of this year. In her free time Verity enjoys reading, listening to music, and has a great appreciation for all things nature. She is very excited to see what this year’s school year will bring. |
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