Jaquelyn Dela Cruz

Ms. Dela Cruz was born in San Francisco, California and grew up in Richmond, California. She is the oldest of two sisters. Ms. Dela Cruz began working with school-aged children after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, East Bay. She worked as a Substitute Teacher in grades K-6 in the West Contra Costa Unified School District for five years. During this time, Ms. Dela Cruz decided to pursue Early Childhood Education courses at a community college. She realized her true passion was working with children from birth-3 years and pursued a full-time career as an Assistant Teacher at a child care center in 2012. Most of Ms. Dela Cruz’s teaching experience has been as an Assistant Teacher in an infant and toddler classroom. In 2018, Ms. Dela Cruz decided to explore and transition into working at a Montessori school. She felt very connected to the Montessori philosophy and method particularly children’s care of self and care for the environment. In Ms. Dela Cruz’s free time, she enjoys listening to music, running, and exploring new restaurants in the SF/Bay Area.

Grace Mollel

Ms. Mollel was born and raised in Arusha Tanzania, East Africa, as were both of her parents. After finishing college she worked at the the NGO-Tanzanian Norwegian Aids Project in Arusha and the Kilimanjaro region as an account assistant for five years. She traveled to the United States and Oakland, California where she worked as a nanny for several years before joining GLM. She has worked as a support teacher in one of our toddler classrooms for more than 10 years. Her philosophy in her work with both children and adults is for all to be acknowledged, respected and treated with love. Her passions includes cleaning, organizing, music and spending time with family and friends.

Coreen Clark

Ms. Clark was born in Denver, Colorado and was raised on the east coast in Alabama and Maryland. She comes from a large, close-knit family and has more than a dozen nieces and nephews who sparked her love of children. She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a psychology minor from Brigham Young University in Utah, and she moved to the Bay Area in 2012. In San Francisco, she worked with elementary-aged children for over 3 years and gained experience with preschoolers at Friends of Potrero Hill Preschool. She came to Grand Lake Montessori after working as an Assistant Teacher in a primary-age classroom at LePort Montessori Preschool in Emeryville. Ms. Clark joined GLM in 2018 and finished her AMI Montessori Certification in 2021. She believes strongly in the Montessori philosophy of allowing children the freedom to explore and learn independently and at their own pace. Ms. Clark has a particular interest in art, stories, film, and geography. She also loves music and plays piano in her spare time.

Nicolette Cerniglia

Nicolette Cerniglia was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She moved to California when she was in elementary school and has just recently relocated to the Bay Area. Through her work in doing art with children while in college, she fostered a curiosity and passion for education for primary aged children. Nicolette also was a Montessori student as a child and has always believed in the beautiful philosophy. After getting her BFA from Sacramento State University, she further cultivated her early childhood studies. She has been exploring the Montessori philosophy and has gained experience by working in other Montessori schools. Some of Nicolette’s hobbies include transforming art from recycled items, keeping up with her bonus son, and spending time with her family and her dogs.

Joaquin Dehoyos

Bio coming soon.

Trent Hines

Trent Hines

Trent has been with Hines Building Management (HBM) since 2017. As a son of the owner of HBM, he started learning the Facilities trades at a young age. He helped with summer projects which taught him about the business and for the past 4 years he has held various positions including Janitorial, Floor Care Specialist, Day Laborer, and most recently a Maintenance Technician. These experiences have helped him understand what the clients’ needs are.

He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is the oldest of 5 in a blended family. His passion outside of work is working on cars during his free time. He hopes to bring that same passion to the GLM community and looks forward to working here.

Maria Zepeda

Mosa Laren

Mosa Laren was born and raised in Southern California, and moved to the Bay Area to complete her undergraduate work at San Francisco State University. It was during this time that she took a job as an assistant in a Montessori school. She vividly remembers the moment she fell in love with Montessori as she watched a young toddler hang up her own coat. Despite years of work with children prior to this, she had never before witnessed such independence and satisfaction. After spending some time in traditional education, teaching both second and fourth grades, Mosa came back to Montessori when she realized that it was the best path for her own daughter (who attends GLM and is happy to be a part of the Redwood Elementary class). She is delighted to come to school with her daughter each morning here at GLM. Mosa received her AMI Primary Certification from Montessori Northwest in 2017. At every turn, Mosa continues to be amazed and gratified by what Montessori has to offer children and adults by way, not only of education, but spiritual growth and joy. In her spare time, Mosa enjoys the rich storytelling and literary scenes in the Bay Area, paper and textile crafts, and snuggle time with her daughter, their two cats, and good books.

Rynae Lindsey

Rynae Lindsey

Rynae was born and raised in the South Bay Area. Her love for travel led her to London, where she lived while obtaining a BA in Developmental Psychology. Over the past 2 decades, Rynae has served children of various backgrounds and abilities in a multitude of ways. It was the birth of her first child that led her on a journey to uncover alternative methods of education and introduced her to the wonderful world of Montessori. She completed her Primary (3-6) training at Montessori Northwest, and is in pursuit of a Masters in Early Education. Rynae finds joy through her work with children, and is excited to begin this journey with GLM. Outside of the classroom, she spends most of her time studying or hanging with her little blended family. She enjoys the outdoors and can be spotted on weekends at the beach, on a hike, or enjoying a good book at the lake.

Jeffrey Chu

Born in British Hong Kong and growing up in the Bay Area, Mr. Chu has always been interested in personal stories. He was intrigued by the stories his father told of his great-great-grandfather coming to America, of how his family has straddled two continents for many generations. His search for meaning took him to study Chinese at UC Berkeley and getting a master’s in classical Chinese at Peking University in Beijing. In China, while teaching English, Jeff discovered his love for teaching elementary children; where his search turned to understanding what it meant to be human. After coming home, he happened upon Montessori and discovered that Montessori gave him a framework to do just that.
After completing his AMI elementary diploma in Minnesota in 2012, Mr. Chu ran a successful elementary classroom in Hollister for six years. Jeff now joins GLM as the elementary lead teacher.
While he hasn’t found the meaning of life, he has made it his mission to help his students find meaning in theirs. When not teaching, Mr. Chu spends time with his wife Tracy and two cats, studies Spanish, reads history, plays the piano, and is in the middle of restoring a 1972 VW beetle.