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.

Eileen Galindo

Ms. Galindo was born in Lima, Peru. She came to the U.S. as a teenager and has lived in the Bay Area (Daly City, San Francisco and currently in Alameda) ever since. She obtained her B.A in Psychology from San Francisco State University. Her original career plan was to get her Marriage and Family Therapist license but after having her daughter Kylie in 2010, she discovered a passion for early child development. She got her ECE Site Supervisor level permit and worked as an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) instructor for children on the autism spectrum. She completed her practicum at a Spanish Immersion preschool in San Francisco. While at GLM she got her AMI Primary training certification from Montessori Northwest in 2022. Ms.Galindo will complete her Master’s in Early Education from Whitworth University in 2023. Besides having a teen daughter, Ms. Galindo has a toddler son who just started at GLM in 2023. She is honored to be part of the GLM community and hopes to nurture each child’s uniqueness and encourage their independence during their important formative years. During her free time, Eileen enjoys reading, going to the movies, theater and musicals, listening to true crime podcasts, and enjoying time with her family and walking her dogs.

Jared Mata

Jared Mata was born in San Jose but moved up and down the western coast of America until he was eighteen. From age eighteen to age twenty-six he ran a brewery and restaurant in Spain which sparked his love of good food and business development. His primary interests are traveling and helping small businesses grow. Outside of work you can find him volunteering at an animal shelter or trying to find his new favorite restaurant. He is a fan of a good book, a quiet night, and is always up for learning something new.

Janelle Ledesma

Janelle was born and raised in the Bay Area. She is the first generation to grow up in the United States. Her appreciation for education started at a young age, as she watched her mother complete her high school and college education while speaking little to no English. Education was not as accessible to her mother in the part of Mexico where she grew up and knowing this gave Janelle an impression as to how valuable education was. As she worked on her degree in nursing at Contra Costa College, she began working in an elementary after school program in Richmond, CA. She worked with second graders in an ESL program. Watching the children learn and grow inspired her. She was so moved by the students that she

changed her degree and graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors of Science in Family and Human Development. Although Janelle knew her place was to teach, she felt that in a traditional educational setting, the needs of children were not always being met. She set out to find the missing piece and discovered it in the Montessori pedagogy. Through her exploration in Montessori education, she has worked in infant, toddler and primary classes, but fell in love with working with elementary aged children. Janelle completed her AMI elementary training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego. In her spare time, Janelle loves to hike, read, cook, and spend time with her family and friends.

Lindsay Rathbun

Ms. Rathbun was born and raised in Northern Virginia. She acquired a Bachelors of Science in Psychology at George Mason University. Her passion for working with children began during her undergraduate studies as she worked one-on-one with children with special needs. After graduation she moved to Switzerland. She learned French, worked with teenage boarding students and volunteered with primary children with special needs. Returning to the U.S., she fell into an assistant position at an AMI certified Montessori school in Arlington, Virginia; which was where she discovered Montessori and started her path towards GLM. She worked as a morning assistant, after-care supervisor and co-directed the summer program. In between those positions she lived in New Zealand and nannied in Australia. She acquired her AMI Primary certification at Montessori Northwest in Portland, Oregon before moving down to Oakland, California to start working at GLM. She also holds a Masters of Education degree from Loyola University, Maryland. Her motivation in dedicating her life’s work to children is to improve their well being by supporting their natural paths. She loves traveling, arts and crafts, biking, hiking, and live music.

Torie Beedle

Ms. Beedle grew up in the small New England state of Rhode Island. She holds a BS in Environmental Science from Norwich University, a MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability from Antioch University New England, and both a primary and elementary American Montessori Society (AMS) credentials from Saint Mary’s College. She is part of the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute’s 2020 cohort and is currently working toward a CA multiple subject credential and a MA in Teaching.  At Antioch, Torie researched how nurturing self-purpose and passion in employees is important for business.  She concluded that the seeds of self-purpose are rooted in a love for learning. Learning starts with curiosity, develops through experimentation and discovery, and then leads to an understanding of passions and values. Through this process the foundation of self-purpose is formed. It all starts with education and learning.  Her research led her to Montessori and progressive education. She was amazed to find that Maria Montessori had been working with these same ideas 100 years ago!  It’s been a passionate love affair ever since. Torie has taught both primary and upper elementary classrooms, including three years as GLM’s Jacaranda Lead.  In her free time, Torie enjoys exploring nature, playing music, making things, trail running, reading and spending time with her family.

Vincent LaRocca

Vincent LaRocca grew up in California between Los Angeles and Riverside. He moved to the Bay Area after graduating from high school. Vincent attended Merritt college in the Fall of 2018, where he took his courses in early childhood development and earned his Assistant Teacher certificate. His observations in early childhood education environments taught him that children are inherent learners, as they naturally explore their surroundings. Subsequently, he became enamored with the very curious nature and love that children have for learning. It was then he decided to begin his journey in the Montessori practice of child development. Vincent joined GLM in July, 2018. He is inspired by children’s potential and wants to be a model support for them on their journey of life. Vincent enjoys listening to music, stand up comedy, hiking and exploring the Bay Area, and finding new spots to eat delicious food.

Somsy Phonexaysitthidet

Ms. Phonexaysitthidet (PON-SE-SIT-TI-DAY) was born in Laungprabang, Laos and came to the United States in 1980. She graduated from high school in 1984 at Fremont High. In 1985 she began working at a public elementary school as a Laotian bilingual support teacher and stayed until 2003. While in the service of public education, she went back to college for five years to study liberal arts. In mid 2003 she was introduced to Montessori and impressed with the philosophy, she decided to take the Montessori training at the Montessori Teacher Education Center in San Leandro. She then worked at Rising Starr Montessori school for seven years years, before joining GLM in 2011. She has been living in Oakland for three decades and married for thirty three years to a wonderful husband who served in the social services in Oakland. It is an honor for her to support and teach within the GLM community. In her spare time she enjoys working out at the gym and cooking healthy food from scratch.