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LePort Montessori Irvine Woodbridge Staff

School Administration

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Christine Lin Rotenberry

Christine Lin Rotenberry

Head of School

Ms. Christine loves education and helping children become successful independent selves. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside and her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Sports and Health Psychology from Adler University in Illinois. Having worked with children and adolescents in clinical settings, after school programs, summer camps, and private tutoring, Ms. Christine stumbled upon the Montessori Method in 2018 at the LePort Montessori Irvine Mandarin Campus. Since then, Ms. Christine has taught and observed at LePort's Irvine Mandarin, Woodbridge, and Westpark campuses. Ms. Christine is excited to return to the beautiful campus of Woodbridge as Head of School.

In her free time, Ms. Christine enjoys staying in with her husband and their two cats, Luna and Artemis. She can also be found at Disneyland catching Pokemon and eating dole whips.
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Merel Adriano

Merel Adriano

Business Manager

Merel Adriano was born in the Netherlands and moved to the United States in 2001. She grew up in Redlands, California and made her way to Orange County to attend the University of California, Irvine. It was during her time at UC Irvine, that Ms. Merel found her passion for working with students. She went on to graduate in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Educational Sciences. After graduation, Ms. Merel began working as an Assistant Teacher in a Montessori classroom and was quickly inspired to become Montessori trained herself. Ms. Merel received her AMI Primary Diploma from the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies in Phoenix, Arizona and obtained a Masters of Education with an emphasis in Montessori Studies from Loyola University Maryland.

During her free time, Ms. Merel enjoys being outdoors, traveling, going to Disneyland, and spending time with her family and friends.

Toddler

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Karla Melgar

Karla Melgar

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Karla Melgar graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor's degree in Child and Adolescent Development and a minor in Human Services, in 2013. Soon after, she started working for LePort as an Assistant Teacher in our Toddler program. She has enjoyed working with children and families and has previously worked at various locations where she was able to work hands-on with children. In 2015, Ms. Melgar began her AMI training in Vancouver, Canada, which she completed in 2016. She has been a Lead Toddler teacher at LePort for over 7 years. During her free time, she loves going on adventures with her son. She also enjoys painting, reading, and going on long walks. 
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Sophie Torres

Sophie Torres

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Sophie Torres graduated from California State University, Long Beach, in 2022 with a Bachelor’s in American Studies. Ms. Torres enjoyed her major due to being able to take a variety of classes in child and human development from infancy throughout the human lifespan. This piqued her interest in working with children. She believes that their development at a young age sets them up for their future, and she wants to be a part of that process for our children. As an assistant teacher, Ms. Torres enjoys being able to create an environment where children feel safe and excited to learn all that our school offers.

Ms. Torres was born and raised in Huntington Beach and has stayed local in Orange County. She enjoys spending her free time with her friends and family, going to the beach, binge watching shows, and trying out new recipes.
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Karen Alvarado

Karen Alvarado

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Ms. Karen Alvarado was born and raised in Orange County. She knew working with children would be her passion ever since she took child care courses in High School. Ms. Karen attended Cypress College and Laguna Technical College where she completed her Early Childhood Education courses. Ms. Karen began working as an Assistant Teacher at LePort Woodridge in 2016 and later went on to lead a Toddler classroom for another Montessori program in Orange County. Ms. Karen has since happily returned to LePort Woodbridge and stepped into the Head Teacher role. Ms. Karen is dedicated to the Montessori philosophy and aims to create a safe, engaging, and nurturing environment for her students. Ms. Karen has a 3 year old son who has been immersed in Montessori since he was 4 months old. She has witnessed tremendous growth and development of independence throughout his time in the Montessori environment. In her free time, Ms. Karen plays soccer and enjoys doing activities with her family.
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Jacqueline Flores

Jacqueline Flores

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Jackie Flores was born and raised in Orange County. Her love for children began while she was taking care of her younger sisters. From there, Ms. Jackie spent time babysitting for her family and volunteering at local elementary schools. While Ms. Jackie enjoys working with children of all age groups, she especially enjoys engaging with the toddlers and seeing their independence flourish. Ms. Jackie is looking forward to guiding children on their journey through the Montessori environment. In her free time Ms. Jackie enjoys building new Lego sets and spending time with her friends, family, and her three cats.

Primary

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Amanda Elliott

Amanda Elliott

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Amanda Elliott has known since early childhood that she wanted to be a teacher. While other children were dreaming of being a ballerina or an astronaut, she was dreaming of having her own classroom. Amanda has been working with children in different capacities for over fifteen years and graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Eight years later she was introduced to the Montessori Method which opened her eyes to all of the possibilities for children. Amanda attended the Montessori Institute of San Diego and Loyola University of Maryland to earn her Montessori Certificate and Masters of Education with an emphasis in Montessori respectively. She believes strongly in the Montessori Method and looks forward to growing as a guide in the Montessori environment.
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Yessenia Ramirez

Yessenia Ramirez

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Yessenia Ramírez was born and raised in California. She is currently attending Orange Coast College to pursue her education in early childhood. Working with children has been a passion of hers growing up around other children and being a role model. She plans to transfer to a four-year college to further her education in early childhood. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
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Ruth Stephens

Ruth Stephens

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Stephens, born in Erith, Kent, England, came to the U.S. in 1980. She received her A.A. in Early Childhood Education from State University of New York, Farmingdale, and her B.S. in Education from C.W. Post, Long Island University, New York. After four years in New York, Ms. Stephens moved to Southern California. She continued her education and earned her AMI Diploma from The Montessori Institute of Los Angeles in 1986.
Ms. Stephens brings to her teaching a wealth of enthusiasm, experience and talent. She is deeply committed to the Montessori method and continues to attend seminars, refresher courses, and lectures to deepen her understanding and appreciation of Maria Montessori’s approach to education. She has long been an active equestrian, and has a great interest in travel, the arts and nature. Since 1986 Ms. Stephens has been a teacher right here in Orange County, and has been a Head Primary Teacher at LePort Montessori since 2009.
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Melanie Zea

Melanie Zea

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Melanie was born and raised in California and has her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education, as well as her Associates Degree in Psychology from Santiago Canyon College. She is continuing her education to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Spanish. Ms. Melanie has been an Early Childhood Educator since 2019 and found the passion for teaching primary aged students when she began volunteering at her local elementary school during high school. In addition to having a passion for teaching the future generations, Ms. Melanie also has a passion for business. She currently owns her own small business and dreams to expand it in the near future. She loves continuing her studies and her education by finding opportunities to travel, learn, and grow. In her free time, Ms. Melanie loves going to the beach, going on boat rides, going to amusement parks, and most importantly spending time with her family.
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Anoma Panditha

Anoma Panditha

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Anoma Panditha was born and raised in Sri Lanka and moved to the United States with her family in 2005. She was interested in Montessori education after caring for her two children. Before her Montessori teaching, she worked in the accounting field in Sri Lanka. She attended Irvine Valley College and Monarch Bay Montessori Academy. Ms. Panditha has been teaching Montessori since 2016 and enjoys watching the children grow in a normalized prepared environment. Outside of work, she loves hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and two children.
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Carol Hasbun

Carol Hasbun

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Carol Hasbun was born in Guatemala, Central America and moved to the United States in 1996. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Guatemala and decided to continue her education in Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California to earn her early childhood development units. Ms. Carol loves learning and earning as many early childhood development units as she can while also receiving multiple Associate Degrees, including a degree in World Languages. Her love and passion for teaching young children began while raising her son and daughter. In her free time, Ms. Carol enjoys traveling, spending time with her husband, her two children, and her four conure birds and one budgie. She also loves trying new foods and can be found at Disneyland or Universal Studios on her days off.

Additional Staff

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Kirti Jawale

Kirti Jawale

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Kirti Jawale was born and raised in India. She moved to Ohio in 2011 with her husband and elder son where she earned her Masters of Science in Mathematics and worked as a professor. Ms. Kirti had her second child in 2020 and, while spending quality time with him, she developed an interest in early childhood education. Ms. Kirti and her family moved to California in 2021 and since then she has loved working around children, listening and talking to them. Working with children is like therapy for her. Outside of work, Ms. Kirti loves cooking, camping, traveling, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
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Dushyanthi Nainanayake

Dushyanthi Nainanayake

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Dushyanthi Nainanayake was born and raised in Sri Lanka. She earned her degree in Business Administration and received her Flight Operations Officer license. After obtaining these qualifications, she started working in the aviation field as a Flight Operations Officer for an international airline in Sri Lanka. After having her son, Ms. Dushy developed an interest in the Montessori method. Upon migrating to the United States, Ms. Dushy completed her Early Childhood Education courses to pursue a career in teaching. Before joining our LePort Woodbridge community, Ms. Dushy worked as a Montessori Assistant Teacher for over 2 years. Ms. Dushy loves to spend time with her husband and son. She also has an interest in designing and crafting greeting cards.
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