Pride And Joy Preschool--Staff

History -- Home -- Preschool Environment

Moilan Manning
Executive Director
Please see our History page for more information.

Our Staff

Office Manager
Mark is originally from New York. He relocated to the Bay Area with his family during his last year of high school. As he settled in California, he became passionate about various outdoor hobbies. He loves rock climbing, camping, cycling, biking, swimming and his European cars. Mark has been a friend of Pride and Joy Preschool since he moved to California. He graduated from San Francisco State with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Special Education. He is a trained behavioral analyst with an emphasis on using only positive techniques in working with his clients. Mark takes part in many wonderful programs that provide opportunities for both young and adult students with plenty of outdoor fun activities. Apart from being knowledgeable in the field of Special Ed, he is also an excellent manager. Mark has been involved in Pride and Joy Preschool since the beginning of our program at the Liberty Street location. He helped a great deal in designing and implementing our outdoor activity areas, including building our play structures. Now he plays a major role at Pride and Joy Preschool in the administrative department as our office manager.

Program Director
For over 20 years Aurora worked at Head Start as a Child Development Administrator. She has lead a variety of preschool programs and has strong management and leadership abilities. Because of her broad exposure to many cultures she has developed a great sense of understanding toward people from different social and economic backgrounds. Aurora is a trainer for Early Childhood programs as well as other professionals in this field. For years Aurora has been a highly regarded mentor teacher and director. She earned distinction for guiding a program of 10 classrooms serving infants/toddlers to kindergarten entry children to a successful accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She holds a Program Director and Lifetime Child Instructional Permit from the State of California and is an active member of the California Child Development Administrators Association (CCDAA) as well as the NAEYC.
Aurora is highly energetic, vibrant, people person and is committed to high education and care standards for children and families. Without a doubt, Aurora is a great asset/contributor to our program at Pride and Joy Preschool.

Infant/Toddler Lead Teacher
Michelle is a wonderful addition to our Infant/Toddler department. She brings with her a decade of experience in this field. For many years, she worked as a nanny for children from 0 to 12 years of age. Her passion for working with young children began when she was in her early teens. Michelle also ran her own daycare prior to having children of her own. Things changed after the birth of her first child. She gave up running a daycare in order to stay focus on raising her own 'pride and joy'. Michelle also has an infant child, which she adores with all of her heart. She chose the field of early childhood education in order to fulfill her great desire of making a positive influence in the lives of young children. As a professional, she believes that each child has their own individual uniqueness, which should be cherished and nurtured. She feels great honor in being a part of their lives.
Not long after the birth of her second child, she decided to join our team at Pride and Joy to pursue her life long interest in the field of Child Development. Michelle never ceases to amazes us with her organizational skills, the compassionate way she interacts with children, and her wide knowledge and understanding of developmentally appropriate practices. Happiness to Michelle means watching her two girls grow to be healthy and happy. Without a doubt, she is an asset to Pride and Joy Preschool.

Candy is our Toddler to Preschool transitional teacher. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Anthropology. Her goal is to become a Master Teacher and is currently working towards that certification. Prior to working at Pride and Joy Preschool, she worked as a soccer coach for over two years teaching a wide age-range from two-and-a-half to twelve years old. She helped promote child development utilizing soccer fundamentals and assisted in the management, maintenance, and safety of classes of up to 45 children. She especially loves working with younger children because learning new ideas and concepts in a fun and nurturing atmosphere encourages them to want to learn more. This is the trait she aspires to promote in children. Furthermore, she enjoys working with children from diverse backgrounds because she believes in always gaining new knowledge. Working in such an environment helps encourage mutual learning between teachers and students.

Erika, our preschool teacher, developed a great passion for children while working as a part-time childcare sitter during her younger years. After high school, Erika worked in a corporation and held a managerial position for many years. As time went on, Erika felt strongly that she was destined to pursue a career working with young children.
In order to follow her hearts desire of being an early childhood educator, Erika joined Pride and Joy Preschool’s team. Erika is committed to working with young children and she aims to be the best in the field that she can be. Her future goal is to be a master teacher in the field of early childhood education as well as to be a mentor teacher. She is currently enrolled in classes to bring her closer to her objectives. Erika's positive energy, delightful personality and her cheerful demeanor are a great addition to our preschool. Erika's passions include, watching movies, going to the beach, and reading good books.

Kathryn began her teaching career at age 16, assisting her mother in their family-owned preschool. After graduating from the university with a B.A. Political Science degree, she continued to pursue her interest in early childhood education. She started taking masters classes while being trained in the Amsterdam-based Montessori. The classes and the training were deferred with her family's migration briefly to Brunei, and then, to the United States.
In 2004, she earned her Early Childhood Teaching Credential in California and has supervised aspiring teachers in her own classroom. Before joining Pride and Joy Preschool, she was head teacher for a Marin County private preschool. Outside of the classroom, Kathryn enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, going to the beach, swimming, camping, biking, bowling, flying kites, frolicking in the snow, or simply rocking it out with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and singing karaoke.

Hegay is a Tibetan who grew up in Nepal and India. She received a British education in India and after graduation moved to Taiwan. In Taiwan she studied Chinese and attended National Cheng Chi University, Department of Ethnology. While in Taiwan she began her career in the field of early childhood education. For over a decade she worked at an International Preschool as a teacher.
Apart from being an early childhood educator, Hegay was also involved with humanitarian work. She volunteered as an interpreter for the Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, including negotiating with government officials and contractors involved in building houses for the homeless flood victims in Nepal. After many trips to Nepal her efforts payed off, filling her with pride for this achievement.
Hegay carries with her a very positive energy towards life. She makes each day at Pride and Joy most joyful, calm, and smooth sailing. Hegay’s passion for children is immense. We are thankful for Hegay's contributions as a teacher to our Pride and Joy Preschool.

Mehriban came to the United States from Turkmenistan. She speaks fluent Russian, Turkmen and English. Mehriban came from a family of eight. At the very young age of six, Mehriban lost her father and life was never the same for her family. Her hard working mother did her best to raise a large family but it wasn’t easy. Sadly Mehriban had to drop out of high school in order to help her mother support her family.
Upon arriving in the States, Mehriban enrolled herself back in school. Within a year, she obtained her High School Diploma. Since then she has successfully completed many courses in the area of Early Childhood Education. She is currently pursuing a B.A. degree in Child Development. Mehriban is very passionate about children with special needs and thus her major goal is to obtain a Masters Degree in Special Education. Mehriban's experiences with young infants and toddlers derives from working with many families and in a daycare while attending City College in Berkeley. Apart from enjoying her work in caring for young children, Mehriban also enjoys spending time with her husband who is a civil engineering student at U. C. Berkeley.
Despite the many challenges she has faced, Mehriban remains cheerful, compassionate, and genuine. Her great knowledge in developmentally appropriate practices is truly a delightful asset to our Pride and Joy’s Infant/Toddler and Preschool Program.

Ming Feng is a mother of two beautiful daughters who are currently attending High School and College. She came on board Pride and Joy as an assistant teacher in our Infant/Older Infants department. She is a wonderful addition to this group because she is passionate about children and she has such a positive and cheerful personality. Teachers and other staff members frequently compliment the love and patience she shows towards children. Ming also speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. Her contributions to Pride and Joy are much appreciated and we are very fortunate to have her as part of our team.

Marilyn grew up in the bay area and is proud to be Californian. After high school, she took on a position as an assistant teacher at a local childcare center in Berkeley. She gained valuable hands-on experience and knowledge working with young infants and preschoolers. After a year and a half of working for this center, the school closed and Marilyn found herself on a different path. She began working at her mother's restaurant, Caffe Venezia, in Berkeley. She still had her heart set on continuing her career in the field of Early Childhood Education.
She finds working with young children a privilege and felt enthusiastic and excited to join our Pride and Joy Preschool team. Marilyn is currently enrolled in College aiming to earn her degree in Child Development. We are delighted that she chose Pride and Joy Preschool to pursue her passion in working with young children.

Sandra was born in Mexico and she speaks fluent Spanish. At age 3, her parents migrated to the United States and they lived in the City of San Francisco. Sandra was thankful for her parents’ courage in making it possible for her and her brother to be in this land of opportunity. She is most proud to receive a wonderful education in this country. Some of Sandra’s favorite hobbies are playing sports, dancing, biking, and roller-skating. She also loves to travel and wishes to visit many countries in the future. However, Sandra’s major goal and passion in life is working with children. She is currently pursuing a Certification in Early Childhood Education. Sandra is very passionate about helping children grow to be healthy and happy. She strongly believes that children’s early childhood years are the most important part of their lives and that they deserve a positive childhood experience. Ever since she was a young girl she always loved to play with and take care of little babies. As she grew older and graduated from high school, she knew that working with children would be her career.
Sandra was ecstatic when given the opportunity to work with our children at Pride and Joy Preschool. As working with children has always been her dream, we are glad to make her dream come true.

Alma was born in Los Angeles California and raised in the Bay Area. She has always loved working with children at her church. While attending College she discussed her goals with a counselor and soon Alma realized that she had found her career. She has never enjoyed being in class as much she did while earning her early childhood development units. In her previous work at a center in Marin City as a teacher's aid she enjoyed and looked forward to each day at work. She loves her career and she loves children. Alma strongly believes that the first few years of a child's life are the most important and she wants to be a good role model for the children at Pride and Joy Preschool. She very much enjoys singing with the children and reading books to them. She speaks, reads and writes fluent Spanish.

Eugenia is the mother of three grown sons. Before joining Pride and Joy Preschool, she worked with children ages 5 months to three years old at the Head Start program. Eugenia received her PITC training (Program for Infant and Toddler Care) prior to taking on a position at our center.
Her love for young children is evident in her everyday expression and interaction with them. With her children grown, she welcomes sharing her mother's love with our students. In order to follow her passion in her career path, Eugenia continues to attend college to learn more about what it takes to be the best in the field.

	Office Manager Mark is originally from New York. He relocated to the Bay Area with his family during his last year of high school. As he settled in California, he became passionate about various outdoor hobbies. He loves rock climbing, camping, cycling, biking, swimming and his European cars. Mark has been a friend of Pride and Joy Preschool since he moved to California. He graduated from San Francisco State with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Special Education. He is a trained behavioral analyst with an emphasis on using only positive techniques in working with his clients. Mark takes part in many wonderful programs that provide opportunities for both young and adult students with plenty of outdoor fun activities. Apart from being knowledgeable in the field of Special Ed, he is also an excellent manager. Mark has been involved in Pride and Joy Preschool since the beginning of our program at the Liberty Street location. He helped a great deal in designing and implementing our outdoor activity areas, including building our play structures. Now he plays a major role at Pride and Joy Preschool in the administrative department as our office manager.
	Program Director For over 20 years Aurora worked at Head Start as a Child Development Administrator. She has lead a variety of preschool programs and has strong management and leadership abilities. Because of her broad exposure to many cultures she has developed a great sense of understanding toward people from different social and economic backgrounds. Aurora is a trainer for Early Childhood programs as well as other professionals in this field. For years Aurora has been a highly regarded mentor teacher and director. She earned distinction for guiding a program of 10 classrooms serving infants/toddlers to kindergarten entry children to a successful accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She holds a Program Director and Lifetime Child Instructional Permit from the State of California and is an active member of the California Child Development Administrators Association (CCDAA) as well as the NAEYC. Aurora is highly energetic, vibrant, people person and is committed to high education and care standards for children and families. Without a doubt, Aurora is a great asset/contributor to our program at Pride and Joy Preschool.
	Infant/Toddler Lead Teacher Michelle is a wonderful addition to our Infant/Toddler department. She brings with her a decade of experience in this field. For many years, she worked as a nanny for children from 0 to 12 years of age. Her passion for working with young children began when she was in her early teens. Michelle also ran her own daycare prior to having children of her own. Things changed after the birth of her first child. She gave up running a daycare in order to stay focus on raising her own 'pride and joy'. Michelle also has an infant child, which she adores with all of her heart. She chose the field of early childhood education in order to fulfill her great desire of making a positive influence in the lives of young children. As a professional, she believes that each child has their own individual uniqueness, which should be cherished and nurtured. She feels great honor in being a part of their lives. Not long after the birth of her second child, she decided to join our team at Pride and Joy to pursue her life long interest in the field of Child Development. Michelle never ceases to amazes us with her organizational skills, the compassionate way she interacts with children, and her wide knowledge and understanding of developmentally appropriate practices. Happiness to Michelle means watching her two girls grow to be healthy and happy. Without a doubt, she is an asset to Pride and Joy Preschool.
	Candy is our Toddler to Preschool transitional teacher. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Anthropology. Her goal is to become a Master Teacher and is currently working towards that certification. Prior to working at Pride and Joy Preschool, she worked as a soccer coach for over two years teaching a wide age-range from two-and-a-half to twelve years old. She helped promote child development utilizing soccer fundamentals and assisted in the management, maintenance, and safety of classes of up to 45 children. She especially loves working with younger children because learning new ideas and concepts in a fun and nurturing atmosphere encourages them to want to learn more. This is the trait she aspires to promote in children. Furthermore, she enjoys working with children from diverse backgrounds because she believes in always gaining new knowledge. Working in such an environment helps encourage mutual learning between teachers and students.
	Erika, our preschool teacher, developed a great passion for children while working as a part-time childcare sitter during her younger years. After high school, Erika worked in a corporation and held a managerial position for many years. As time went on, Erika felt strongly that she was destined to pursue a career working with young children. In order to follow her hearts desire of being an early childhood educator, Erika joined Pride and Joy Preschool’s team. Erika is committed to working with young children and she aims to be the best in the field that she can be. Her future goal is to be a master teacher in the field of early childhood education as well as to be a mentor teacher. She is currently enrolled in classes to bring her closer to her objectives. Erika's positive energy, delightful personality and her cheerful demeanor are a great addition to our preschool. Erika's passions include, watching movies, going to the beach, and reading good books.
	Kathryn began her teaching career at age 16, assisting her mother in their family-owned preschool. After graduating from the university with a B.A. Political Science degree, she continued to pursue her interest in early childhood education. She started taking masters classes while being trained in the Amsterdam-based Montessori. The classes and the training were deferred with her family's migration briefly to Brunei, and then, to the United States. In 2004, she earned her Early Childhood Teaching Credential in California and has supervised aspiring teachers in her own classroom. Before joining Pride and Joy Preschool, she was head teacher for a Marin County private preschool. Outside of the classroom, Kathryn enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, going to the beach, swimming, camping, biking, bowling, flying kites, frolicking in the snow, or simply rocking it out with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and singing karaoke.
	Hegay is a Tibetan who grew up in Nepal and India. She received a British education in India and after graduation moved to Taiwan. In Taiwan she studied Chinese and attended National Cheng Chi University, Department of Ethnology. While in Taiwan she began her career in the field of early childhood education. For over a decade she worked at an International Preschool as a teacher. Apart from being an early childhood educator, Hegay was also involved with humanitarian work. She volunteered as an interpreter for the Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, including negotiating with government officials and contractors involved in building houses for the homeless flood victims in Nepal. After many trips to Nepal her efforts payed off, filling her with pride for this achievement. Hegay carries with her a very positive energy towards life. She makes each day at Pride and Joy most joyful, calm, and smooth sailing. Hegay’s passion for children is immense. We are thankful for Hegay's contributions as a teacher to our Pride and Joy Preschool.
	Mehriban came to the United States from Turkmenistan. She speaks fluent Russian, Turkmen and English. Mehriban came from a family of eight. At the very young age of six, Mehriban lost her father and life was never the same for her family. Her hard working mother did her best to raise a large family but it wasn’t easy. Sadly Mehriban had to drop out of high school in order to help her mother support her family. Upon arriving in the States, Mehriban enrolled herself back in school. Within a year, she obtained her High School Diploma. Since then she has successfully completed many courses in the area of Early Childhood Education. She is currently pursuing a B.A. degree in Child Development. Mehriban is very passionate about children with special needs and thus her major goal is to obtain a Masters Degree in Special Education. Mehriban's experiences with young infants and toddlers derives from working with many families and in a daycare while attending City College in Berkeley. Apart from enjoying her work in caring for young children, Mehriban also enjoys spending time with her husband who is a civil engineering student at U. C. Berkeley. Despite the many challenges she has faced, Mehriban remains cheerful, compassionate, and genuine. Her great knowledge in developmentally appropriate practices is truly a delightful asset to our Pride and Joy’s Infant/Toddler and Preschool Program.
	Ming Feng is a mother of two beautiful daughters who are currently attending High School and College. She came on board Pride and Joy as an assistant teacher in our Infant/Older Infants department. She is a wonderful addition to this group because she is passionate about children and she has such a positive and cheerful personality. Teachers and other staff members frequently compliment the love and patience she shows towards children. Ming also speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. Her contributions to Pride and Joy are much appreciated and we are very fortunate to have her as part of our team.
	Marilyn grew up in the bay area and is proud to be Californian. After high school, she took on a position as an assistant teacher at a local childcare center in Berkeley. She gained valuable hands-on experience and knowledge working with young infants and preschoolers. After a year and a half of working for this center, the school closed and Marilyn found herself on a different path. She began working at her mother's restaurant, Caffe Venezia, in Berkeley. She still had her heart set on continuing her career in the field of Early Childhood Education. She finds working with young children a privilege and felt enthusiastic and excited to join our Pride and Joy Preschool team. Marilyn is currently enrolled in College aiming to earn her degree in Child Development. We are delighted that she chose Pride and Joy Preschool to pursue her passion in working with young children.
	Sandra was born in Mexico and she speaks fluent Spanish. At age 3, her parents migrated to the United States and they lived in the City of San Francisco. Sandra was thankful for her parents’ courage in making it possible for her and her brother to be in this land of opportunity. She is most proud to receive a wonderful education in this country. Some of Sandra’s favorite hobbies are playing sports, dancing, biking, and roller-skating. She also loves to travel and wishes to visit many countries in the future. However, Sandra’s major goal and passion in life is working with children. She is currently pursuing a Certification in Early Childhood Education. Sandra is very passionate about helping children grow to be healthy and happy. She strongly believes that children’s early childhood years are the most important part of their lives and that they deserve a positive childhood experience. Ever since she was a young girl she always loved to play with and take care of little babies. As she grew older and graduated from high school, she knew that working with children would be her career. Sandra was ecstatic when given the opportunity to work with our children at Pride and Joy Preschool. As working with children has always been her dream, we are glad to make her dream come true.
	Alma was born in Los Angeles California and raised in the Bay Area. She has always loved working with children at her church. While attending College she discussed her goals with a counselor and soon Alma realized that she had found her career. She has never enjoyed being in class as much she did while earning her early childhood development units. In her previous work at a center in Marin City as a teacher's aid she enjoyed and looked forward to each day at work. She loves her career and she loves children. Alma strongly believes that the first few years of a child's life are the most important and she wants to be a good role model for the children at Pride and Joy Preschool. She very much enjoys singing with the children and reading books to them. She speaks, reads and writes fluent Spanish.
	Eugenia is the mother of three grown sons. Before joining Pride and Joy Preschool, she worked with children ages 5 months to three years old at the Head Start program. Eugenia received her PITC training (Program for Infant and Toddler Care) prior to taking on a position at our center. Her love for young children is evident in her everyday expression and interaction with them. With her children grown, she welcomes sharing her mother's love with our students. In order to follow her passion in her career path, Eugenia continues to attend college to learn more about what it takes to be the best in the field.