Meet the Team

Co-founder of ConnectEd Circles and Senior Advisor to Bank Street’s Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice, with three decades in infant mental health, trauma-informed practice, and reflective supervision. Dual master’s from Bank Street and Cal Poly Humboldt; former VP of Child & Family Services at the Verner Center. After Hurricane Helene she opened her home as a therapeutic playgroup and coordinated crisis response across WNC.

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Bilingual early childhood educator and Anti-Bias Curriculum Director at the Verner Center for Early Learning. Circle of Security Parenting facilitator in English and Spanish, Child First team member at RHA Health Services, and a decade-plus supporting children from birth to Kindergarten - bridging the language and cultural gaps that too often leave Spanish-speaking families underserved.

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Early Childhood Consultant, Reflective Supervisor, and Family Advocate. Theatre-trained clinical approach - body-based, playful, “power-with.” Endorsed Infant Mental Health Specialist (IMH-E®, 2025), COSP facilitator, Triple P provider. Partners with FIRSTwnc on IEP navigation and specialized coaching for families of autistic children. After Hurricane Helene, coordinated mutual aid for 2,000+ displaced families.

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Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate in Asheville, specializing in families navigating substance use and its impact on children and caregiving relationships - holding addiction, recovery, and child development in the same room.

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Bilingual Consultant and Early Childhood Specialist with roots in NYC and Colombia. Master’s in bilingual education, grounded in developmental psychology. Early Childhood Professional with the Child First team at RHA Health Services; inside ConnectEd Circles she leads ASD coaching - intensive, in-classroom support for educators working with neurodivergent children across Asheville.

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MPH from UNC Chapel Hill; former Lead Infant Room Educator and Teacher Resilience Project contributor. That dual experience - on the ground with infants and in evaluation work - lets her build data systems educators actually use. She designs evaluation plans and translates findings into language funders, families, and communities all read.

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Evolutionary biologist; PhD from Columbia (Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology, 2013); contributing researcher on the team that described Cercopithecus lomamiensis (the Lesula). Adjunct at Columbia and Mars Hill, NABT Two-Year College Teacher of the Year, and founder of the Big Asheville Science Salon. Inside ConnectEd Circles he translates research into language families, educators, and communities actually read.

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