Our Staff
Neda/ Director
Following the birth of her first child and the amazing relationship that impacted her life, Neda found a new passion. She realized the importance of relationships and trust, as it relates to the growing & developing life of a child. While raising her young child, Neda opened an in-home family childcare program. Throughout her child's growth and the growth of her in-home family childcare program, Neda began taking classes in Early Childhood Education. Her passion for these young lives and her advancing education drove her to eventually own and operate, what is now, Love and Care Learning Center.
Jessica/ Director
Jessica’s passion for children began in high school when she started working in after school-care programs. While attending San Francisco State and earning her B.A. in Business she continued to nanny and work with young children. Upon completing her degree she was asked to work in her family’s preschool center and has not left since. Jessica has been working at Love and Care since 2011 and earned an associates degree in Early Childhood Education. She has grown from teacher’s assistant, to lead teacher, and now is the Director.
Pia/ Assistant Director
Pia came to Love and Care in 2015 with several years of experience working with children from infancy to preschool. Pia earned her Masters in Education degree from the Philippines and took additional studies in early childhood education here in the US. Through the years, Pia’s positive disposition allowed her to develop a good relationship with the staff, the families and the children here at Love and Care which made an easier transition from being a teacher to the role of assistant director.
Infant Nursery
Salima
All her life, Salima has been surrounded by children. Growing up she watched after her younger brothers, sisters and cousins from a very young age and enjoyed every minute of it. After raising her own children she had an interest to get back into the work world and decided that childcare was the perfect fit for her. She has been at Love & Care since 2013 and began as a cook in our kitchen. Salima’s passion for caregiving and experiences with infants, in particular, encouraged her to get her Early Childhood Education. Salima is one of our Lead Infant Teachers.
Ashwini
Coming soon
Mahnaz
This mother of two has been in this field for 4 years. Mahnaz recently joined our staff and her love of infants can clearly be seen in her interactions. She enjoys working with infants more so than any other age.
Zahra
Mrs. Zahra has worked with young children for over 15 years. She began her journey working with young children in her home country, Algeria. She earned her degree in Alegria and worked as an elementary school teacher before coming to the US. When she moved to the US she went back to school at DVC and earned over 35 units in early childhood education. Her patience and gentle touch is the perfect match for our nursery.
Transition room/ Younger 1’s
Ouiza
Mrs. Quiza has worked with children for several years in her home country of Algeria. When she arrived to the US she focused on raising her children and she also went back to school to obtain and continue her education in Early Childhood. She has a passion for working with children and her calm demeanor is a perfect match for our young toddlers.
Hanane
Hanane has worked with young children since 2014 in her home country, Algeria. She earned her teaching certification in Algeria, and continued to pursue her degree in Early Childhood Education when she came to the US. Hanane has a passion for caring for children while teaching them. She enjoys singing and reading books as well as planning age appropriate activities for our young one year olds. Her calm disposition is a great match for the TR class.
Gia
Ms. Gia has worked with our program for over 4 years. She has a very calm and patient caregiving style which is a great match for our younger toddlers who are transitioning from our nursery. Gia favorite part about being with this age group is offering them snuggle when they need extra love & care, and to also engage their attention through music & movement.
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1’s Class
Lily
Lily has worked with children for 20 years. Nine of those years were spent teaching in Peru with elementary school-aged children and 7 years in the U.S. with toddlers. She enjoys playing with the children and making connections with them. Lily’s love for music and dance is contagious amongst her spirited class.
Sabrina
Sabrina has worked with children for many years. She began her journey of early childhood education from her home country in Algeria. When she moved to the US she continued her work and education with young children by obtaining over 30+ units in Early Childhood Education and working with a range of children from infancy through preschool.
Merry
Merry has been in the field for over 10 years. She has worked with elementary age children as well as young toddlers. Merry enjoys watching them grow and being a part of their learning process. Merry’s favorite part about teaching little ones is incorporating art projects into the curriculum to allow each child to express themselves creatively.
2’s Class
Jessica Solis
Jessica received her A.A. in Liberal Arts and A.S. in ECE at DIablo Valley College. Jessica has been working at Love and Care since 2014. Jessica has worked both in our infant/toddler and preschool programs. With that being said, Jessica fell in love with the two’s class and is by far her favorite age group. Jessica enjoys guiding the 2’s to be more independent and creating a lasting relationship with the children and their families.
Maria
Maria has been in this field for 30 years, and at Love & Care since 2014. She has worked with many age groups, from elementary school to infancy. Her favorite age is infants/toddlers, in particular, because of the vast knowledge they have. Maria’s thoughts are, “infants/toddlers are very intelligent and despite many of them being nonverbal, I catch a few of them giving me a knowing smirk or smile in response to something I say to them.”
3’s Class
Liz
Liz is new to the field of ECE & has worked with young children since 2021. She received her ECE teacher associate certificate from Diablo Valley in 2020 and attended Cal State East Bay to complete her B.A in Psychology and is planning to pursue a career in child counseling. Liz started at Love and Care in 2022 in the three’s class. She loved the 3’s class so much that she moved with them into our Pre-k class. Liz is excited to plan curriculum and activities to get her kiddos ready for Kindergarten. Working at Love and Care helps her have an insight on children’s development and will help her be a great child counselor in the future.
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Ingrid
Ingrid began working in early childhood education in 2012. She earned her Teaching Certification from City College of SF. Her favorite age group is the preschoolers, specifically age 3 because she loves to nurture them but also assist each child reach a higher level of independence. Her philosophy incorporates a balance between free play and structured activities (based on emerging interest from her class). In her words, “The more love you give to a child, the more they will trust you and allow you to scaffold their little mind”. She currently teaches an immersive class by incorporating her Peruvian roots through language & music.
Pre-K Class
Yesenia
Yesenia’s path to this school was a delightful surprise. Yesenia attended Notre Dame de Namur University to complete her B.A. in Psychology and was going to pursue a career in Marriage & Family Therapy. In 2015 Yesenia moved back to the bay area, she applied to Love and Care and it was a perfect fit. Yesenia has worked in every room which has given her a unique insight in each classroom’s curriculum needs. Her enthusiasm for curriculum development, her love of art, and her knowledge of child development made her a candidate to take on this role.
Pre-K Class
Jenny
Jenny has worked with young children for 7 years. She obtained her teaching certification from DVC in 2017. Jenny enjoys combining a mixture of teaching philosophies to match each child’s unique personality and temperament. She takes pride in enhancing their growth & development so they are prepared for the next class. Ms. Jenny started Love & Care as a two’s teacher and always had a passion to teach Pre-K-Kindergarten. She makes an effort to make that special connection with each one of her students as she believes that is a key quality to have to build trust and respect from them.
Meet Our Cook
Khadija
Khadija joined our L&C family in 2018 after raising her 3 children. Khadija was born and raised in Afghanistan. She has lived in France and India for several years and found her permanent home in the US. Her passion for cooking and experience living in different countries makes her the perfect candidate for our multicultural cuisine. Khadija puts her personal touch into every meal which our kiddos truly enjoy.
Floater
Mercedes
Coming Soon
Floater
Elizabeth
Coming Soon
Floater
Alexa
Coming Soon
Floater
Susie
Our Veteran employee has been with us since 2007. Susie truly has a passion for children of all ages. Susie’s warm spirit has evolved from class to class. All the children love Susie so much that she gets to spend time in every age group as a floating assistant teacher.
Floater
Janette
Janette has worked in this field since 1998 and has been with Love and Care since 2014 where she began her journey with us as a lead teacher in the 1’s room. A few years ago she wanted to join our preschool group and worked as a 3’s teacher where she truly enjoyed stepping into the imagination of a 3 year-old. Janette is one of our seasoned teachers who knows a lot about each age group and how each class runs. She currently spends time in each class daily to love and nurture each child’s growing mind.
Floater
Rashin
Mrs. Rashin began her journey of childcare in her home country of Iran. She continued her Early Childhood education and work when she came to the US in 2017, and she even operated a small family childcare from her home prior to COVID. Due to COVID she decided not to operate a childcare out of her home and joined our team in 2021. She is a very patient teacher and her love for young children is seen in her caregiving abilities.