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
Mrs. Ashwini has been working with us since 2023. She has a child of her own in our program and her nurturing motherly character is a wonderful match for our infants. While working she obtained her education to in Early Childhood Education.
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.”
Fatiha
Info Coming Soon
Transition room/ Younger 1’s
Mercedes
Mercedes started her ECE career early at age of 16, volunteering at a day care. She proceeded to further her education by receiving an AA in psychology and obtaining 18 ECE credits. She started working with Love & Care as a 2’s during the 2020 during the pandemic. Mercedes love witnessing the journey and huge milestones such language development, self exploration, and social skills. She enjoys teaching young children new things and the they teach me her much more.
Mahnaz
This mother of two has been in this field for 9 years. Mahnaz joined our staff in 2020 and her love of infants can clearly be seen in her interactions. She enjoys working with infants more so than any other age because of her nurturing demeanor. She is a natural caregiver and treats each child like her own.
Alexa
Alexa has been working at Love & Care since 2023. She begin as a helper in the classrooms and is now assigned to our older toddler classroom. She enjoys listening to music, dancing and doing art with the children. Her caring and calm nature makes her a perfect fit for our One’s class.
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1’s Class
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.
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.
Mariia
Mariia joined Love and Care in June 2025. She has been working with children since 2022, and it has been her passion ever since. She brings creativity into everything she does, whether it’s through fun projects, emotional learning, or simply being a safe space for the students. Her biggest goal as an educator is to help children grow not just academically, but emotionally too. Mariia was born and raised in Russia, she has six siblings, and she loves painting, cooking, singing and dancing as her hobbies
2’s Class
Jennifer
Ms. Jennifer started working at Love and Care at the beginning of 2025. She has been working in Early Childhood Education for 20 years and got her education from Diablo Valley College. Her love of working with children began when she worked as a coach at a children’s gym, then she moved to working at a preschool where she built stronger bonds with the children and their families. She loves using her energy to play, engage, and teach the children.
Rozelle
Rozelle has been teaching for just about 25 years, and yes, that’s hard for her to believe too! She has had many other teaching jobs ranging from working with infants to 6th graders, but she has loved working with twos the past few years. As a 2’s teacher she is excited to help each child learn, explore, and grow at their own individual pace!
3’s Class
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 3’s to be more independent and creating a lasting relationship with the children and their families.
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Harmony
Harmony has been teaching preschool for over 4 years now. She has worked with the 2s, 3s, and PreK… and loves their energy and creativity of preschoolers! She atteneded Los Medanos and obtained her degree in Early Childhood Education. My favorite part about teaching is getting to connect and love on children while watching them grow. I love to dance and sing songs with my kids. I love to do art and projects, I love to be silly and make learning an engaging and fun experience
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
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 preschooler. Janette is one of our seasoned teachers who knows a lot about each age group and how each class runs. She is currently one of our lead Pre-k Teachers!
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
Mayra
Coming Soon
Floater
Alejandra
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
Palvasha
Mrs. Palvasha has worked in the field for over 20 years. She is from Afghanistan and has lived in Germany and Russia, but finally settled in America to raise her 3 beautiful kids. She earned her ECE units while raising her kids and began working in the field while in Russia. She has worked for us since 2015 and her love of music and movement is the perfect energy for toddlers.