Pam Cayton – School Founder and CCC Director
Originally from Australia, Pam lived and worked in Nepal for ten years where she taught English to Nepali and Tibetan children in the Kathmandu Valley. After moving to California with her family in 1988, Pam founded Tara Preschool in 1989, which she then expanded to Tara Redwood School in 1996, with the aim of educating the whole child. The purpose was not only to convey the joy of learning but to provide a foundation for the emotional and inner development of each child. Working with the school's staff, Pam researched, created and implemented strategies for awakening compassion, wisdom and social responsibility in the minds and hearts of children. In 2009, Pam began to tour the world to share her methods with educators and parents. To date, she has presented the Seven Steps at workshops in 10 countries in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. pam@tararedwoodschool.org
Bev Gwyn —CCC Head Educator
Bev Gwyn was born in Quebec, Canada and holds BA degree in Teaching from University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She has travelled extensively around the world and has lived in Tibet, India and Nepal. She is a student of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Lama Yeshe and is one of the founders of the Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek.
Bev has been with Tara Preschool since 1992. She helped develop our beautiful CCC curriculum for 3 - 4 year old children which she is still implementing after so many years. She is our senior preschool teacher and she has worked as a high school counselor early on.
Her favorite activities involve reading, meditating, gardening and being with friends. bev@tararedwoodschool.org
Adela Lopez– Head Teacher for the Rainbow Class (Preschool, 24mo–3yrs).
Adela began working with children when her own son was three years old. She began as a volunteer at her son's school, and was soon asked to be a substitute teacher. She discovered her passion being around children and began taking courses at Cabrillo College in Early Childhood Development. Now, Adela has been working with children for the past 25 years and loves every minute of it. She has been at Tara Redwood School for the past three years. She enjoys discovering the forest with the children. In her spare time, she loves hiking the forest trails, running on the beach and listening to music.
Michelle Vernon– Assistant Educator for the Rainbow Class (Preschool, 24mo–3yrs).
Michelle is a Santa Cruz local. She has an A.S degree in Early Childhood Education and she has been an educator in Santa Cruz County for five years.For Michelle, the most beautiful part of teaching young children is seeing the joy in their faces when they accomplish something new.She is a mother to a 26 year old daughter, Claire and a 19 year old son, Blake. When she is not teaching little ones, she loves to spend time with friends and family, spend time at the beach and enjoy long walks with her husband David and their dog, Buddy.
Regina Selix-Lead Teacher for the Mandala Class (PK, 3-4 yrs old)
Brooklyn Nash-Preschool Assistant Educator for Mandala Class
Michelle Namasya Carpenter –Lead Teacher for Element Explorers Class (TK- K-1st)
Michelle Namasya Carpenter has been teaching for eleven years. She is a Certified American Montessori Society (AMS) Teacher. In 2005, she created her own cooperative home school group and she founded an intentional living community focusing on sustainability and children. Namasya is an avid traveler, spending 4 years of her early adulthood traveling within the US, living abroad, and sailing throughout the world before settling down in Santa Cruz to start a family. She is a mother of two amazing children, ages 10 and 17. She believes in creating community. She is a certified Integral Hatha yoga teacher, certified Spiritual Practitioner, and is a Master Potter and teacher of pottery. She is a lifelong student and enthusiast of dance, and studied African Dancing in Ghana.
She is absolutely in love with nature, taking opportunities to meditate outside, swim in rivers, climb trees, and hike in the redwoods. She is a professional percussionist and has been an active member of a local band for the past 12 years. Namasya feels passionate about teaching children and inspiring them to see their own light within themselves, and helping them to recognize their innate connection with nature. namasya@tararedwoodschool.org
Lauren Holtzman - Assistant teacher for the Elements Explorers and aftercare program lead.
Lauren is grateful to be joining the Tara Redwood team after many years of singing, learning, and growing with young people through social justice–based freedom and forest schools, Buddhist children’s programs, and mindfulness-centered afterschool programs around the world. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and International Development from Tulane University and brings a strong foundation in anti-racist approaches to education through her years as an organizer and trainer with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, facilitating Undoing Racism and community-building workshops across Turtle Island. Shaped by years of peace activism and her recent time living in the Plum Village practice center of Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh, Lauren continues to root her path in love in action and a deep commitment to collective liberation. Beyond the classroom, she treasures singing under the trees, connecting with the Earth, honoring her Ashkenazi Jewish roots, and deepening her practice of the Dharma.
Jessica Steurer
Director & Office Administration
Ted Ruiz- School Shuttle Driver
Ted has been our beloved driver for a decade. He is fun and loves to share jokes and giggles with the kids.
Enrichment Course Educators
Tara Redwood School has a curriculum that allows access to wonderful resources we have in our families and community.
We are committed to make the students' learning as experiential and stimulating as possible.
Every parent volunteer is a professional in the enrichment course they teach.
Matt Cleaver-Music Educator
Matt has been teaching music at Tara Redwood for nearly 5 years. He is a parent alumni educated in band instruments that range from trumpet, drums, guitar, and clarinet. He teaches every Wednesday.