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
Jessica Steurer - Director & Office Administration
Jessica has been with Tara Redwood for nearly a decade. She is every parent's go to person for any type of assistance and questions related to school documents and enrollment. office@tararedwoodschool.org / jessica@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.
Sasha Tselikova -Mandala Class Head Teacher (3 years–4 years old)
Zoe Gonder-Preschool Assistant Educator and Aftercare for Mandala Class
Michelle Namasya Carpenter –Lead Teacher for Element Explorers Class (TK- K-1st , 5–6years old)
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
Skylyn Bergeron - Element Explorers Teaching Aide
Skylyn is dedicated to fostering the compassionate hearts and minds at Tara Redwood School. Recently finishing the summer camp at Tara, she is excited to continue on as an aide this coming fall. Skylyn is a recent graduate of UCSC where she majored in intensive psychology. Over the past eight years she has worked in private, clinical, and outdoor educational settings. All environments emphasized the integration of holistic care for children and adults. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve the families and community of Tara Redwood!
Maria Camila Ruiz- Assistant teacher for the Elements Explorers and aftercare program lead.
Camila is a joyful, caring, and curious early childhood educator. She thrives on children’s natural curiosity and she believes in creating a safe, nurturing environment where children feel valued, supported, and inspired to explore.
Camila feels that working with children allows her to grow alongside them, continue learning, and embrace the wonder and simplicity of childhood while being a positive role model every day.
Lisa Dreyer- Lead teacher for Global Villagers and Earth Stewards Class (7–10 years old)
Lisa has been a member of the Tara community for over 20 years, since 1993 when she joined the school as a parent with her two-year-old daughter. Soon after she founded the Santa Cruz Adventure Trails Wilderness Camp, she has worked as a head teacher in the older Elementary class, the Element Explorers, at Tara Redwood since 2005. Lisa has an academic focus with hands-on field studies, field trips, and daily forest immersion. The global curriculum she offers educates students in the interconnected nature of the planet and focuses on natural resources, indigenous studies, sustainability, and preservation of animals. Her compassion in action projects will supplement global programs that promote preservation and ecological recovery. Lisa has been teaching the Earth Stewards class for the last 15 years. She has a master's in education, a BA in environmental science, a California teaching credential, a Montessori Elementary Certification and years of integrating the CCC program into her class. Lisa received her undergraduate education from UC Santa Barbara and has her Masters in Education from UC Santa Cruz. She has also been coaching soccer at Soquel high school and teaching capoeira at the Santa Cruz dance company for many years. When Lisa is not working you can find her at the beach in the ocean, in the Capoeira Studio or in the forest with her dog. lisa@tararedwoodschool.org
Ted Ruiz-Tara Redwood's Shuttle Conductor
Ted has been our beloved driver for a decade. He is fun and loves to share jokes and giggles with the kids. Ted brings our students from the Village Campus to or Redwood Campus for hiking and playtime daily.
Enrichment Course Educators
Photo Credit: Dane Argentieri
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.