Directors

Christina Maluenda is one of the founding Co-Director/Teachers of Mission Kids and has been working in early childhood education for over 15 years. She was the Founder and Director of Imagine Preschool, which merged with Mission Kids to become a licensed child care facility in 2009.

Prior to her time at Imagine, Christina served as the Director of Partners in Autism Treatment, a non-profit agency serving young children on the autism spectrum. As Director, she focused on integrating children with autism into regular preschool settings. Christina has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience from Duke University and a Master of Science in Child Development from University of California Davis. Christina is a Spanish bilingual educator, a certified CLASS observer, a trained member of San Francisco’s NERT program and she serves on the Board of Trustees for Presidio Hill School. Christina also holds a Child Development Program Director Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Heather Lubeck has worked at Mission Kids as a founding Co-Director/Teacher since the school was licensed in 2009. She has over 15 years of teaching, research, and administrative experience in a variety of educational settings and with students from a wide diversity of backgrounds.

Before working at Mission Kids, she worked for a year at Imagine Preschool in San Francisco. She also worked for 4 years as an elementary reading specialist with the Georgia State University Department of Psychology. Prior to this, Heather taught elementary special education in a public school district in the Atlanta area. In 2001, she received the Atlanta Journal & Constitution’s annual award for teaching excellence in the state of Georgia. She holds a Masters in Special Education from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia. Heather holds a Child Development Program Director Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Teachers

Maria Celsa Reid is a Lead Teacher in the Toddler Room at Mission Kids. Celsa was born in Paraguay and speaks Spanish, Guarani, and English. Celsa joined the Co-op in August 2017 and has been training and working in early childhood education in San Francisco and Paraguay and volunteered in The Gambia since 2011.

Prior to Mission Kids, Celsa worked in San Francisco as an Infant Teacher at Bright Horizons and as an Infant/Toddler Lead Teacher at the Epiphany Child Care Center providing early intervention, therapeutic childcare, and developmental assessments. Celsa has a Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Development and Family Concentration from San Francisco State University. Celsa also studied Early Childhood Education at the Catholic University in Asuncion, Paraguay and worked in The Gambia, West Africa at the New Covenant Elementary School, where she developed teaching aids. She holds a Site Supervisor Child Development Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Celsa has a son who is an alumni of Mission Kids.

Olga Carlos moved to San Francisco in 2008 from Monterrey, Mexico. She has over 14 years of experience in a variety of educational settings including Potrero Kids, Mission Kids Co-Op, Binda Magic, Golden Gate Children’s Art and Outdoor Exploration, and Music Together. Olga holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University Autonomous of Nuevo Leon and a Certificate from the Preschool Teacher Preparation Center in Monterrey, Mexico. Olga graduated with honors from City College of San Francisco with an Associates Degree in Child Development and Family Studies. She holds Teacher Permit from the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing and is currently working towards her site supervisor credential at CCSF.

She is enthusiastic about the philosophy of music as part of a child’s life, and thrilled to be part of the Spanish community of San Francisco through the Canta y Baila program. She hopes to create nurturing experiences and build positive relationships with staff and families in the Mission Kids community to make a difference in their lives.

Lucy Trigueros was born and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco and has been with Mission Kids since 2009. She works as a lead teacher and support staff and is Mission Kids Supply Coordinator for inventorying school materials, documenting incoming purchases and maintaining classroom organization.

Lucy is bilingual and regularly speaks Spanish with the children. She believes in providing hugs, a lap to sit in and time to listen. Lucy holds a Teacher Child Development Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Andrew Mainen joined the Mission Kids staff in 2019. His experience working at Mission Kids as the parent of a recent graduate inspired him to pursue a career in early childhood education. Andrew is from the East Coast, growing up in Maine and earning degrees from Brown (B.A.) and Columbia (J.D.). After abandoning corporate law, Andrew travelled extensively before finding a home in San Francisco.
He is currently completing the requirements to qualify as a Master Teacher/Site Supervisor through classes at City College of San Francisco.
Kellen Krieg joined Mission Kids in November 2017 as an associate teacher. Kellen holds a BA in performance art from Evergreen State College. While attending college, she worked as a high school theatre teacher at the School of the Arts in the Seattle area. She has several years of experience working with various children’s musical theater companies in the Pacific Northwest. She’s worked as a director, choreographer, costume designer, and family liaison. Kellen has over ten years of experience working in childcare here in the Bay Area, both with private families and in group settings. She strongly believes in the success of play-based learning and teaching through a social justice lens.
Ernesto Rodriguez Carreno joined Mission Kids in August of 2018. He has over a decade of experience working in San Francisco’s food industry as a chef and kitchen manager. Born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, Ernesto earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering before immigrating to the USA. He has a passion for cars derived from his dad who owns an auto mechanic shop in Mexico. He’s been part of the Mission Kids family since 2016 and is fluent in English, Spanish, and a bit of Italian. He’s currently working towards his associates teacher permit and is thrilled to be part of Mission Kids!
Joanna Baena joined Mission Kids in July 2020. She previously worked for Centro Las Olas as an emergency child care provider serving the children of first responders during the pandemic and at Jumpstart. She is currently attending San Francisco State University majoring in Child & Adolescent Development and minoring in Education. Born and raised in Oakland, Joanna is a bilingual, native Spanish speaker. She loves trying a new restaurant every month and spending time with my family and friends.
Cecille Santos is the Art Specialist at Mission Kids. She does long-term ongoing art projects/ installations with the children, who love adding their ideas to all the projects they do with her. Cecille has been working in early childhood care for the past 32 years in private homes and in preschools. She is a professional artist and has her artwork featured in a gallery in Sausalito. She also provides private art lessons. She previously worked as the art curriculum coordinator for Imagine Preschool.

She was born in South Africa and previously lived in Jerusalem, where she attended art school. She also lived in Switzerland and London before moving to San Francisco in 1981. Cecille holds an Associate Teacher Child Development Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Ami (Atsuko) Kojima

Ami (Atsuko) Kojima joined Mission Kids in March, 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree in Dramatic Arts from Kyoritsu Women’s University in Japan and a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from University of Essex in England. She also holds a Child Development Site Supervisor Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Ami grew up in Japan and speaks Japanese and English. She has traveled to many countries and lived in a few but settled down in San Francisco with her husband and dog Juno. She has worked as a language teacher, textbook writer, and translator, utilizing her language skills. It was when she moved to San Francisco in 2009 that she discovered her true calling for early childhood education. She has been enjoying working with young children ever since.

Staff

Pantea Saeb’s experience as a solutions architect in the corporate travel technology space spans two decades. Her expertise in automation has assisted clients in selecting and optimizing the systems used in their travel programs. She has implemented technology, managed and built support teams, and led technology related projects. She is a parent of a Mission Kid graduate and currently has a son who is attending the school. The sense of community, diversity, incredible leadership, and dedicated teachers fuel her passion for the school and inspired her to leave the corporate world behind to dedicate her time and expertise to the Mission Kids community and nonprofit sector.

In early 2020, she brought her expertise to Mission Kids as our Technology Manager. She is passionate about efficiency through automation and driving the technology advances for the organization with a focus on both internal and parent facing tools and services.

 Pantea holds a B.S Degree in Environmental Studies Earth System Science from San Francisco State University, as well as certifications in building online travel booking tools and a leadership certification in managing teams

.

Esperanza Trejo joined Mission Kids in August of 2020. Born and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco. Esperanza earned her BA in Psychology from San Francisco State. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, Psi Chi with an emphasis in Child Development. She is bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish. She has been a part of the MK community since 2016, when her son joined MK. It was then, while her son embraced the values and concepts taught at the school that she fell in love with its mission and vision.

She is an exceptional listener and communicator who effectively conveys information verbally and in writing. Strengths include cultural sensitivity and an ability to build rapport with a diverse workforce in multicultural settings. She has a track record and a passion for providing organizational structure in educational and counseling settings. She has worked with Transitional Age Youth and College Students to develop a positive self-image as well as a sense of hope and purpose for their future.