Directors

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.

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

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.

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 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.





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 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

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
.

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.