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LePort Montessori Irvine Woodbridge Staff

School Administration

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Christine Lin Rotenberry

Christine Lin Rotenberry

Head of School

Ms. Christine loves education and helping children become successful independent selves. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside and her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Sports and Health Psychology from Adler University in Illinois. Having worked with children and adolescents in clinical settings, after school programs, summer camps, and private tutoring, Ms. Christine stumbled upon the Montessori Method in 2018 at the LePort Montessori Irvine Mandarin Campus. Since then, Ms. Christine has taught and observed at LePort's Irvine Mandarin, Woodbridge, and Westpark campuses. Ms. Christine is excited to return to the beautiful campus of Woodbridge as Head of School.

In her free time, Ms. Christine enjoys staying in with her husband and their two cats, Luna and Artemis. She can also be found at Disneyland catching Pokemon and eating dole whips.
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Karla Melgar

Karla Melgar

Business Manager

Karla Melgar graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor's degree in Child and Adolescent Development and a minor in Human Services, in 2013. Soon after, she started working for LePort as an Assistant Teacher in our Toddler program. She has enjoyed working with children and families and has previously worked at various locations where she was able to work hands-on with children. In 2015, Ms. Melgar began her AMI training in Vancouver, Canada, which she completed in 2016. She has been a Lead Toddler teacher at LePort for over 7 years. During her free time, she loves going on adventures with her son. She also enjoys painting, reading, and going on long walks. 

Toddler

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Yessenia Ramirez

Yessenia Ramirez

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Born and raised in Orange County, Ms. Ramirez is currently attending Orange Coast College, pursuing her studies in Early Childhood Education. Working with children has always been her lifelong passion. Since 2021, she has been dedicated to nurturing young minds at Leport Woodbridge, initially as an assistant teacher. Ms. Ramirez has been excited to expand her knowledge and skills as a lead teacher, guiding young children towards independence and fostering a love for learning in a Montessori environment.
Outside of her professional life, Ms. Ramirez enjoys spending quality time with friends and family. She has a passion for exploring new music and often seeks out concerts and music festivals. Additionally, Ms. Ramirez loves visiting Mexico, where she enjoys immersing herself in the culture and exploring beautiful landscapes.
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Karen Alvarado

Karen Alvarado

Head Montessori Teacher (Toddler)

Ms. Karen Alvarado was born and raised in Orange County. She knew working with children would be her passion ever since she took child care courses in High School. Ms. Karen attended Cypress College and Laguna Technical College where she completed her Early Childhood Education courses. Ms. Karen began working as an Assistant Teacher at LePort Woodridge in 2016 and later went on to lead a Toddler classroom for another Montessori program in Orange County. Ms. Karen has since happily returned to LePort Woodbridge and stepped into the Head Teacher role. Ms. Karen is dedicated to the Montessori philosophy and aims to create a safe, engaging, and nurturing environment for her students. Ms. Karen has a 3 year old son who has been immersed in Montessori since he was 4 months old. She has witnessed tremendous growth and development of independence throughout his time in the Montessori environment. In her free time, Ms. Karen plays soccer and enjoys doing activities with her family.
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Jacqueline Flores

Jacqueline Flores

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Jackie Flores was born and raised in Orange County. Her love for children began while she was taking care of her younger sisters. From there, Ms. Jackie spent time babysitting for her family and volunteering at local elementary schools. While Ms. Jackie enjoys working with children of all age groups, she especially enjoys engaging with the toddlers and seeing their independence flourish. Ms. Jackie is looking forward to guiding children on their journey through the Montessori environment. In her free time Ms. Jackie enjoys building new Lego sets and spending time with her friends, family, and her three cats.

Primary

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Amanda Elliott

Amanda Elliott

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Amanda Elliott has known since early childhood that she wanted to be a teacher. While other children were dreaming of being a ballerina or an astronaut, she was dreaming of having her own classroom. Amanda has been working with children in different capacities for over fifteen years and graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Eight years later she was introduced to the Montessori Method which opened her eyes to all of the possibilities for children. Amanda attended the Montessori Institute of San Diego and Loyola University of Maryland to earn her Montessori Certificate and Masters of Education with an emphasis in Montessori respectively. She believes strongly in the Montessori Method and looks forward to growing as a guide in the Montessori environment.
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Ruth Stephens

Ruth Stephens

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Stephens, born in Erith, Kent, England, came to the U.S. in 1980. She received her A.A. in Early Childhood Education from State University of New York, Farmingdale, and her B.S. in Education from C.W. Post, Long Island University, New York. After four years in New York, Ms. Stephens moved to Southern California. She continued her education and earned her AMI Diploma from The Montessori Institute of Los Angeles in 1986.
Ms. Stephens brings to her teaching a wealth of enthusiasm, experience and talent. She is deeply committed to the Montessori method and continues to attend seminars, refresher courses, and lectures to deepen her understanding and appreciation of Maria Montessori’s approach to education. She has long been an active equestrian, and has a great interest in travel, the arts and nature. Since 1986 Ms. Stephens has been a teacher right here in Orange County, and has been a Head Primary Teacher at LePort Montessori since 2009.
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Michelle Scoubart

Michelle Scoubart

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.
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Anoma Panditha

Anoma Panditha

Head Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Ms. Anoma Panditha was born and raised in Sri Lanka and moved to the United States with her family in 2005. She was interested in Montessori education after caring for her two children. Before her Montessori teaching, she worked in the accounting field in Sri Lanka. She attended Irvine Valley College and Monarch Bay Montessori Academy. Ms. Panditha has been teaching Montessori since 2016 and enjoys watching the children grow in a normalized prepared environment. Outside of work, she loves hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and two children.
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Dushyanthi Nainanayake

Dushyanthi Nainanayake

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Dushyanthi Nainanayake was born and raised in Sri Lanka. She earned her degree in Business Administration and received her Flight Operations Officer license. After obtaining these qualifications, she started working in the aviation field as a Flight Operations Officer for an international airline in Sri Lanka. After having her son, Ms. Dushy developed an interest in the Montessori method. Upon migrating to the United States, Ms. Dushy completed her Early Childhood Education courses to pursue a career in teaching. Before joining our LePort Woodbridge community, Ms. Dushy worked as a Montessori Assistant Teacher for over 2 years. Ms. Dushy loves to spend time with her husband and son. She also has an interest in designing and crafting greeting cards.

Additional Staff

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Rupa Goswami

Rupa Goswami

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Rupashree Goswami (Rupa) was born and raised in India. She received her Masters degree from University of Calcutta, India in Psychology with special emphasis on child development. Before coming to United States in the year 2000, she worked several years as a counselor and primary school teacher in India. She completed her early childhood education units from Irvine Valley college, Irvine. She lives in Irvine with her husband and 2 sons. Outside of the classroom, Ms. Rupa loves to cook, travel, watch movies and spend time with her own kids and other children.
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Kirti Jawale

Kirti Jawale

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Kirti Jawale was born and raised in India. She moved to Ohio in 2011 with her husband and elder son where she earned her Masters of Science in Mathematics and worked as a professor. Ms. Kirti had her second child in 2020 and, while spending quality time with him, she developed an interest in early childhood education. Ms. Kirti and her family moved to California in 2021 and since then she has loved working around children, listening and talking to them. Working with children is like therapy for her. Outside of work, Ms. Kirti loves cooking, camping, traveling, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
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Vanessa Castro

Vanessa Castro

Assistant Teacher

Ms. Vanessa Castro was born and raised in Anaheim, California. Her love for wanting to work with children began when babysitting her nephews. She also enrolled in child care courses in High School and continued on to Laguna Technical College . She enjoys working with children of all age groups. Ms. Vanessa is excited to be a part of the Leport team and can't wait to grow alongside each student. In her free time, Ms. Vanessa enjoys playing soccer, hiking, traveling, and spending quality time with her two sons and husband.
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Gyanu Gupta

Gyanu Gupta

Assistant Teacher

Bio coming soon.
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