Meet the Staff
Curstin received her Associates Degree from Pierce College and completed the Early Childhood Education program at Moorpark College. Her fun and energetic personality have complimented her passion for teaching preschool for ten years. Curstin has lived in Thousand Oaks for twenty years with her husband Tim, where they raised their three sons. As a parent, Curstin shares the passion parents have for their children and loves working with our families and their children in a nurturing environment. She enjoys listening to music and cheering for the Dodgers!
Ms. Gema is proud of her career as mom to her three grown children, and recently became a Grandma! She has a diverse professional history of positions in the early childhood field, including running her own at home child care business. She also lived out of state for some time and recently returned to her native state of California. Gema is a first generation college student, studied Psychology at Pepperdine University, and achieved her Child Development certificate from Palm Beach College, Florida. Gema believes sharing her gifts with others is an important part of teaching and one of her greatest gifts is being bi-cultural, which she shares with our school through incorporating Spanish into the curriculum. Gema has been married for almost ten years to George, with whom she loves to go on cruises, take walks, watch movies, and travel the world. She loves to dance, read, listen to podcasts, design, spend time with family and collect miniature clocks & owls.
Substitute Teachers
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from CSU, Northridge. She also earned her Master of Education in Cross Cultural Teaching from National University and has worked with children of all ages for the last 18 years. Mrs. Jen loves teaching the little ones! She started as a substitute teacher here at the center in July 2019. This gives her the opportunity to enjoy her passion of teaching and love of raising her family. She has been married to her husband Larry for 16 years and has two amazing children Bella and Giancarlo. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering throughout the community with her daughter. Mrs. Jen feels blessed to work with your little ones on daily basis!