Nicole grew up watching birds, insects, and catching lizards in the meadows & forests surrounding a small town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California. She moved to San Diego to be with family and go to college. There, she fell in love with the natural health industry, biochemistry, and her husband. After the birth of their first child, Nicole was nostalgic for the seasons, trees, and community of Northern California. So they moved to Portland fifteen years ago to raise their family in the Pacific Northwest.

Nicole started working in STEM & science education, wanting a career that allowed her more time with her young children during the fleeting and magical years of infancy & toddlerhood. When she started looking for preschool options for her eldest, she found Montessori. It was everything she had intuitively found with nurturing children wrapped in a scientific structure, environment, and methodology that was truly designed to respect & serve the child’s innate abilities. Montessori education has been a part of her family ever since.

Nicole has been a parent of children through Toddler, Children’s House, and Elementary programs at local Montessori schools and served as a Guide/Assistant Guide in Infant and Toddler classrooms at two different Montessori schools. One of her favorite things about working with children is watching their eyes light up when they have succeeded at something they were working hard on or when they observe something unexpected and magical in the world that delights them.

Some of Nicole’s favorite things outside of the classroom are watching the moon rise, playing barefoot with her family, backpacking, reading fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books, cooking & enjoying delicious food, and taking road trips - exploring and experiencing new places in this beautiful world with her family and friends.