Preschool / Kindergarten Teacher (Eagles) Riley Hawksford Riley brings a breadth of life experiences from farmer's markets, to coffee shops to Au Pairing in Italy, and coaching soccer and rope skipping in Seaside! She enjoys being a coach and mentor and brings a warm and welcoming presence, ideas and energy to the school.
Elementary Class Teacher (Wolves) Shiras Stamps-White Before joining our school, Shiras has a long experience teaching a variety of levels in the Tillamook School District. She graduated with a teaching certificate from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island and has continued her education in Science, Art and Education at the Oregon State University and University of Oregon afterwards. We are thrilled to have Shiras not only as a very experienced teacher but also with a deep knowledge of place- and project based learning in our community starting in the school year 2021/22. She is taking care of our elementary class and is also coordinating projects and activities for all age groups.
School Manager and Aftercare Program Coordinator Kristin McLaughlin Kristin has grown up in the PNW coastal community and has lived in Portland, OR and Brooklyn, NYC where she gained lots of experience working with children doing physical activities, gardening clubs, writing programs and field trips. We are very lucky that she decided to move back to the West coast and started teaching our Eagles (Pre-School and Kindergarten Class).
Governance Director Katie Voelke Katie Voelke was raised in a home under oak trees where she spent many hours collecting bugs, making mud pies with her sister, and camping and hiking with her parents in the summers. She is sure that this life-long exposure to the natural world is what led her on a path to study biology in school. Katie settled on Oregon’s north coast with her husband Scott in 2003 and spent time doing field work with the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife before she finally found her calling: working in land conservation with NCLC. In 2008 she took the helm as Executive Director. Although her job at NCLC keeps her very busy, her passion for Place Based Education and her commitment for her boys to experience Fire Mountain has brought Katie's talents here. We are fortunate to have Katie as our Board Governance Director, bringing long lasting process and foundation to our community.