Our Staff

Our loving staff has over 100 collective years of experience working with children!

Pastor Susan Smith
​Preschool Director

​In her role as the children's pastor at Willow Glen UMC, and Director of Woodhaven Preschool, Susan is committed to providing a place where children and families can grow together in their faith, experiencing God's presence in their lives and learning to respond to that incredible love.  Susan's husband is a high school teacher in the area and her son attends UC Davis.  When she's not at church or preschool, Susan enjoys reading, knitting, hiking and getting outside to the beach or the hills.

Miss Traci
Assistant Director

​Miss Traci has been at Woodhaven since 2010. She earned a degree in Child and Adolescent Development from SJSU. Traci and her husband enjoy hiking with their dogs and going to Sharks, Giants, and Bay FC games. She spends her free time baking, cooking, and completing lots of puzzles. She loves all things Disney and vacations there often.

​Miss Yen
Pre-K Teacher

​Miss Yen has been teaching at Woodhaven since 2000. She loves shopping and traveling with family and friends and scrapbooking with her sisters and cousin. Watching the Food Network inspires her to cook and bake more often.

Miss Sandra
Pre-K Teacher

Miss Sandra joined Woodhaven in 2016. In her spare time she loves to attend sports games and go to Disneyland. Working with children has always been a passion of hers. Miss Sandra is thankful to be an additional supporter to her students' lives to enhance and brighten their future!

Miss Sarah
Pre-K Teacher

 ​Miss Sarah joined our staff as a substitute teacher in 2022 and is now a teacher for Pre-K. She was born and raised in Massachusetts and moved to the Bay Area in 2014.  Miss Sarah is a former 4th grade teacher, with a Masters degree in Elementary Education.  She has two children who both attended and loved Woodhaven. She loves spending time outside on adventures with her family, soaking in the beauty of the beach, and taking photos.  

Miss Reanna
Preschool Teacher

Miss Reanna started out a US History major at ASU, but finished her pursuit of a Child Development degree at SJSU. Born and raised in Willow Glen, Miss Reanna enjoys watching her three sons' sporting events at WGHS and being involved in this community she loves.  She has been teaching at Woodhaven for the past six years and loves working with these little ones! In her spare time, she loves relaxing at the lake, the beach, and in the back yard with her family.​

Miss Thilini
Preschool Teacher

Miss Thilini was born in Sri Lanka. She holds a bachelor's degree in Computer science and worked as an IT teacher until she moved to the USA in 2008. When her youngest started preschool, she started working at a church preschool in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Woodhaven preschool reminds her of the environment she happily worked in for six years until she moved to California in 2018. Miss Thilini lives in Los Gatos and enjoys spending time with her husband, teenage son, and daughter with their furry friend Dumpling. Miss Thilini relishes her time with children because she believes preschoolers are pure of heart. This is her sixth year at Woodhaven.

Miss Nicole
Preschool Teacher

 ​Miss Nicole joined our staff as our Busy Bees' Aide in the Fall of 2021, and this year she is a Monkeys Teacher and our Busy Bees' Aide. Nicole was born and raised in the Bay Area. She graduated from UCSC with a BA in Sociology and then completed her education in early childhood development. Nicole taught preschool for eight years before having children. She also coached club volleyball for over 10 years in the bay area with her husband. Both of her daughters attended Woodhaven making friends they still see today. In her free time, Miss Nicole loves spending time outside with her family.

Miss Whitney
Preschool Teacher

Miss Whitney has been living in the Bay Area since 2009 and is very excited to be a part of Woodhaven. She has enjoyed working with children for over 15 years and especially loves seeing them explore and develop new skills. When she's not teaching, her energetic and stubborn Husky keeps her plenty busy! In her free time, Miss Whitney enjoys reading, spending time in the sunshine, traveling, trying out new recipes, and anything relating to music and performing arts.

Miss Stephanie
Preschool Aide

Miss Stephanie was happy to join Woodhaven Preschool as a substitute teacher before she became our Monkeys' Aide in 2019. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Child Psychology from Sacramento State. She loves working with children and taught grammar school for 6 years on the Monterey Peninsula before moving to the Bay Area. She lives in Almaden with her husband and two girls. She was fortunate to have the opportunity to be home with them for the last 16 years. Being involved in their schools and after school activities has kept her very busy. She is having so much fun teaching at Woodhaven and is grateful for the time she spends working, laughing, and having fun with the children.

Miss Janelle
Preschool Aide

Miss Janelle was born and raised in the Bay Area and lives in Willow Glen with her husband and four children. Before starting her own family, she received a BA in Child Development and a JD degree which she uses to advocate for children requiring Special Education. In her free time Janelle loves gardening, traveling, cooking and watching her kids play sports. She’s very excited to be a part of Woodhaven!​

Miss Kristen
Substitute Teacher

Miss Kristen, a graduate of Santa Clara University, taught preschool for two years at Woodhaven before taking a break to student teach while she wraps up her master's degree in early and special education at Grand Canyon University.  Miss Kristen and her husband Stephen were members of WGUMC before they married more than 20 years ago. Their sons Ken and Julian are Woodhaven Preschool graduates who are now in college and high school.  As a parent in our local San Jose Unified School district, Miss Kristen is Chairperson for the Community Advisory for Special Education, Vice-President for Willow Glen Education Foundation, and volunteers as a peer-to-peer support parent for Parents Helping Parents. In the little bit of free time she has, Miss Kristen can be found gardening, walking the family dog, hiking, biking, or updating the decorations in the Willow Glen UMC Sanctuary!

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