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.

Michelle Partsch
​Executive Assistant

Now in her 12th year at Woodhaven, Miss Michelle was an Aide and Preschool Teacher before transitioning into the office. She loves getting to know all of the children and their families; and supporting Susan and our teaching staff. It has been fun to combine her background in project management with her teaching experience into the Executive Assistant role. She and her husband have two daughters in college and son at home (the younger two attended Woodhaven). When she's not volunteering, Miss Michelle likes to travel, cook, and read.

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 Traci
Pre-K Teacher

​Miss Traci has been at Woodhaven since 2010. She and her husband enjoy hiking with their dogs and going to Sharks, Giants, and Quakes games. Traci spends her free time baking, cooking and doing lots of puzzles. She loves all things Disney and vacations there often.

Miss Sandra
Preschool/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 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 fifth 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 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 Sarah
Preschool Aide

 ​Miss Sarah joined our staff as a substitute teacher in 2022 and is now our Busy Bees' Aide. 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 Allie
Substitute Teacher

 ​Miss Allie joined our staff as a substitute teacher in the Fall of 2021. She is a former elementary school teacher who worked as a classroom teacher, as well as a special education aide. She has two young kids who both attended Woodhaven. In her free time, she loves spending time outside with her family, and making cookies. ​

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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Miss Heather
Substitute Teacher

​A former elementary school teacher, Miss Heather also previously taught preschool at Woodhaven. She is very familiar with our program, as all four of her children attended Woodhaven. In her free time when she is not attending her children's activities, Miss Heather likes to garden and watch the Hallmark Channel.