Our Preschool/Kindergarten teachers and assistants have a wonderful team spirit and are enthusiastic about teaching young children.

Preschool Teachers and Teacher Assistants

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Heike Schmalstieg - Preschool Director

I have been in the Bay Area for the last 20 years and started teaching at GAIS in 1994. I have taken a few breaks from the preschool to stay home with my two children. I am excited to be back full time, taking over the position as preschool director from Carol Ferrieri, who had taken that position 8 years ago, when I was pregnant with my first son. The preschool has always had a very enthusiastic and dedicated staff and I look forward to working with them again.
I have taught in preschools in Germany and the US and also taught German and English as a second language to children and adults in the US as well as in Japan. I love spending time with the kids. When I get the time I love reading, hiking and skiing.

Carol Ferrieri - Preschool Teacher

I have been teaching at the German-American School Preschool since 1996. In 1999 I became the Director of the preschool program. I have a B.A. degree in Developmental Psychology from San Francisco State University and an Early Childhood Education Certificate from Cañada College, California. I have previously taught at other preschools in Menlo Park and I ran my own child care business for many years. I grew up in the United States and Germany. Redwood City has been my home since 1982, where I live with my husband and two sons.

Monika (Moni) Oser - Preschool Teacher

I was born and raised near Stuttgart, Germany, and received my Diploma in Child Development (staatlich anerkannte Erzieherin) in Ludwigsburg in 1983. I worked in different preschool programs near Stuttgart before relocating to the United States. Since 1998 I have been living in Menlo Park with my husband and my two children. After starting as a substitute preschool teacher at GAIS in 1999 I now enjoy working here as a full-time teacher. In addition I worked at the German Saturday School for the last 9 years.

Anita Stoney - Preschool Teacher

I live in Belmont with my husband, Jay, and my two children, Camerone and Ella. When not at work, I enjoy being with my family, sports, arts and crafts, reading, gardening and travel. I have been teaching at the GAIS Preschool for a number of years, first as an assistant teacher and then as a teacher. I have always enjoyed working with children, and especially enjoy working and playing with preschool-aged children. I believe in our Preschool’s philosophy and enjoy learning, exploring, risk-taking, and inventing with the children. I hope to work with the preschool team and preschoolers for many years to come.

Simone Campbell - Preschool Teacher

I grew up in southern Germany near the Swiss city of Basel and earned my teaching credentials from the "Paedagogische Hochschule" in Freiburg i.Br., Germany. After some years of employment with Lufthansa, I moved to the Bay Area in 1991. Ever since, I have enjoyed living in Palo Alto with my family. Before I joined the GAIS preschool team in 2003, I gained experience working with preschool-aged children being part of a co-op nursery school. In addition, I extensively volunteered at various local public schools. Presently, I am having fun keeping current with child development classes at Foothill College, and I am happy to say that teaching is one of my true passions in life.

Dunja Zaun - Preschool Teacher

Having grown up in a small town in Thuringia, Germany, I went to Frankfurt/Main to receive a diploma in hotel management. I then worked as a housekeeping manager in a first class hotel in the vibrant city of Berlin. After moving to the US with my husband in 2000, I started volunteering at the German-American International School and other non-profit organizations working with young children. I have enjoyed this work very much and decided for a career change. So, I took classes in early childhood education and earned the Child Development Teacher Certificate from Foothill College last year. GAIS offers a great learning environment in all areas of children's development and I love being part of it.

Claudia Trojan - Preschool Teacher/After-School Care

Hello, my name is Claudia. I've got my child-development-Diplom (Erzieherin) in 2001. Afterwards I worked for 2 years as an Au-Pair in Annapolis, Maryland. After I came back to Germany I found a job in Kindergarden and Hort in Frankfurt am Main, where I have been working the last 7 years. Now I'm looking forward to becoming a part of GAIS and having a great time with you and your children.

Michaela Coan - Preschool Teacher

I live in Redwood City with my husband, my twin daughters and my son. I moved here from Germany in 1999 to be together with my now husband. In 2004 I started volunteering at GAIS while my twins went to preschool here until my son was born. That was when I realized how much I love working with young children and was starting to think about a career which involved young children. Rather than going back to my old profession as an environmental/landscaping engineer I went to Canada College to get my degree in Early Childhood education. I joined the GAIS team in 2008 as an assistant teacher and am excited to get my own group this year. In my free time I love to spend time with my family, going camping, spending as much time in the outdoors as time allows and all kinds of crafts and building.

Katrin Huelse - Preschool Assistant/After School Care

Hello, my name is Katrin Huelse and I’m originally from Germany. I grew up multi-lingual, speaking German, French and English. I came to the U.S. in 2006 as an AuPair and lived with a family in Marin.
In 2008 I started studying ECE (Early Childhood Education) at local community colleges and will be graduating this may. I have been working with children of various age and developmental levels in a variety of settings for about 10 years and have been loving it since.
I am a spontaneous, creative and active person and I love to travel. Working here I am looking forward to expanding my horizon and knowledge and enrich your children’s experiences and relationship and make it memorable.
My favorite quote is: “A great life isn't about great huge things; it's about small things that make a big difference.”

Christine Mueller - Preschool Assistant/After School Care

Katarina Kuhlke - Preschool Assistant

I was born in Croatia, but I grew up in Waldzell, Austria.
I studied Educational Science (Pädagogik) at the University of Vienna from 2005 to 2010. From August 2007 until August 2008 I took a year off from university and worked as an Au Pair for a family in Pacifica, CA.
I came back to San Francisco in 2010 after graduating from University to be with my now-husband Matthew. I have always been very interested in child development and education, therefore I’m very excited about the opportunity to work at GAIS as a preschool assistant.
In my spare time I like to travel, read and listen to music.

Mahbobeh (Mahbu) Vaseghi - Head of After-School Care

I am married with two grown children. In my homeland Iran, I studied psychology and law. I worked for an oil company as a paralegal and at the same time as a psychologist at an orphanage. In 1986, I moved from Iran to Germany where I worked for three years as a preschool teacher and in after-school child care. I relocated again in 1995 to California and immediately started working at GAIS.

Sylvia Nobbmann - Preschool Assistant

I live in San Jose and was born in Bonn, Germany. I have extensive experience in working with children and families. I can really connect with children and particularly enjoy working in a team. After receiving my university diploma in psychology, I started working as a therapist for dyslexic children in Munich. Then, I held a position as a psychologist in an outpatient setting. After completing my Family Therapy Qualification, I worked in a psychiatric hospital for children and teenagers. Later, my husband and I lived in England for about three years. During that time, I worked in a nursery school, taught German at the local college and took part in volunteer programs for different organizations. Then, we moved to California. In December 2009, I graduated from San Jose City College with a degree in Early Childhood Education. At the beginning of 2010, I started working at GAIS in the after-school program and also taught science lessons at the preschool. This term, I got a position as a preschool assistant. Working with children of different age groups, I especially focus on their strengths and resources. I really enjoy bringing out the creativity in children and making learning not just a challenge but also fun by providing structure and implementing all different kinds of activities.

Zeinab Mukhaiche - Break Coverage for Teachers

My name is Zeinab Mukhaiche. I was born in Beirut (Lebanon) but was raised in Baden-Wuerttenberg (Germany). I received my Child Development Diploma (Erzieherin) in Stuttgart 2003. I taught in a Preschool for a couple of years in Germany. Between 2006 - 2008 I was an AuPair in the Bay Area and during this time I fell in love with this country. That's when I decided to work as a teacher in an international school here in America. I am glad to be a part of the GAIS and very excited about this opportunity.