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Forest Friends Teachers
Corrah Gonzales
Director & Lead Teacher
Corrah is excited to fulfill her lifelong dream of having her own little place to teach and learn with littles. She has seven plus years of childcare experience as a playground supervisor, pre-k teacher's assistant, office worker, professional nanny, and camp director. She has worked with newborn children all the way up to high school, but her absolute joy in life is getting to watch this age range grow and learn. Corrah has fulfilled her state mandated training and is currently enrolled in an Early Childhood Education program. After graduating from Carleton College with a degree in Classics, she spent the next year working with children and preparing to open Curious Cubs Childcare & Forest Friends Preschool. She is very passionate and dedicated to creating the best facility and program for all students.
Trina Eichel
Assistant Director
& Lead Teacher
Trina is an enthusiastic and caring teacher who is excited to take on this new adventure of running and teaching in an early learning center. She has an undergraduate minor in Educational Studies and BA in Environmental Studies from Carleton College. She is excited to combine her two passions of nature and teaching in order to create an engaging and relevant curriculum for her class. Trina has 7 years of experience working as a camp counselor, teacher, nanny, and tutor for infants to high schoolers. She is excited to get to watch her students grow and learn in their environment and get to teach them valuable lessons about how to respect our earth and all the beings that inhabit it.
Taylor Dahl
Teaching Team
I’m so excited and honored to join Forest Friends and explore learning with your children. I have a young daughter of my own, and I have done childcare for 8 years with children of all ages. I get so much joy out of watching children make connections and learn about their world, allowing their imagination and curiosity to lead their learning experiences. This joy has led me to where I am today. I’m very dedicated to determining the children’s own individual personalities and imaginations and use that to shape and inspire how I teach each one. I can’t wait to meet all of your wonderful littles and learn just as much from them as they will from me!
Mackenzie Swanson
Teaching Team
I have been in childcare for over seven years. I have worked with kids from newborn to middle school. I enjoy the age of preschool kids as they are starting to explore the world around them. I love the outdoor environment and seeing the imagination of kids flourish in the great outdoors. I graduated from Bellevue college and am continuing my learning in early childhood education. I am so excited to be a part of Forest Friends Preschool.
Cassie Cunniff
Teaching Team
I am currently working on my Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies, and am super excited to work in environmental education. I have worked at summer camps and I am so excited to continue working with kids, especially preschool-aged littles. I am originally from the East coast, but am excited to experience the PNW!
Jack Moran
Music Teacher
I have years of experience in childcare settings and have a love of teaching kiddos music! I play drums, guitar, ukulele, piano & the egg shakers! I am so excited to bring music to Forest Friends Preschool and dance with my students all year long :)
Melissa Hammons
Yoga Teacher
Miss Melissa comes in weekly to our programs to teach our littles yoga. She is absolutely amazing and you can learn more about her and her business, Yoga Adventure Kids, here.
Are you interested in a Career with Forest Friends Preschool?
Learn more!
We care deeply about creating a professional career path for our early childhood educators. It is such important and intentional work that requires special skills and education. Therefore, we believe they should be compensated accordingly and have room to grow!
We provide:
A competitive wage
ECE certification tuition reimbursements
PTO
Accrued Sick Time
and for our full-time employees:
Medical Insurance
401k Match Program
We love the small close-knit teaching team we have and take the time to support our teachers and nourish a warm working environment.
Reach out to us at forestfriendswa@gmail.com to learn more about joining the team!
