Santa Barbara Faculty
Lia Grippo
Wild Roots Founder / Director
Born in Riga, Latvia, Lia Grippo spent many of her earliest years foraging and fishing the woodlands with her family. Her early relationship with Nature has remained a constant thread in her life. At an early age, Lia was drawn towards working with young children and has been an early childhood educator since 1989. In 1996 Lia founded her first preschool, Seedlings, and in 1998 she opened Wild Roots Forest School, a preschool and kindergarten roofed by the sky and carpeted with the living woodland floor. Lia is a storyteller, naturalist, herbalist, parent educator, mentor and education consultant. Using the arts of storytelling, song, poetry, movement, and play, Lia is dedicated to helping children and families develop their powers of imagination, and through these powers discover their relationship with all of life. Lia has brought knowledge, compassion, reverence, and magic to her community not only through Wild Roots Forest School, but also through workshops, seminars and mentoring for adults. Having trained and mentored dozens of early childhood educators through her years, she is excited to have co-founded Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers, which offers formal training for forest kindergarten teachers. Lia's commitment to excellence sets a high bar in this fledgling field in North America. Lia is the grateful mother of two tree climbing sons and wife of an exquisite musician.
Jenn Sepulveda
Associate Program Director
Lead Teacher; Mixed Age Preschool
Jenn has a deep love of and appreciation for nature and all its wonder-filled gifts. She grew up in South Lake Tahoe exploring fresh water lakes and streams, climbing granite boulders and mountains and has always sought refuge in the natural world. She graduated from UC Davis with an emphasis on Spanish language and literature, completed graduate work in Spain through New York University, and obtained her Bilingual Teaching Credential through New College of CA in San Francisco. Her interest in and love of Spanish language and cultures began at an early age and led her to pursue living and studying abroad in Mexico and in Spain. She has been a bilingual educator here in Santa Barbara since 2008 (at Cesar Chavez Charter School, Orca School and Wild Roots), and a mentor for Wilderness Youth Project since 2012 . In 2018, Jenn completed level 3 training with the Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers. She is daily mentored by her own spirited son, who brought her out of the classroom and into the wilds. With her feet on the earth roaming barefoot on the land, singing songs and playing games with the wee ones, she is grateful to experience curiosity alive, and to share in the magic that is everywhere. She loves working with her hands, tending the land, and all opportunities to share and offer gratitude. She is also deeply committed to weaving a vibrant tapestry of sustainable communities.
Courtney Narine
Lead Teacher; Kindergarten
As a young girl, Courtney and her parents moved from SoCal to Switzerland, where her father had grown up. She fondly recalls wandering in dusky fairytale forests with her grandmother, enjoying the deliciously fragrant air and towering evergreens. Two years later, her family returned to Southern California where Courtney spent her youth in the 1970’s; graduated from Santa Monica HS and then UCLA in the ‘80's; and spent time in the ‘90’s traveling, working in NYC, and starting a family. In 2004, she and her young family moved to Santa Barbara, where Courtney began working at Santa Barbara Unified School District, first as a library technician and later as an Elementary Art educator. A wife, mother of two grown sons, and mama to a sweet kitty, Courtney is also an avid reader, fermented food curator, soap maker and knitter. She is happiest in nature or tending the plants in her own backyard. Courtney feels honored to spend time with our amazing, adventurous forest school children at Wild Roots!
Elle deAlessandrini
Assistant Teacher; Kindergarten
Elle grew up on the East Coast exploring the Atlantic Ocean and going on hikes in the forest with her family. In these settings she found wonder, joy and comfort. In 2024 she graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a Bachelors in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Marine Biology. She studied abroad in Australia immersing herself in the wild landscapes of the rainforest and tropical waters. It was there and in Santa Barbara that she found a love of scuba diving, surfing, and backpacking. When on the executive board of the Isla Vista Surfrider chapter, she spearheaded environmental initiatives for her campus and community. After graduating, Elle worked at the Catalina Island Marine Institute as a Marine Science Instructor, where she lived on the island and taught snorkeling, hiking, and many different marine labs to students of all ages and backgrounds. Elle has an immense passion for environmental education, and finds so much joy in sharing her love of nature with the next generations!
Assistant Teacher; Kindergarten
Elle grew up on the East Coast exploring the Atlantic Ocean and going on hikes in the forest with her family. In these settings she found wonder, joy and comfort. In 2024 she graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a Bachelors in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Marine Biology. She studied abroad in Australia immersing herself in the wild landscapes of the rainforest and tropical waters. It was there and in Santa Barbara that she found a love of scuba diving, surfing, and backpacking. When on the executive board of the Isla Vista Surfrider chapter, she spearheaded environmental initiatives for her campus and community. After graduating, Elle worked at the Catalina Island Marine Institute as a Marine Science Instructor, where she lived on the island and taught snorkeling, hiking, and many different marine labs to students of all ages and backgrounds. Elle has an immense passion for environmental education, and finds so much joy in sharing her love of nature with the next generations!
Yun Hallowell
Assistant Teacher; Preschool
Yun grew up in Western Massachusetts, in a city surrounded by farm towns. She spent lots of her childhood tumbling around with her brothers in the woods of New England. She first fell in love with nature-based education in high school while working as an instructor at a farm-based summer program, inspired by how nature-as-classroom gave kids the freedom to just be kids — to be loud, get dirty, and move their bodies. While studying anthropology at Princeton, Yun turned her academic focus to questions of teaching and learning. As an intern for the Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs, she wrote experiential learning lesson plans for children about environmental science and local conservation issues. Yun explored children's history education through interviews and field work in Hawaii, focusing on site-based teaching, alternative modes of education, and cultures of storytelling. She also studied creative writing, and focused especially on folk tales and children's literature as an intersection between the two. In her free time, Yun likes to collect rocks, hike, dance, sprout acorns, read in the sun, and practice Brazilian jiu jitsu. She finds particular joy in working with the preschool/kindergarten age group, and is grateful to be spending her days working alongside little ones under the open sky.
Assistant Teacher; Preschool
Yun grew up in Western Massachusetts, in a city surrounded by farm towns. She spent lots of her childhood tumbling around with her brothers in the woods of New England. She first fell in love with nature-based education in high school while working as an instructor at a farm-based summer program, inspired by how nature-as-classroom gave kids the freedom to just be kids — to be loud, get dirty, and move their bodies. While studying anthropology at Princeton, Yun turned her academic focus to questions of teaching and learning. As an intern for the Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs, she wrote experiential learning lesson plans for children about environmental science and local conservation issues. Yun explored children's history education through interviews and field work in Hawaii, focusing on site-based teaching, alternative modes of education, and cultures of storytelling. She also studied creative writing, and focused especially on folk tales and children's literature as an intersection between the two. In her free time, Yun likes to collect rocks, hike, dance, sprout acorns, read in the sun, and practice Brazilian jiu jitsu. She finds particular joy in working with the preschool/kindergarten age group, and is grateful to be spending her days working alongside little ones under the open sky.
Bailey Heit
Assistant Teacher; Preschool
Growing up in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Bailey explored the vast land of woodland creatures and forest fairies. She quickly learned that the outdoors were a playground for her imagination and she grew up prancing through the woods with a flow of wonder and curiosity about the world. While studying Psychology and Computer Science at Duke, Bailey worked as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist at a school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a staff member of Duke’s outdoors organization, she led hikes, kayak trips, and camping adventures through the forests, lakes, beaches, and mountains of North Carolina. She has taken her love for hiking into the mountains of Santa Barbara, plays softball at Elings Park, and practices yoga in her free time. After moving to Santa Barbara as a Software Engineer for a food sustainability company, Bailey found it was once again time to dance amongst the trees and to teach others about the natural world. Now, she spends her days outside in our beautiful Santa Barbara home, supporting the children as an assistant teacher as they explore, play and learn at Wild Roots.
Assistant Teacher; Preschool
Growing up in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Bailey explored the vast land of woodland creatures and forest fairies. She quickly learned that the outdoors were a playground for her imagination and she grew up prancing through the woods with a flow of wonder and curiosity about the world. While studying Psychology and Computer Science at Duke, Bailey worked as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist at a school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a staff member of Duke’s outdoors organization, she led hikes, kayak trips, and camping adventures through the forests, lakes, beaches, and mountains of North Carolina. She has taken her love for hiking into the mountains of Santa Barbara, plays softball at Elings Park, and practices yoga in her free time. After moving to Santa Barbara as a Software Engineer for a food sustainability company, Bailey found it was once again time to dance amongst the trees and to teach others about the natural world. Now, she spends her days outside in our beautiful Santa Barbara home, supporting the children as an assistant teacher as they explore, play and learn at Wild Roots.
