Santa Barbara Faculty
Lia Grippo
Wild Roots Founder, Director, and Preschool Lead Teacher
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 discovering 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 boys and wife of an exquisite musician.
Jenn Sepulveda
Kindergarten Lead Teacher, Assistant Program Director
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 boy, 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.
Natalia Pareja
Mixed Age Preschool Lead Teacher
Natalia was born in La Paz, Bolivia - a city nestled in the Andes Mountains at 13,600 ft. As such, she grew up with a reverence for mountains and an affinity for climbing them. A child from a Californian mother and Bolivian father, Natalia was raised bilingual in English and Spanish alike. As a young adult she entertained the idea of a business career and completed a degree in Finance and Mathematics. Eventually, she realized through her experience teaching that her love for working with children would surpass all other pursuits. Following her heart, and motivated by her first nephew, she discovered Montessori and became enchanted by Waldorf. This educational journey brought her to Santa Barbara to complete a Masters of Arts in Education with a Concentration in Nature Based Early Childhood Education at Antioch University. Natalia believes in lifelong learning, embraces vulnerability, and meets the world with kindness and wonder. She fills her wanderlust through travel and finds solace by putting down roots gardening. She is eternally grateful for the reflection this world has given her at birth who reminds her of how magical life truly is: a twin sister.
Laura Sanchez
Mixed Age Preschool Teacher
Laura was born and raised in Los Angeles. Most of their summers growing up were spent volunteering to help teachers and students at their childhood elementary school. Coming from a family of teachers, they were naturally drawn to the field of education and considers themselves a life-long student of the universe. After completing a BA in Child Development and Family Studies at CSU, Long Beach, they navigated their way to Goleta to work for San Marcos Parent-Child Workshop, a cooperative preschool. In the summer of 2018, Laura volunteered for Wilderness Youth Project and learned about the training opportunity with the Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers. Since then, they have experienced the newfound magic that lies when working with children outdoors at Aventuras, a language-immersion forest preschool in Los Angeles. Laura has journeyed their way back to Goleta, with an open heart and determination to continue fostering the love of teaching and learning.
Stephanie Doidic
Mixed Age Preschool Teacher
Stephanie has always felt a strong connection to nature and a passion for the outdoors. She was born in Los Angeles and spent her early years playing in the mud, climbing the neighborhood trees, and obtaining a deep sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around her. As years went on this love for the natural world and everything in it brought her to adventure all over the world. She is a first generation American of French and Austrian descent and was raised in a multilingual household, because of this, along with instilling a love of nature for children everywhere, she also works to promote a love and deep appreciation of all cultures. She graduated from California State University of Channel Islands with an emphasis in Early Childhood Studies and holds a certificate in Environmental Studies. It was in school that Stephanie began her journey into a deeper understanding and love of forest schools that she feels can truly transform our view of the world in the most positive light. She has studied with the Forest School Teacher Institute and began a nature group for her local community that has brought much joy in being able to share the richness that nature can bring into one’s life. Stephanie lives in Agoura Hills with her husband and young daughter where she enjoys hiking the meandering hills, roaming barefoot, and just simply relishing in the beauty that the land has to offer.
Mixed Age Preschool Teacher
Stephanie has always felt a strong connection to nature and a passion for the outdoors. She was born in Los Angeles and spent her early years playing in the mud, climbing the neighborhood trees, and obtaining a deep sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around her. As years went on this love for the natural world and everything in it brought her to adventure all over the world. She is a first generation American of French and Austrian descent and was raised in a multilingual household, because of this, along with instilling a love of nature for children everywhere, she also works to promote a love and deep appreciation of all cultures. She graduated from California State University of Channel Islands with an emphasis in Early Childhood Studies and holds a certificate in Environmental Studies. It was in school that Stephanie began her journey into a deeper understanding and love of forest schools that she feels can truly transform our view of the world in the most positive light. She has studied with the Forest School Teacher Institute and began a nature group for her local community that has brought much joy in being able to share the richness that nature can bring into one’s life. Stephanie lives in Agoura Hills with her husband and young daughter where she enjoys hiking the meandering hills, roaming barefoot, and just simply relishing in the beauty that the land has to offer.
Fionna Krijger
Mixed Age Preschool Assistant Teacher
Fionna was born and raised in Orange County, California, and her journey into the outdoors was prompted by her father’s spontaneous boat purchase when she was 7. For many years they spent countless days maintaining the boat, with summers spent living on the boat, fishing, and traveling out to Catalina Island. With these cherished memories of the outdoors, she became motivated to teach and guide youth into their natural environments. With this, she earned a degree in Biological Anthropology with a minor in Science and Mathematics Education from University of California, Santa Barbara. She lives in Santa Barbara with her pet sourdough starter. In her spare time, you can find her rock climbing, backpacking, crafting with natural materials, and getting creative in the kitchen.
Mixed Age Preschool Assistant Teacher
Fionna was born and raised in Orange County, California, and her journey into the outdoors was prompted by her father’s spontaneous boat purchase when she was 7. For many years they spent countless days maintaining the boat, with summers spent living on the boat, fishing, and traveling out to Catalina Island. With these cherished memories of the outdoors, she became motivated to teach and guide youth into their natural environments. With this, she earned a degree in Biological Anthropology with a minor in Science and Mathematics Education from University of California, Santa Barbara. She lives in Santa Barbara with her pet sourdough starter. In her spare time, you can find her rock climbing, backpacking, crafting with natural materials, and getting creative in the kitchen.
Cielle Watjen Brown
Kindergarten Assistant Teacher
Cielle was born in Mendocino and spent much of her childhood making fairy forts in the redwood forest, catching frogs in the creek and swimming in the ocean. Her love and wonder for the outdoors and animals was instilled early on and she loved growing up with a plethora of goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits to keep her company. Moving to Hawaii as a teenager led Cielle to find a love for hiking, camping, water sports and studying marine life. It was there that she also began guiding children on explorations into the mountains to make forts, scout trails and create nature art. Cielle was brought back to California to earn a degree in Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology at UC Davis. While living in Davis she worked as a garden educator, tending to school gardens and helping students grow their own food and connect with the land. She’s spent the last 6 months living in the Bay Area, and is excited to move to Santa Barbara. In her free time, she loves to go camping with friends, swim, and try out new mediums of art. Cielle looks forward to sharing new experiences and discoveries at Wild Roots!
Michael Meade
Kindergarten Assistant Teacher
Michael grew up Santa Fe, New Mexico, amidst Ponderosa Pines, mountain hot springs and Road Runners. His love for the wilderness blossomed during childhood as his family enjoyed weekly outings to the natural wonders of the American Southwest. Michael became an active environmentalist, participating in his high school recycling initiative, a passion that carried through his time at Connecticut College, where he completed a degree in Sustainability. Alongside school waste reduction and energy conservation campaigns, Michael began exploring regenerative agriculture. After graduating, he immersed himself in permaculture operations and eco-village living. He initiated four different school garden programs and served with Earth Care in Santa Fe as a Sustainability Educator. After working a term in the Early Childhood Program at Rio Grande School in his hometown, he served with Education Outside as an Ecology Educator in a public elementary school in San Francisco, CA. Michael has merged his passion for the arts, dance and music with his ecology education inspirations into All Aboard Earth, a multi-media collective that is developing an online sustainability-themed curriculum for kids. A transplant to Santa Barbara, he is thrilled to be working with Wild Roots!
