Our Staff

We pride ourselves on providing certified teachers with strong backgrounds in early childhood education.  Equally as important is a teacher with compassion, sensitivity and one who is able to instill curiosity and wonder in your children.  Our teachers, assistants and staff are here because they love children.  We’d like you to meet them all!

Michelle Neal: Director and Lead Teacher, Sunbeam Class

Teacher Shelley is a graduate of Seattle Prep High School, Matteo Ricci College and Seattle University.  She has a BA in Humanities and a BA in Education.  She also has her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from National University in San Diego.  She is currently working on her Education Doctorate. She has taught both first and third grades at St. Bernadette’s School in Burien.  She has been the Director and Pre-Kindergarten teacher at A Child Becomes for the past 25 years. 
 She is a resident of West Seattle, married, and has four children. The oldest, Alex is a rocket scientist (really) for Blue Origin.  Tommy is certificated teacher and is teaching middle school in Auburn.  Sean is completing his degree in Fine Art/Design at Western Washington University and Enya attends Holy Rosary School.  In addition to teaching and parenting, Shelley enjoys coaching Track and Field (ages 8-14) and is Head Cross Country Coach at West Seattle High School.  She also competes competitively.

Kristi Houk:  Lead/Assistant Teacher, Sunbeam Class

Teacher Kristi holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Biology from Whitworth University. She also holds a Masters in Teaching from Whitworth University. Prior to her involvement at A Child Becomes Preschool, she taught in the South Kitsap School District for four years. Teacher Kristi’s love for kids started in high school with her employment as a Summer Day Camp leader for the city of Kennewick, WA. For five years, she developed day to day curriculum, reached out to parents, and secured a love for play and teaching in her heart through the wonderful children she met. Since then, she has made it a priority in her life to reach out to kids and let them know they are loved. Besides her love of teaching, Teacher Kristi is an avid runner and competes competitively for a local running team, Club Northwest. She is a volunteer coach at South Kitsap High School and also works part-time at Route 16 Running and Walking in Gig Harbor, WA. If not at A Child Becomes Preschool, you find Teacher Kristi with her husband Jon and her three Italian greyhounds out on the trails enjoying what the Pacific Northwest is renowned for.

Heather Whelan:  Co-Lead Teacher, Butterfly Class

Teacher Heather is excited to be joining the team at A Child Becomes Preschool. She brings enthusiasm, creativity, knowledge and love for children. She is looking forward to being part of your child’s day and helping each child learn and grow throughout the year. Prior to joining A Child Becomes, Heather taught preschool here in West Seattle and elementary school in the Renton School District.  When not at school, she enjoys running, Yoga, and spending time with her two children, Connor (attending Fairmount Park) and Colby (attending A Child Becomes).   Heather has a BA in History and a minor in English from Mount Holyoke College along with a Masters in Teaching from Seattle University.

Stephany Depew: Co-Lead Teacher, Butterfly Class

Teacher Stephany has been working with children for over 10 years. Her passion for teaching began while teaching swim lessons to children at Arbor Heights Swim and Tennis Club right here in West Seattle where she grew up with her three sisters, Danielle, Cassidy, and Samantha.  Working with young children throughout middle and high school led her into the field of Early Childhood Development, for which she earned her BA degree from Washington State University.  Most recently, Stephany worked as a Lead Teacher in a preschool and daycare facility in Bellevue.  She loves to be active and enjoys playing soccer.  She’s has been a teacher in our Butterfly classroom for three years now and is very excited to spend another year at A Child Becomes!

Jan Newgent: Lead Teacher, Caterpillar Class, Assistant Teacher Sunbeam Class

Jan has been working at A Child Becomes for 19 years now and works in both the Caterpillar and Sunbeam class rooms.  She came to the USA from New Zealand and married her husband 20 years ago.  She has three children. Natalie is a firefighter, Ben is a senior in High School and Sam is a freshman in high school this year.  Her special interests are any type of biology and science and she has a Microbiology Degree in Serology (the scientific study of blood serum and other serums.)  She loves to garden and maintains her own huge flower and vegetable gardens complimented by four laying hens!  She has a twelve year old dog, Rocky, who has recently gone blind with diabetes, a bearded dragon and the latest aquisition, a hamster named Houdini.  She feels so lucky to teach young children each week and see the world through their eyes!

Angela Sadis: Assistant Teacher, Sunbeam Class

Angela is originally from California, and moved here twenty years ago after graduating with a BA in Film from the University of California Santa Barbara.  She has been a West Seattle resident since 1999 and treasures this community.   She was formerly a producer in advertising and post-production before deciding to stay home to raise her two children, Sophia and Jaden. They are A Child Becomes graduates who now attend Madison Middle School.

I remember well the preschool journey, having experienced more than one in our search for the right fit, which we found at A Child Becomes.  Sophia and Jaden flourished socially and academically in their preparation for kindergarten at the preschool.  My children have very different personalities, one being quite reserved and introspective, while the other a ball of fire ready for action and fun.  Both loved their preschool experience, and they blossomed in their individual ways.  Teacher Shelley, along with the other amazing teachers, created a warm, safe, fun, exploratory place to grow and learn.  I wish this type of early learning experience for every child and I’m happy to now be one of the teachers that
can provide this for your children.

Grandma Dorothy:  Literature Expert, Sunbeam Class

Grandma Dorothy is our literature guest visitor who visits the Sunbeam class on Thursdays with a basket of homemade cookies,  cutter-cut to match our theme. She selects and reads out loud, a book of special interest.  She always has interesting stories to share that help build on our knowledge. Grandma Dorothy has 27 grandchildren!  She travels from Vashon Island where she was an Elementary School Librarian for 25 years. She is a graduate from Central Washington University where she received a teaching degree and her age is a tightly held secret!  We love the inter-generational aspect and hope she carries on with us for another decade.  She enjoys sewing and knitting, has authored her own literature program for young children, and can claim TWO ‘hole in ones’!

Rachel Hagenson: Assistant Teacher, AM Butterfly Class

Rachel is originally from Minneapolis, MN and moved to Seattle in August 2012.  Prior to her move, Rachel was a Montessori Preschool Director for 10 years and loved witnessing the development of the students in her school, from infancy to Kindergarten.  With a BA degree in Psychology she’s excited to work in the Butterfly Room this year with Teacher Stephany, with her ‘favorite’ age group!  Since moving to West Seattle, Rachel has tutored students for the past two years at Lafayette Elementary, as well as continues to work part-time with host families and au pairs in West Seattle. Rachel and her husband have two children (8 and 6 years old) and enjoy getting to know their new community of West Seattle.  Rachel’s involved herself with Lafayette Elementary as both the Enrichment Coordinator and PTA Vice President, is a Girl Scout leader and enjoys playing soccer, running and competing in triathlons.

Liz Murphy:  Assitant Teacher, Sunbeam Class

Liz was raised on Queen Anne hill, attended St. Anne’s, Holy Names Academy and has a BA in Fine Arts from Western Washington University.  She married her high school sweetheart Patrick and we have three daughters; Anne, Lilly and Bridget.  She worked at the West Seattle Y in kids gym for 5 years and is now going into her 5th year at A Child Becomes in the PREK program.

I love working with kids, they have an amazing perspective on “all” things and I learn so much from them everyday.  Their creativity is boundless and if I can help foster that in any way, I feel honored.

Teressa Shain:  Assistant Teacher, Caterpillar Class

Carol Lewis:  Assistant Teacher, Caterpillar Class

Bio coming soon…

Kiran Robertson: Art Teacher/Specialist For Sunbeam students

Kiran has spent most of her young and adult life working with children.  While in High School she began volunteering at a special education school near her home.  She loved the work and continued teaching both typical and special needs children through college. After college, she rounded out her expertise by having 3 children of her own.  She learned that all of the education in the world can not adequately prepare you to actually be a parent.  Nor can it prepare you for the precious gifts your children will be.

Kiran attended UCLA, studying Social Psychology with an emphasis in early and special education.  When it came to final career choices, Kiran made her life-long hobby of art her career choice by attending Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California, where she earned her BFA in Illustration.  
Shortly after graduating from art school, Kiran began volunteering at the Aids Service Center in Pasadena, teaching art classes to children and families living with HIV and Aids.  This is where Kiran came to the profound understanding that children are innate artists.  They lack inhibition and have not yet started the process of self-critique. 
 After college, her professional career began to flourish.  She joined the newly developing force of digital artists and was a pioneer in what would be the huge industry of Interactive Design.  She worked for educational companies, gaming companies and was an early part of the growing bubble that would eventually become the Dot Com Era.  She was there to see that bubble burst and very fortunate to work through all of the fall out.

Since her children were born, Kiran has run her own freelance design company, called Lovejoy Design.  She has managed to continue her passion for art and design while raising 3 wonderful children, all of whom have attended A Child Becomes.

Ellen Zoffel:  Music Teacher/Specialist For Sunbeam students

Ellen Zoffel has been a music specialist at A Child Becomes since 2012.  She is a local music teacher, songwriter and studio musician, with a degree in Music Theory.   She loves teaching the students the basics of music education through the joy of sound and movement. She and her husband are loyal West Seattle residents and and have two kids (9 and 7 years old) who graduated A Child Becomes and attend Lafayette Elementary School in the neighborhood.

Ann Limbaugh:  Office and Business Assistant

Ann lives in West Seattle with her husband and two children, both of whom have spent lots of time at A Child Becomes and are graduates of the preschool.  Ann grew up in upstate New York, attended college in Ithaca, NY where she obtained a degree in Communications and Writing.  She moved west to Colorado for several years before finally settling in Seattle in 1994.  She’s worked in various industries including advertising, video production and retail.  Most recently, she worked for REI leading a team of business analysts in the Marketing and Online divisions. After having her second child, she left the corporate world and now spends her time at swim and gymnastics meets, the classrooms of her children, tending to her chickens and when she has extra time, volunteers with the West Seattle Food Bank.  She loves taking photographs, pilates, camping with friends and family, and snowboarding and is excited to be working at a school with great energy, enthusiastic teachers and happy kids!