Meet
Our Staff
Our Administration
Lori Maxwell
Director
Traci Picknell
Assistant Director
Mandi Hill
Administrative Assistant | Curriculum Coordinator | VPK Coordinator
Our Teachers
Marjorie Tamblin
RAINBOW ROOM
(2 1/2’s) Teacher
Damaris Batista
RAINBOW ROOM
(2 1/2’s) Assistant
Kailyn Shouse
BLUE ROOM
(3’s) MWF & T/TH Teacher
Amanda Manoharan
BLUE ROOM
(3’s) MWF Assistant
Tarah Magner
BLUE ROOM
(3’s) T/TH Assistant
Liz Prince
RED ROOM
(3’s) Teacher
Jessica Allen
RED ROOM
(3’s) Assistant
Jerrica Castellon
YELLOW ROOM
(3’s) T/TH Teacher
Ali Gunn
YELLOW ROOM
(3’s)T/TH Assistant
Ashley Curley
YELLOW ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Inez Feurich
YELLOW ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Claudia
ORANGE ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Sadie Griffin
ORANGE ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Debbie DeLong
GREEN ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Stephanie Pollak
GREEN ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Samantha Mitchell
PINK ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Jennifer Nowak
PINK ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Jennifer Boursiquot
PURPLE ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Alex Garcia
PURPLE ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Our Enrichment Teachers
Jenn Morgan
MUSIC
Natali Mendez
SPANISH
Amanda Fernandez
BIBLE
Lori Maxwell
Director
Miss Lori started working at CEC in 2008. She has served as a substitute, Spanish Enrichment teacher, Administrative Assistant and Assistant Director. Lori graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Elementary Education and taught Kindergarten - 3rd Grade in Palm Beach County. She also holds a Florida Director's VPK Credential. Lori is a member of and grew up attending St. Peter's United Methodist Church since the age of 4. She resides in Wellington with her husband Walt and their two children Regan and Giles.
lmaxwell@stpeters-umc.orgTraci Picknell
Assistant Director
Miss Traci began working as a teacher at St. Peter's CEC in 1999 after her youngest child graduated from the Yellow Room. Traci graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught in the public school system in Ohio before moving to Florida. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Chris, and has three children, Tarah, Anthony and Kelsey, son-in-law, Michael and three grandchildren, Camden, Peyton and Lewie. She has been a member of St. Peter's United Methodist Church since 1997. Traci enjoys spending time with her family, reading and being out in the sunshine!
tpicknell@stpeters-umc.orgMandi Hill
Administrative Assistant | Curriculum Coordinator | VPK Coordinator
Miss Mandi has worked at CEC since 2009. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught Kindergarten for the School District of Palm Beach County before becoming a Stay at Home Mom for 5 years. Mandi was our initial VPK teacher in the summer of 2009 and 2010 and has also worked as the Spanish Enrichment teacher. She is married to her husband Steve and they have 3 daughters, Avery, Kylah and Teagan, who are all CEC Alumni!
mhill@stpeters-umc.orgMarjorie Tamblin
RAINBOW ROOM
(2 1/2’s) Teacher
Marjorie joined the CEC as a substitute in 2021. She is a Florida native who earned her Associate's degree in Education from Palm Beach State College. Marjorie is married and has four children, Jacob, Emma, Amie and Emrie who is a CEC alumni. She also has two grandchildren, Everleigh and Jacob. She has a special place in her heart for the 2 1/2 year olds and is excited to be the Rainbow Room teacher.
Damaris Batista
RAINBOW ROOM
(2 1/2’s) Assistant
Damaris has been working with our 2 1/2 year olds since 2005. She has three older children who are all CEC Alumni. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, including her grandchildren, gardening, going to the beach, shopping, reading and exercising.
Kailyn Shouse
BLUE ROOM
(3’s) MWF & T/TH Teacher
Kailyn grew up in Wellington and Louisville, KY. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelors in Kinesiology. Kailyn joined our CEC staff as a substitute in 2022. She is married and has two children who have both attended CEC. In her free time, she enjoys reading, working out and spending time with her family.
Amanda Manoharan
BLUE ROOM
(3’s) MWF Assistant
Amanda was born and raised in Wellington. She received a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics from Florida Atlantic University and then continued her education to earn her Speech Language Pathology Assistant Certificate from Florida State University. She previously worked with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) students before becoming a Stay at Home mom. She is married to her high school sweetheart, David, and they have one daughter, Hannah. In her free time, Amanda loves to spend time with her family and her two golden retrievers!
Tarah Magner
BLUE ROOM
(3’s) T/TH Assistant
Tarah grew up in Wellington, Florida where she met and married her husband. They have two children, who are both CEC Alumni! She was our PSF Leader last year and is now joining our staff. Tarah attended Palm Beach State College and Keiser University earning an Associate's of Science degree in Radiology. In her free time she enjoys shopping and listening to country music.
Liz Prince
RED ROOM
(3’s) Teacher
Liz grew up in South Florida before heading to North Florida for college. She relocated to Wellington in 2014 along with her husband. Liz earned a Bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University. She was drawn to the children's programs at St. Peter's UMC and became involved with her family. Liz has three childre, two of them being CEC Alumni. She joined our CEC family in 2021.
Jessica Allen
RED ROOM
(3’s) Assistant
Jessica has been working at the CEC since 2017. She grew up in Indiana , Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan before moving to South Florida in 2006. Jessica is married to her husband Jeff and they have two sons whom are both CEC alumni! In her free time, Jessica enjoys taking her boys to the beach or the pool and taking family bike rides.
Jerrica Castellon
YELLOW ROOM
(3’s) T/TH Teacher
Jerrica grew up in Starke, FL and has lived in multiple locations for her husband's job, which landed them here is West Palm. She joined us in 2022 as a substitute teacher. Jerrica has an Associate's degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelor's degree in Criminology & Law. She is married to her husband David, and they have two daughters, both who have attended the CEC. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family going for walks and relaxing at the pool.
Ali Gunn
YELLOW ROOM
(3’s)T/TH Assistant
Ali was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. She worked as an Aftercare Director for the School District of Palm Beach County for 7 years before becoming a Stay at Home mom. She is married to her husband Donald and they have 2 children, Emma, who is a CEC alumni, and Easton. She enjoys camping and visiting state parks with her family.
Ashley Curley
YELLOW ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Ashley joined the CEC in 2019 as a Lunch Bunch teacher and a substitute. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a Master's Degree in Special Education. She taught ESE (Exceptional Student Education) for the School District of Palm Beach County before spending five years as stay at home mom. Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, Natalie, who is a CEC alumni.
Inez Feurich
YELLOW ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Inez is the Teacher's Assistant on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. .She joined our CEC family in 2010. Inez was born in the Netherlands and moved to the United States in 1994. She is married to her husband Alen and has 3 children. She enjoys spending time with her children when they come home from college, bike rides, reading and watching HGTV.
Claudia
ORANGE ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Claudia joined St Peter’s CEC as a substitute in 2021 and has now joined our staff as a VPK teacher. She grew up on Long Island, NY and graduated with a Maters degree in Education. Claudia lives with her wonderful fiancé and two daughters who both attended the CEC. She decided to join St Peter’s CEC because of our dedication to educating tomorrow’s future while fostering the love of Jesus.
Sadie Griffin
ORANGE ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Sadie is a 3rd generation Floridian raising 3 daughters here in Wellington. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Florida and earned her Master’s Degree at Auburn University. All of her children have attended St. Peter’s CEC. Sadie was previously active as a parent in the Parent-Staff Fellowship and is glad to now be a part of the staff of the CEC.
Debbie DeLong
GREEN ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Debbie came to work at St. Peter's in 1986 working in various positions and enjoys teaching in the Green Room. She is married to her husband, Bill, and just celebrated 45 years of marriage. She is the proud mom of two daughters, Jennifer and Tara and a beautiful grandson, Jonathan. Debbie's outside interests include gardening and oil painting.
Stephanie Pollak
GREEN ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Stephanie is excited to join our CEC team this year! She is married and has two children, Dean and Kate, both whom are CEC Alumni! In her free time she enjoys spending time with family, going to the beach, swimming and doing home projects.
Samantha Mitchell
PINK ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Sam was born in Fort Lauderdale but grew up most of her life in Ohio. She is a big fan of all Cleveland Sports Teams, but mostly Ohio State, Go Buckeyes! Sam lives in Wellington with her husband Mike and their two daughters, Adalynn and Sophia, both of whom attended CEC. She graduated in December of 2021 with an A.S. Degree in Early Childhood Education, and is continuing her education at FIU towards a B.S. Degree, also in Early Childhood Education. In her free time, you can find her exercising, doing anything outdoors, reading, or spending time on the softball fields with her daughters.
Jennifer Nowak
PINK ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Jenn was born in Hollywood, Florida and moved to Wellington in 7th grade. She has been teaching for 10 years with the last 5 being in a Kindergarten classroom. She is married to her high school sweetheart Greg and they have two sons, Brady and Brooks. She is looking forward to joining our team!
Jennifer Boursiquot
PURPLE ROOM
(VPK) Teacher
Miss Jennifer joined CEC in July 2017 as one of our 3 year old teachers. Jennifer graduated from Palm Beach State College with an Associate in Science Degree in Interior Design Technology. Born and raised in West Palm Beach, she enjoys beach combing for sea glass, exploring parks and camping with her husband, Steve, and their two daughters, Madelyn and Abigail. With a passion for arts, crafting and educational adventures, she also leads a Girl Scout Troop.
Alex Garcia
PURPLE ROOM
(VPK) Assistant
Alex was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to the United Stated in 1997. Alex graduated from a Colombia college with a degree in architectural drafting and interior design and then continued her education at Palm Beach State College once moving here. She worked at Good Shepard preschool for 5 years before joining us at the CEC. She is married and has two children, Lucas and Brianna. Alex has a passion for the Arts and enjoys working with children!
Jenn Morgan
MUSIC
Jenn was raised in Michigan and moved to Florida in 2015. She has a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts and has extensive experience in the field of music, theater and dance, Jen started attending St. Peter's UMC and loved it so much that she seized the opportunity to join the Church Staff. Since joining the St. Peter's staff in March of 2018, she has taken on many roles. Fortunately, she loves each and every one! Jenn serves as the Music and Bible teacher at the CEC, Coordinator of Fine Arts and Multi-Media and Praise Band Worship Leader. Jenn believes it is a true blessing to have a job in a faith-filled environment that allows her to combine all of the things she loves into one job!
Natali Mendez
SPANISH
Natali grew up in South California and has since lived in Arizona, Texas and Florida. She is a native Spanish and English speaker and also learned French as part of her International Business Bachelor's degree. She has worked with children as an assisitant at a Montessori school, as well as, and English teacher for young children. Natali was a stay at home mom for a few years, but is now excited to join our CEC family as the Spanish teacher. She resides in Wellington with her husband and three children.
Amanda Fernandez
BIBLE
Amanda was born and raised in Florida and currently resides in Wellington with her husband and two sons. Her two sons both attended the CEC and she excited to join our team as the Bible teacher. She enjoys traveling, delicious foods, football, reading, going to the beach and just being with family.