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Our Staff

Our Staff

Our Teaching Staff

Administrative Staff

Maria Hill, Early Childhood Coordinator Maria Hill is in her sixth year with OCE&R. Before becoming the Early Childhood Coordinator, Maria taught in the Threes classroom. She's also taught kindergarten, middle school language arts, and as a special education assistant teacher. She is happy to have found a wonderful home here with OEC, and couldn't ask to work with a better group of teachers. Maria graduated from Saint Mary's College with a Bachelor of Arts, and National Louis University with a Master's in Elementary Education and Middle School Education. When she is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband Kevin, and two children, Charlie and Maggie.

Kristine Chamberlin, Early Childhood Coordinator II Kristine has been a part of OCER for 11 years. Kristine graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She got her Masters in Reading from Ohio University. Kristine says that teaching here has been so much fun because she gets to watch students grow, create friendships, and see families build a supportive community.

Young Fives Classrooms

Jackie Celinski Jackie has happily been a part of Orange Early Childhood Preschool for 22 years. She has an Associates in Early Childhood with a Pre-K license. Jackie previously taught in the four-year old classroom and this will be her eighth year teaching in the Young Fives. Jackie says she truly enjoys seeing the students grow throughout the year and become ready for Kindergarten. Jackie lives in Macedonia with her husband Paul. They enjoy traveling and being with family, especially with their three wonderful grandchildren!

Nada Hashem Ms. Hashem has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood Preschool for 22 years, including three years teaching the older 4’s class, and 19 years teaching the Young Fives class. She received her B.A. in Public Administration from the American University of Beirut, and her teaching license (PreK-3rd) and M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction from Cleveland State University. In her spare time, Nada enjoy spending time with family & friends, traveling, photography, bicycling and yoga. This summer, she took her first watercolor class and is very excited about her new hobby.

Betsy Ploenzke Betsy has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood Preschool since 2005. She graduated from Mount Union College with a Bachelor's Degree in Inclusive Early Childhood Education and obtained her Master’s from Ashland University in Curriculum and Instruction. She grew up in Chagrin Falls and currently lives in Mayfield Heights with her husband Shaun and their cats Kip & Lindy. Betsy enjoys reading, shopping, going to the beach and cheering on our Cleveland sports teams! Her favorite part about working at OEC is her amazing co-workers, the families & kids. She truly enjoys watching the kids come to OEC as toddlers and leave as Kindergarteners!!

Pre-K / Fours Classrooms

Nicole Kiper Nicole graduated from Ashland University in 2009 with a degree in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Intervention. She has worked with preschool age children since 2010, and has been at Orange Early Childhood Preschool since 2014. She grew up in South Euclid and currently lives in Willowick. In her free time, Nicole enjoys listening to music, walking through the Metroparks, and spending time with her family, husband Bryan, and dog Waldo. She believes that a good parent-teacher relationship is necessary for maximum school success. Nicole is looking forward to a fun filled year with your child as they explore and learn in new environments!

Sherry Becker Sherry graduated from Heidelberg University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education. She has worked at Orange Early Childhood Preschool for 12 years, and has been teaching for over 15 years. She grew up in Valley View and currently lives in Chardon. In her free time, Sherry enjoys spending time with family and friends, being out in nature, traveling and reading. Sherry loves watching the students grow throughout the year and the relationships she builds with families!

Martha Sperry Martha has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood since 2019. She attended Notre Dame College in South Euclid and was a member of the Women’s Basketball team for 5 years. Upon graduation she was the Graduate Assistant Coach for 2 years. Martha has her undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood Education and Special Education (K-12) with a minor in Fine Arts. She also has a Master’s in Education with a Reading Endorsement. Martha’s hobbies include spending time with family and friends, traveling, enjoying live sports games, reading, and working out.

Anna Smith Anna has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood since 2022. She loves working at Orange Rec because of all of the amazing and talented people she gets to work with everyday! She loves how supportive the community is of the work and how involved everyone wants to be! One of her favorite childhood memories is that every year for Christmas, her dad would take her to get my nails done, and they still do it every year! They get to spend the whole day together and it is one of her favorite parts about the holidays!

Karen Wallster Karen has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood since 2022. She loves Orange Rec because she enjoys interacting with the children. They always have a lot to say! Outside of school, her favorite activities and hobbies are walking in the Metro Parks and road trips through Ohio

Three-Year Old Classrooms

Julia Weaver Julia has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood since 2019. She loves the connections, growth, and joy that comes with teaching preschool-age children. She loves helping young children become excited about school! Julia graduated from Kenyon College with degrees in English and Art History. She then received her Master’s in Early Childhood Education from John Carroll. Outside of teaching, Julia loves to travel with family and ride her horse!



Marie Embrescia Stephens Marie has been at Orange Early Childhood Preschool since September 1981. She has an Early Childhood degree from Lakeland College and has completed lots of coursework at Cleveland State University. Marie loves working with kids and loves working at Orange. She has been married to her husband Jeff for 35 years and they have two awesome daughters, Jessica and Jordan and is Nonni to twin granddaughters Adelyn and Sophia.

Two-Year Old Classrooms

Delaney Kelly Delaney started teaching at Orange Early Childhood in 2021. What she loves the most about Orange Rec are her genuine colleagues who offer continuous guidance, inspiration, and enthusiasm each day. The staff and families have created such a welcoming environment and a strong sense of community that makes teaching and learning fun and meaningful. Her favorite place to travel is Rhode Island to visit her twin brother! She grew up spending her summers there, on the beach with her family.

Victoria Birr Victoria started teaching at Orange Early Childhood in 2023. Her favorite part about teaching is getting to know each student and their families. Outside of school, her favorite activity is gardening. She has many different a flowers and grow a large vegetable garden every year!

Meghann Hennen Meghann has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood since 2022. What she loves about Orange Rec is seeing children grow, and find a passion for learning through play and creative activities! Outside of school, she loves to be on the water either in her kayak or sailing on Aquarius /J29. She is also a painter, and she loves spending time with her husband and St. Berdoodle, Luna!

Brianna Turner Brianna has been teaching at Orange Early Childhood since 2022. What she loves about Orange Rec is interacting with her students. Being able to watch her students grow and change throughout the school year is an amazing thing to watch. Outside of school, her favorite hobby is baking!

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