Sara O’Neill, Founder and Director
Sara is one of the founding parents of Slippery Fish. Both of her children grew up at Slippery Fish, and she is passionate about the opportunity for other families to be part of their child’s first learning experiences. In 2015, Sara received the Outstanding Teacher/Director Award from the California Council of Parent Participatory Nursery Schools for her work with Slippery Fish.
Abby Zapanta
Abby holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education: Inclusive Education & Curriculum and has been teaching and working with children for 14 years. This time has informed her belief that children learn best when their wonderful ideas are taken seriously and allowed to unfold within a context that is joyful and meaningful to them.
Alison Tucker
Alison believes everyone takes on the world in different ways and is passionate about working with families and supporting children through successes and challenges by being present, trustworthy, and supportive. Growing up with her little brother who has Autism, she saw how a lot of teaching strategies didn’t work, deflating his confidence and failing to support his needs. It has inspired and influenced all her interactions when working with special needs and typically developing people.
Approachable, calm and even keeled, Alison believes it feels better for kids to have connectedness and rapport, which helps them feel safer and produces happier children. She brings her love of Nature, pretend play and bug hunts to the class, fostering wonder, curiosity and delight.
Alison majored in Psychology and Black studies with a minor in Special Education, has a background as an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapist and camp director, and is currently pursuing her master’s in Special Education at SFSU.
Outside of Slippery Fish, you can find her at the beach on cold and warm days, open water swimming with her mom, cooking for family with her dad, in competitive swimming events, on a kayak on the bay as a support and lifeguard to other swimmers, surfing, spotting native animals in Nature, and eating delicious new foods.
Annie Lee
Annie believes that childhood is a treasured time and that it’s our responsibility to provide environments and experiences that capture the joys of childhood, nurture each child’s individual growth and development, and pave the way for success in school and life. A bug lover, cooking aficionado, and appreciator of creative play, she brings inquisitiveness, effervescence, and silliness to the class.
Annie received her bachelor’s degree from SFSU, studied Child and Adolescent Development, and has worked in childhood education for over 15 years.
In her spare time, she loves exploring the city, enjoying the parks and museums, and trying out new recipes with her family.
Chynna Phillips
Chynna loves the natural curiosity children possess about the world and their inclination to learn. Witnessing children grow and develop right in front of her eyes during the first few fundamental years of life is extraordinary and one of the most rewarding experiences for her. Considerate, inquisitive, and encouraging, Chynna brings warmth, enthusiasm and curiosity to her teaching, along with lots of heart connections and silly, belly laughs. She finds being a part of a co-op enriching because of the shared sense of community inside the classroom and working closely with so many families.
Chynna received her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and master’s degree in Childhood Special Education, with a certification in Autism Spectrum Disorders from SFSU.
Outside of the classroom, Chynna loves being as active as possible. She enjoys hiking, playing in volleyball and dodgeball leagues, visiting new places, spending time with friends and family, tea tasting, reading, cuddling her dog Zephyr and eating tasty food.
Donnie Weaver
Donnie believes the skills you learn in preschool stick with you for life, and he’s passionate about providing as many kids with a solid foundation in self-acceptance and love, activism, and advocacy as he can. Having an innate ability to connect with neuro-atypical kids in a summer program and to help them advocate for their needs throughout the program, he realized he wanted to help all kids become better advocates for themselves. Working in education for 8 years, he likes early childhood because it’s where he feels he can be most helpful.
Outside of Slippery Fish, he works as a child advocate working one on one with atypical kids and their families so that everyone can learn about each other in a cohesive way. He is passionate about painting, illustrating, cooking, baking, storytelling, being in nature and exploring all the parks with his daughter.
Jinan Mahmoud
Jinan adores children of this age and working with them sparks so much joy in her heart. Seeing children learn and being there to learn and grow with them is incredible. A former Flying Fish campus teacher for 6 years and parent teacher at Slippery Fish, she brings the Slippery Fish ethos with her to the outdoor classroom.
Jinan believes Nature provides the opportunities and we respond. As our Nature Days program teacher, she integrates following the children’s lead and using her curriculum ideas based on their age, unique interests and developmental needs, creating a warm, inviting space that allows for spontaneous adventures, uninterrupted time to engage with and get immersed in a space, and for inquiry, imagination, collaboration, empowerment and exploration to flourish.
Having received her master’s in Education from SFSU with an emphasis in multicultural education, she has worked in many educational settings in the Bay Area and founded an outdoor summer camp for children in San Francisco, where many Slippery Fish alumni and former students join every year.
Jinan loves traveling and exploring new places; spending time with her son and their large family, enjoying live performances and cultural events, reading, and savoring Middle Eastern food.
Marni Tuel
Marni loves the openness of children and their excitable, creative nature. Warm, creative, and thoughtful, Marni has a child-centered approach with a focus on play-based and emergent curriculum.
Inspired by her childhood teachers’ caring, flexibility, and out of the box thinking, Marni brings mindful presence, her love of art and appreciation for nature to class, creating a harmonious and engaging space where each child feels seen, heard, understood and engaged, cultivating connection, curiosity, wonder and joy.
As a Slippery Fish alumni family and former parent teacher, she saw the positive effects of a strong community, with parents coming together, bonding, and building attachments with each other and each others’ children. Marni believes there is a richness and strength that can come from such a community working together to raise each others’ children, and some of her family’s strongest friendships are from their experience at Slippery Fish.
Marni has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s in Art Therapy. She previously worked in child therapy and art education settings in early childhood programs.
In her free time, she loves creating art, joking around with her son and husband and playing music with them.
Tamao Yamashita
Tamao believes children are resourceful and capable learners and is passionate about supporting them in their journey. She brings her love of pretend play to the class, nurturing their imagination and the wonderful worlds they create.
Tamao majored in Human Development in Kobe University in Japan, studied early childhood education at Cañada College and Skyline College, and is currently working on her master’s in Early Childhood Special Education at SFSU.
Outside of Slippery Fish, she enjoys hikes and road trips, visiting hot springs, reading, cooking, and spending time with her friends and quality time alone.