As Head of School, Anya focuses on strategic planning and partnerships, budget oversight, and ToTH’s longer-term vision and sustainability. She also oversees ToTH educational programs and faculty, and provides support to the parent, student, and staff communities. Throughout her time at ToTH Anya has spearheaded several major initiatives including the Access to Quality Expansion grant and the purchase and renovation of the Potomac Ave. campus location. Anya is passionate about the Montessori approach to education and raising children and she loves connecting with ToTH parents and community partners.

After helping to found ToTH in 2012, Anya served as Executive Director from 2013 until 2016, Director of Finance until 2021, and Head of Finance and Operations from 2022-2025. Anya holds a B.A. in English from Guilford College and an M.A. in Education and Human Development, focused on International Education, from The George Washington University. Anya is currently enrolled in the AMI Administrators Certificate course. She previously served as a public policy professional, specializing in U.S.-Cuba policy, and spent several years working as an International Trade Advisor for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

In her spare time, Anya loves spending time with family, whether is ice skating at Canal Park, watching old episodes of Seinfeld or traveling around the country in their RV. She is also an avid urban gardener and love to bring in fresh flowers for the classrooms. Anya's children both attended ToTH back in the earliest days of the school.

Stephanie oversees admissions, enrollment and marketing for ToTH. She also leads ToTH's family engagement initiatives, including orientation and welcome events, Discovery Night and monthly parent presentations.

Stephanie served as ToTH's head of school from 2022-2025. After working in higher education at the Corcoran College of Art + Design and the George Washington University, Stephanie became a mom and discovered the Montessori approach and ToTH. She served as a classroom volunteer in 2018 and officially joined the ToTH administrative team in 2019, serving as administrative director and head of administration up until 2022.

Stephanie earned a Montessori Administrators Certificate in 2022 from the Association Montessori Internationale and a certificate in Montessori leadership from the Whole School Leadership Institute and Loyola University Maryland in 2023. She has a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from Arizona State University. She also serves on the board of directors for DC Wildflower Public Charter School. She lives in Tucson, AZ with her husband and daughter and works remotely for ToTH.

Imani is responsible for overseeing HR functions and organizational operations at ToTH across all campuses. She joined ToTH in October of 2024. She earned her Bachelor of Health Administration degree in Health/Health Care Administration/Management from California State University, Northridge. in 2013 While living in California Imani was a teacher at a childcare center for several years and provided in-home care to twins. She spent over a decade working in the health care field as an operations and HR professional.

In her spare time Imani enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Victoria leads day-to-day campus operations, staff scheduling and recruitment screening at our 5th St. location and provides teaching support to all classrooms. She joined ToTH in January 2025 as an assistant teacher.

She earned her BS in Liberal Studies with a minor in Spanish from Clarion University in 2015. She has also earned an MA in International Education from the Universidad de Alcalá in Madrid. After teaching English abroad in Spain, South Korea, and Italy, Victoria worked for three years at The Montessori School in Soho and at Aidan Montessori in DC.

Victoria is passionate about Montessori education for very young children and hopes to pursue leadership training.

Sara, Joy and Anya co-founded Toddlers on the Hill in 2012. After helping to found ToTH in 2012, Anya served as Executive Director from 2013 until 2016, Director of Finance until 2021, and Head of Finance and Operations from 2022-2025. Anya holds a B.A. in English from Guilford College and an M.A. in Education and Human Development, focused on International Education, from The George Washington University. She currently serves as ToTH's head of school.

From ToTH’s earliest years, Sara worked to bring a broad and competitive set of employee benefits to ToTH, and, with help from parent volunteers, she built our initial scholarship program. She continues to serve as an active member of the Board. Sara holds a M.B.A. from Insead Business School. She is a former Peace Corps volunteer and specializes in supporting the use of technology in economic development worldwide.

Joy has always been passionate about building community, so when the opportunity arose to help start ToTH for the Capitol Hill community, she rolled up her sleeves. Integral to its launch and licensure by the DC Office of the State Superintendent for Education and , Joy continues to support ToTH through her active participation on ToTH’s Board.  Joy and her husband moved to Alexandria, Virginia, to serve as Location Pastors for Capital City Church. She has since shared her passion for Montessori with her community by creating Montesshare, an in-home, Spanish bilingual, Montessori preschool.

Karen joined ToTH in 2020 and became the lead guide of the infant program (Nido) in 2025. She worked as a lead toddler teacher at ToTH from 2020-2025 while pursuing her Montessori training.

Karen is a native Spanish speaker and grew up in Mexico. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Development from the Instituto Technologico de Morelia and has more than seven years of experience working with young children prior to coming to ToTH. Karen earned her Infant/Toddler Montessori teacher certification from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies in 2025.

Karen's priority in working with the very youngest children  is to make sure they feel truly seen and treated as whole human beings from the very beginning. Her approach is rooted in respect, patience, and connection. She believes even the smallest moments--offering choices, slowing down transitions, and creating an environment that feels safe and inviting--can empower children to explore with confidence. She strives to follow each child’s unique rhythm while fostering a sense of belonging, curiosity, and joy in their earliest experiences at school. 

Karen is a mom as well and loves raising her own young toddler using a Montessori approach.

Ayshemgul joined ToTH in April 2023 as a toddler teacher and became the lead guide in the Owl classroom in 2025. Ayshemgul holds an early childhood education degree from Xinjiang Normal University in Urumqi, China. After settling in the United States with her family, Ayshemgul earned an early childhood credential from the state of North Carolina and an Infant and Toddler Certificate from the College of Albermarle in Manteo, North Carolina.

Ayshemgul has more than 7 years teaching experience, including 4 years in Montessori toddler and primary classrooms in the District and in North Carolina. She earned her Montessori teaching credential from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies in 2025. She loves Montessori because it embodies respect for the child and love, which are fundamental to fostering a respectful and peaceful environment.

Ayshemgul speaks Uyghur, English, Turkish and Chinese. In her free time she enjoys walking in nature, spending time with her family, and reading.

Brunette joined ToTH in 2025 as a lead toddler guide. Brunette holds a M.Ed. in Montessori Education and Leadership from St. Catherine University, and an Infants & Toddler AMS Certification from Montgomery Montessori Institute. She served as the infant program director at Franklin Montessori School in northwest D.C. for over four and half years before moving to Georgia where she started an early childhood consultancy and served as a virtual Montessori guide at Higher Ground Education. She also coached and mentored teachers at Montessori Partnerships for Georgia, a non-profit organization that aims to increase access and equity in Montessori education.

Katherin joined ToTH in August 2023. She received her Bachelor’s in Science degree in Psychology from the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. In 2022, Katherin completed her training in Gestalt Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy from the Centro Gestaltico Perú. She has worked in clinical, hospital and rural settings as a psychologist. After reading about the Montessori Method in her coursework, Katherin became interested in working with young children in a Montessori setting. She is currently pursuing an infant/toddler teaching credential from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She lives with her husband, who is a Montessori elementary guide in Virginia.

Marie Orozco Rosario is an Assistant Teacher in the Owl Classroom and she joined ToTH in 2025. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Community Education from Trinity College and brings valuable experience working with children in Pre-K through 2nd grade, as well as in middle school after-school programs.

Marie is eager to continue growing as an educator and is especially interested in learning more about the Montessori philosophy. She enjoys creating a warm, supportive classroom environment where children feel encouraged to explore and discover.

Outside of school, Marie loves trying new foods, spending time with her family, skating, and bowling.

Naya joined ToTH in June of 2021 and has worked in all of our classrooms at the Fifth Street campus. Since 2023 she has been a supporting teacher in the Penguin classroom. Naya was born and raised in Washington, DC, before moving to Daytona Beach, Florida. Prior to coming to ToTH Naya worked several childcare settings, including a Montessori Primary classroom.



Naya received her bachelors degree in Social Sciences, with a major in Criminal Justice and minors in Social Work and Psychology, from Bethune-Cookman University. 

Cecilia joined ToTH in June of 2021 and currently works as teacher in the Penguin classroom. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universidade Paulista and originally hails from the state of São Paulo, Brazil. She has worked as a caregiver for young children since 2013 and as a pandemic pod teacher in the DC area. Cecilia has spent time in each of ToTH’s classrooms, first as our full-time floating teacher, and as an assistant teacher in our part day toddler classroom. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in counseling from The Chicago School. In her spare time, she loves to travel and spend time with her family and dog.

Sasha joined ToTH in 2018 and is currently the lead guide in the Primary classroom. She received her Early Childhood 3-6 certification from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies in 2022 and has a BA in Human Relations and Early Childhood Education from Trinity Washington University. Sasha is currently pursuing a Master's degree in educational leadership from George Mason University.

Sasha was born in Memphis, TN, and raised in the Bronx in New York City. It was during her time at Trinity that Sasha discovered and researched Maria Montessori’s teaching philosophy and methods, and that experience sparked her desire to do an internship with another local Montessori school where she saw the method in action. She was inspired to become a teacher who not only helps shape the future for the children in her classes, but also one who cares deeply for each child she encounters.

Sasha believes that one of the most important aspects of a Montessori education is that it allows children to freely explore and fulfill their individual needs. She enjoys using observation to learn what every child needs to be successful and learn about the world around them.

In her time away from work, Sasha loves spending quality time with friends, hiking, and international travel.

Tina joined ToTH in 2025 to lead the pre-primary classroom. Tina is an experienced Montessori guide who has earned AMI teaching certifications at both the assistants to infancy (0-3) and early childhood (3-6) levels. Tina completed her A/I training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego and her Primary training at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee. She also holds a master’s degree in Montessori Education from Loyola University Maryland. She was a lead guide for four years in Texas and Oklahoma and mostly recently taught in Okinawa while her husband was stationed in Japan.

Tina is a new mom to her son DJ and also a dog mom. In her spare time, she loves to bake (including dog treats!) She also enjoys creating things and has several pounds of sea glass collected from her time in Okinawa that she plans on using to make something beautiful.

Gladys joined ToTH in January 2020. She currently teaches in the Primary classroom, providing instruction in both English and Spanish. Gladys was raised in Maryland and Panama and is a fluent Spanish speaker. She earned her associate’s degree in general studies from Montgomery College in 2023. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Trinity Washington University.

Gladys has been working with children professionally since 2013, and previously spent six years working in a Montessori environment at the White Flint Children’s House. She also worked in a Spanish immersion early childhood classroom, where she pioneered a Spanish program geared towards five- and six-year-olds in order to prepare them for elementary school.

Outside of ToTH, Gladys loves spending time with her two dogs and traveling to see her favorite artists in concert.

Faith joined ToTH in the summer of 2024 is an assistant teacher in the primary classroom. Prior to joining ToTH, Faith worked at Children's House Montessori in Arlington and Sidwell Friends DEAN adventure camp. She attended a Montessori early childhood assistant training workshop in the summer of 2025 at the Montessori Institute of McLean.

Faith earned a bachelor of interdisciplinary studies from West Virginia University in 2019 and then worked as a professional nanny for two years. She is excited to continue her Montessori journey at ToTH and hopes to pursue teacher certification training. Outside of work, Faith loves spending time with her golden retriever and she is passionate about animal rescue.