OUR TEAM
ICRI Local Staff
KEN JAFFE
FOUNDER
Ken founded ICRI in 1981 to improve the lives of children and families internationally through technical assistance and consultation, resource dissemination, and the establishment of model projects.
Ken received his child development training at the University of Uppsala in Sweden and his Master’s Degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from John F. Kennedy University, where he studied juvenile justice and children’s rights. Ken is the author of numerous articles on international early childhood education, child advocacy, and work and family policy issues. Ken served as Chair and member of the California Governor’s Advisory Committee on Child Development for nine years. He was a founding member of the International Family Child Care Association and the World Forum on Early Care and Education, as well as the Vice-Chair of a statewide commission to formulate a strategic plan for child care development in California.
Ken has assisted in the improvement or establishment of more than 300 early childhood care, child and family health, and child abuse prevention programs worldwide. He has been a consultant to the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., and has advised the governments of Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Sweden and Ecuador on child and family issues. In addition, Ken has presented over 300 keynotes and seminars to policy makers, executives, and non-profit professionals worldwide.
ELLIE MASHHOUR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Ellie is ICRI's Executive Director, overseeing both local and international programs. With a specialized degree and extensive experience in early childhood care and education, Ellie has led numerous consulting projects for ICRI since 1993. Under her leadership in 2022-2023, ICRI reached and positively impacted 3,941 children through our programs, trained hundreds of teachers, and collaborated with over 20 local partners. She excels in assessing and evaluating early childhood programs, improving plans and policies, maintaining high standards, designing childcare facilities, budgeting, licensing, and training educators and staff.
As a Senior Consultant for ICRI, Ellie has advised organizations such as UNICEF, the Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs of St. Kitts and Nevis, LucasFilm, Amgen, the California State Assembly, Senate, and Secretary of State, The Children's PreSchool Center of Palo Alto, and UC Berkeley Early Childhood Programs.
BRITTANY KOCH
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
Brittany is a lawyer who practiced employment law for over 8 years in her prior position at a regional law firm and as staff attorney for a Circuit Court Judge. Throughout the course of her career, she has specialized in providing tailored legal advice, guidance on best practices, and trainings to hundreds of clients, including Human Resources departments in a variety of industries, and she has served as legal counsel to various non-profit organizations.
Originally from Kentucky, Brittany is dedicated to supporting programs benefiting children and the empowerment of women and girls. She has served on the Board of Directors for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Board of Directors for the Nutrition and Fitness Coalition (providing healthy food to children in poverty-stricken areas), and as a volunteer for the Pro Bono Domestic Violence Victim Program (providing free court representation to victims of domestic violence). Brittany received her B.A. from Centre College, and her Juris Doctor degree from University of Kentucky College of Law.
BRUNO MOSCA
FINANCE DIRECTOR
Bruno is ICRI's Finance Director, overseeing financial operations, business planning, budgeting, human resources, administration, and IT for an international organization with over 200 employees. He holds a graduate degree in Finance and a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. Bruno has extensive experience in financial and program reporting at the federal and state levels and serves as a fiscal consultant on numerous projects.
Bruno collaborates with the senior leadership team on strategic planning and decision-making to maximize and strengthen ICRI's internal capacity. He manages day-to-day financial and administrative functions, ensuring efficient and consistent operations as the organization grows. Additionally, Bruno trains ICRI staff on payroll and ensures all IT-related responsibilities are handled smoothly.
MARIA SILVA
FAMILY DAYCARE SUPPORT NETWORK DIRECTOR
Maria has worked for over a decade with ICRI’s Family Daycare Support Network, which provides nutrition education and financial support to family daycare providers serving low income children in Alameda County.
Maria has held a variety of positions at FDSN and currently serves as Program Director. In addition to conducting home visits to educate family daycare providers, Maria manages the administration of FDSN and communications with FDSN’s funder, the California State Department of Education.
SOPHIA CURRIER
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Sophia is the Program Coordinator for ICRI. Sophia has her B.A. in Art History from Colby College, and has always loved being in the classroom. Sophia first became passionate about education while volunteering as a mentor for local middle schoolers in Central Maine while in college. She also taught English to two classes of middle schoolers in Rome, Italy for a semester and led Pre-K art classes in Austin, Texas every summer that she returned home.
NELL WOLLNER
BILLING AND ENROLLMENT COORDINATOR
Nell Wollner has a B.A. in Government from Smith College and an M.Ed. in International Education Policy from Harvard University. She first became passionate about education while volunteering for AmeriCorps in Redwood City, California in 2005. In 2008, she became a California credentialed teacher and taught elementary school in San Francisco and Faleasoa, American Samoa. The time spent in the Pacific globalized her education perspective, as did over a year spent as the WorldTeach Field Director in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand.
DR. NAOMI LUO
CURRICULUM AND ENVIRONMENT SPECIALIST, ICRI STANFORD
Dr. Naomi Luo is ICRI's Curriculum and Environment Specialist. She holds a Doctorate in Early Childhood Education and brings over 30 years of experience in the field. Her career includes two decades as a professor, with 70% of her graduates becoming award-winning educators. Dr. Luo is renowned for her pivotal roles within the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and her contributions to accrediting the prestigious United States and China ECE centers.
As Director of Early Childhood Education at Southwestern College, Winfield, KS, she oversaw the Early Childhood Studies Program, mentored adjunct instructors, ensured program licensure and accreditation by the State and CAEPs, supervised the early childhood lab school on campus and maintained supportive relationships between the lab school, campus, and community. She led and supported the Early Childhood Unified Program's vision and mission and assisted in developing and sustaining quality early childhood field placement sites.
At ICRI Stanford, Dr. Luo provides leadership, mentorship, and support to ICRI Site Directors, Assistant Directors, and staff to ensure smooth preschool operations. She oversees preschool curriculum adherence to state and federal standards and facilitates ongoing teacher training. Dr. Luo fosters a positive, safe, and stimulating learning environment across all three ICRI Stanford campuses.
ALLISON MONROE
STANFORD ARBORETUM PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Allison has been at Stanford Arboretum Children’s Center since June 2009 and she has worked in the field of Child Development for 25 years. Allison has her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from UC Davis, and has run multiple site children’s programs in the Davis, CA area. While attending college at UC Davis she enjoyed working with both Preschool and School age children. After finishing her degrees, she stayed in the Davis area and spent 8 years running a State Preschool and School age program for a migrant Spanish program. Having a range of experiences in providing high quality childcare and early education both as a teacher and a Director, Allison is excited to continue to bring her knowledge, background and love of learning to ICRI. Allison shares that “It has been so wonderful working with this group of teachers over the last 13 years at Stanford Arboretum “and she’s excited hat together they share the same passion in working with young children. Allison was born in the Mountain View Area, and has enjoyed coming back to the Bay to working with the children and families of the Stanford community.
KIMBERLY KOSTEPEN
STANFORD MADERA GROVE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Kimberly has worked in the field of early childhood education for many years. Kimberly has her B.S. and M.E. in early childhood education. While living in London, she completed her A.M.I. Montessori certification. Her experience is in both public and private environments in elementary, preschool, and infant toddler programs.
Kimberly is delighted to work with young children as she knows the children are the future and everything the child experiences goes into the development of personality. In fact, she is inspired by the wonder, joy, and openness with which children approach life as this reminds her of the beautiful child qualities within us all.
SENCHAL RODRIGUEZ
STANFORD STOCK FARM PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Senchal has worked in the field of early childhood for the past 15 years and has helped coach and mentor other teachers in the field. Senchal graduated from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development with a concentration in Child Development and has spent the last five years as the Director of Infant, Toddler, and Preschool programs. Her goal is to connect with children, teachers, and families in an authentic and meaningful way.
Most of her childhood was spent with a group of neighborhood children gathering every day to play sports and walk to the nearest park to seek adventure. When not working, she enjoys traveling, dancing, and spending time with my family and friends.
GRETCHEN STIZEL
DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
HEARTS LEAP PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Gretchen, our dedicated Program Director of Hearts Leap Schools and Senior Consultant for ICRI has significantly contributed to early childhood education and care locally and internationally. With a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Mills College and a Studio Art degree from Scripps College, she brings a unique perspective to her role. Gretchen's collaboration with teaching staff across ICRI's seven Bay Area programs has supported the implementation of inquiry-based, Reggio-inspired, Emergent, and Anti-Bias curricula.
As the overseer of Hearts Leap Preschool and Hearts Leap Beginnings, Gretchen demonstrates a deep understanding of early childhood curriculum, program development, environments, Community Care Licensing regulations, and health and safety standards. Her commitment to providing technical support and resources to parents, staff, and early childhood professionals is unwavering. Gretchen's advocacy for the needs of young children and their families is a testament to her belief that all children deserve support and attention. She is an exceptional facilitator, mentor, and trainer for ICRI and Hearts Leap and a four-time presenter at the CAAEYC annual conference.
SARAH ZECH
HEARTS LEAP NORTH PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Sarah began teaching at HL in 2007 and has been the Director at HLN since 2019. Sarah absolutely loves working in such a special community of teachers, children and families where strong bonds and friendships are formed. Sarah is from Northern Virginia where she graduated from George Mason University in 2005 with an Interdisciplinary degree and then earned her Director Permit from Merritt College.Sarah loves to be silly and spontaneous as well as providing a rich, loving, child-centered school.In Sarah’s free time she likes to work out, camp and snowboard! Sarah’s long term commitment to the HL program is a huge asset.
NATALIE WOLLNER
LAKEVIEW PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Natalie has called Lakeview Preschool home since 2014 when she started as a teacher. In 2015, she moved out of the classroom and took on the role of Director. However, she believes that nothing can keep her away from the joys of teaching and you’ll find her in the classroom daily.
Before coming to Lakeview Preschool, Natalie worked at Children’s Day School in San Francisco, as a nanny for many years, and she managed the office of a small nonprofit. She looks forward to continuing to work with and learn from the great families and fellow teachers at Lakeview Preschool. Growing up in Oregon instilled a love of nature in Natalie, and in her free time she hikes in Tilden Park, makes art projects with her niece and nephew, bakes breads and treats for family and friends, and explores restaurants with her husband.
ICRI International Staff
ANN RUBIA
ICRI KENYA COUNTRY DIRECTOR
Ann has been part of the ICRI team since 2006, first as a volunteer receptionist, then she took up role of a lead teacher at Zawadi Child Resource Centre (Karen) overseeing all activities at the centre and she later worked as Finance and Program Officer. She holds a Diploma in Community Development and Social Work. Prior to joining ICRI-Africa on a full time basis, Ann took a double role in handling responsibilities for both ICRI-Africa and Akili Dada - an International Nonprofit Organization working to ensure that the next generation of Kenya’s leaders includes women from diverse economic background. In Akili Dada, Ann was responsible for the day to day operations of the organization including liaising with schools, the scholars, coordinating community service and all administrative work.
DR. MUKUNDA KSHETREE
ICRI NEPAL INTERIM COUNTRY DIRECTOR
Mukunda manages and implements programs that serve the wellbeing of children with the passion of ‘no child left behind’ and ‘making difference’ in the lives of girls and women. As a national level renowned Educationist and ECD-expert, he is involved with the Ministry of Education of Nepal, from preparation of national level policy and curriculum to training packages that includes self-learning materials for teachers and students.
He has conducted national level researches and presented in various national and international forums. He is also the single and co-writer of more than two-dozen of educational books, and numerous research articles published in Scopus Indexed Journals. He has received the ‘National Education Award’ from Ministry of Education and ‘Gold-medal’ from President of Nepal.
TARIRO RUGOYI
ICRI ZIMBABWE COUNTRY DIRECTOR
Tariro is the country director for ICRI Zimbabwe. She has considerable knowledge and experience in early childhood education.
Tariro believes that Children are innocent and amazing, and they have so much trust and belief in the goodness of people around them. She loves and enjoys working with children because she believes that children need our love and care. They are vulnerable and need our protection. She also believes that children deserve human rights, and sometimes these rights are not so clearly evident because children’s voices are not captured so easily.
