Liliana Perez
Experience
Liliana is an enthusiastic early education leader and advocate with over 10 years of experience working directly with children, families, and training the early care and education workforce.
Liliana started her career as a lead preschool teacher in a bilingual early learning center. She then transitioned to working at a non-profit child care resource and referral agency, Connections for Children, where she coached & trained early educators and did outreach and communication for the agency. Currently, aside from being the Director at Sandbox Collective, Liliana is Adjunct Professor at Santa Monica City College teaching child development courses.
Liliana also serves as Immediate Past President on the board of the Southern California Chapter of the California Association for the Education for Young Children, a non-profit volunteer organization.
Liliana enjoys hiking, traveling, watching documentaries, and cooking with her husband.
Education/ Awards/ Certifications
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B.A. Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles
M.A. Early Childhood Education from the California State University, Northridge.
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Awards:
President's Education Award – 2018 California Association for the Education of Young Children
Association of Retired Faculty (ARF) / Michael D. Eisner College of Education (MDECOE) / Phil & Shirley Hansen Memorial Scholarship – 2017/18 California State University, Northridge
Student Track Scholar, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Conference -2017 California State University, Northridge
Western State Leadership Network Scholarship – 2017 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Lasting Legacy Leadership & Jerlean Daniel Scholarship - 2016 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Certifications:
Certified CLASS Observer for Infant/Toddler/ Pre-k
Certified Making the Most of Classroom Interactions (MMCI) - Infant/Toddler/ Pre-k Trainer
Bringing the Protective Factors Framework/ Strengthening Families Trainer
Ages and Stages Train the Trainer
Marta Hernandez
Experience
Marta has been working as an early childhood educator for over 15 years. She began by volunteering at her youngest daughter’s preschool, where she observed and learned about the incredible growth that happens in the first 3 years of a child’s life.
To expand her knowledge, Marta took courses at Santa Monica College and in 2005 Marta began working at St. Joseph’s Early Learning Center in Venice, CA. In 2016, she was promoted to lead teacher in the toddler classroom.
Marta loves being surrounded by children, maybe this comes from being part of a large family (11 brothers and sisters!) but it is evident as Marta is a loving, patient, outgoing teacher. Marta’s teaching fortes include: gardening, creating and exploring with recycled material, and engaging children in dance and movement activities.
Education & Recognitions
Marta is a nurturer and engaging educator. She has over 25 units of child development from Santa Monica College and a long list of completed professional development training and workshops. In 2016, these traits were awarded when she was recognized by Child 360 and the LA County Board of Supervisors with the Dr. Celia C. Ayala Early Educator of the Year Award. This honor is only given to the most outstanding early educators who have provided exceptional learning environments and classroom experiences for children.
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Although Marta has various classroom accolades, Marta’s proudest accomplishment is raising her three daughters. During her free time, Marta enjoys cooking, reading, gardening, visiting national parks, and spending quality time with her family.
Cherie Sola
Cherie Sola is from Colorado and studied music at the University of Colorado at Denver. After graduation she moved to Los Angeles where she worked in the entertainment field for over 10 years, before starting her own business. Cherie loves all things creative and has studied acting, painting, and dance. Aside from creating songs, Cherie writes children books and designs apparel all based on her favorite thing, music!
She believes that music provides the perfect framework to explore genres and learn about any topic imaginable. Cherie has completed coursework in early childhood development and has worked with babies to elementary aged children. She plays guitar, violin, and piano and sings.
Cherie loves to dance and you can always find her sliding around her house in her socks.