Staff Directory

Kara was born and raised in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Kara received her B.A in communications from George Mason University. For nine years, Kara was a camp counselor in the nursery school at St. Patricks Episcopal Day School, where she attended as a child. Before teaching at Little Folks, Kara was a teacher’s assistant at Hyde-Addison Elementary School in Georgetown. Entering her tenth year working as a teacher at the Little Folks School, Kara’s passion for teaching “her Little Folks kiddos” grows stronger with every year. Her commitment to the Little Folks philosophy of creating an environment that supports the whole child, is something she strongly believes in and continuously strives to achieve on a daily basis. This year, Kara is also teaching ballet in the afterschool enrichment program. She studied ballet for 15 years at The Washington School of Ballet.

Marta Kassahun was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 1980, she went to the former Soviet Union to study Languages. She earned her Masters in Education at the Pedagogical Institute in Piatigorsk. In addition, Marta has studied Early Childhood Education at the Northern Virginia Community College. After completing her studies in the Soviet Union, she worked as a Nursery School Teacher in Saarbruckan, Germany, for two years. We in the Little Folks Community have benefited from Ms. Kassahun’s professional expertise since 1989. Her extensive experience and knowledge of appropriate practice in the nursery school environment is treasured by her colleagues and the families at the Little Folks School. Marta is also teaching a variety of classes in our after school program, including science, cooking, and creative art.

Juliana grew up in Arlington, Virginia and recently moved back to the area. In May 2015, Juliana graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She also took many courses focusing on early childhood development as well as Human Development and Family Studies courses. Juliana worked as an Assistant Toddler Teacher at a Montessori school in State College, PA this past year, and is excited to continue her teaching career at Little Folks School. She enjoys the energy of working with the toddlers and creating an environment for exploration, creativity, and growth.

Karen is excited to be joining the Little Folks Community. She earned her B.A. in education at Towson University and has lived her childhood dream of being a teacher for the past 20 years. A mother of three, she draws from her broad experience to teach and to communicate with parents, including her past work with special needs students and her own child’s ADHD and speech therapy. Karen believes education should evoke happiness in children when entering class. She loves to sing with students and hearing their surprise remarks.

Karen and her family have many passions including fostering puppies and Walking for Breast Cancer. So far she has walked over 490 miles in varies events to raise money for a breast cancer cure, inspired by her aunt, who is a two-time survivor of the disease. Karen lives in Kensington, MD with her husband, three teenagers and two dogs.

Leonor Rosero, known affectionately as “Nory” to the children of the Little Folks School, was born in the Philippines. She studied Communications at the Far Eastern University in Manila, majoring in Drama. She is an accomplished Musician, sharing her musical expertise with the Little Folks community through circle time and weekend guitar lessons for children. Nory has been teaching at the Little Folks School since 1990. Nory’s love of children does not end at the Little Folks School - she reads stories to children at libraries in Fairfax County and serves as a ballroom dance choreographer for teenage students in Maryland and Virginia. Nory’s passion for helping children develop creative skills through visual and manipulative arts is magical.

Maggie earned her B.S. in Human Environmental Sciences, majoring in Human Development and Family Studies, with a concentration in Child Development, from The University of Alabama. After teaching for a few years and then taking a “break” to raise two boys, she has loved being back in the early childhood classroom for the past 13 years. Maggie loves teaching the youngest learners! Her natural ability to foster growth of the whole child comes alive in her classroom.

Maggie and her husband, David, relocated to the D.C. area from Ohio to begin the “empty nest” phase of their lives. They have two boys, Ben and Jake, who are students at The University of Alabama. After growing up in Alabama, living in Colorado and Texas, and raising their boys in Ohio, they are excited to live in and explore new territory once again! Maggie and David love to travel, hike, and spend time with family.

Maggie and her husband, David, are relocating to the D.C. area from Ohio to begin the “empty nest” phase of their lives. They have two boys, Ben and Jake, who are students at The University of Alabama. After growing up in Alabama, living in Colorado and Texas, and raising their boys in Ohio, they are excited to live in and explore new territory once again! Maggie and David love to travel, hike, and spend time with family.