Our Team

u003cspan style=u0022color: #0a1551; font-family: Circular, -apple-system, ‘system-ui’, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: preserve;u0022u003eMelissa Coyné is an Early Childhood Educator who has over 30 years of experience building relationships with children and adults who care for them. In addition to holding a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Child Development, she is a RIE Associate and a certified PITC (Program for Infant/Toddler Care) trainer. Melissa was first introduced to the Educaring Approach by the early childhood program where she worked for 22 years and cultivated her commitment to philosophical integrity. She facilitates RIE courses in the Los Angeles area and has presented workshops on how to respectfully parent tweens and teens. As a mother of a young adult and older teen, Melissa has seen the results of the power of relationships built on connection and collaboration that began in infancy. She is passionate about inspiring adults and children to be critical thinkers in areas of anti-bias practices, equity and self-awareness. u003c/spanu003e

Abigail has been an Early Childhood Educator and Director for 27 years building relationships with children, young families, and teachers and managing a thriving non-profit preschool community. Abigail is a new resident of California, having moved here from the Boston area with her husband, Stephen, to start a new set of adventures.rnAbigail was first introduced to the Educaring® Approach during her job search and immediately found that it resonated with her own philosophy about early childhood education and parenting. She has loved being a parent and says it is the best and hardest job she has ever had.rnThe schools Abigail taught in and directed, and the one she created, use a child-driven emergent curriculum where the children’s needs and interests drive all activities and programming. Abigail and her husband Stephen are the parents of two wonderful adults, a daughter in Brooklyn, and a son here in Eagle Rock.rnAbigail is passionate about supporting non-profits, especially those which serve children and families, and looks forward to learning all about her new state of California.

u003cstrong style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003ePatricia Ryanu003c/strongu003e u003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e(Berkeley, California) is a RIE Mentor Teacher.  She has been sharing the wisdom of Magda Gerber’s Educaring Approach to a wide audience of parents and professionals for over 25 years.  Patty holds a Master’s Degree from Pacific Oaks College in Human Development Specializing in Early Childhood Education.  She teaches RIE Certified professional development, parenting courses, and mentors RIE Practicum and RIE Intern students.  She is passionate about extending the reach of the Educaring Approach across the globe and has given workshops and seminars for professional caregivers and parents internationally and nationwide.  Patty is also a founding member of both the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Area Infant, Toddler Networks.  She is the author of several published articles on infant, toddler development, has studied at the Pikler Institute in Budapest Hungary and at WestEd’s Program for Infant Toddler Caregivers.  She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter, who is a freshman in college. u003c/spanu003eu003ca style=u0022background: transparent; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: #f4856e; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022 href=u0022mailto:patty@twopillarsconsulting.comu0022u003epatty@twopillarsconsulting.comu003c/au003e

u003cstrong style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003eMelanie Snellu003c/strongu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e u003c/spanu003eu003cstrong style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003e u003c/strongu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e(San Fernando Valley, California) Melanie Snell is a mother of four children.  She and was lucky enough to find RIE® when her oldest was four months old. She and her husband have been practicing the RIE® philosophy in their home ever since. Melanie became a RIE® Associate in 2014 after slowly making her way through the professional development program,  pausing her studies occasionally to have babies. Melanie teaches RIE® Parent/Infant classes on Saturdays at the Los Angeles RIE® center. She also teaches RIE® Nurturing Nanny™️ courses and Before Baby™️ classes, as well as private consulting. During the week she is the Tot Center Coordinator at Kirk O’ the Valley school. Where she works with children 18 months to 3 years old.u003c/spanu003eu003ca style=u0022background: transparent; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: #f4856e; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022 href=u0022http://www.raisingwithrespect.com/u0022u003ewww.raisingwithrespect.comu003c/au003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e u003c/spanu003eu003ca style=u0022background: transparent; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: #f4856e; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022 href=u0022mailto:melsnell@sbcglobal.netu0022u003emelsnell@sbcglobal.netu003c/au003e

Lee Fernandez is inspired by the work of infant specialist Magda Gerber and physician-educator Maria Montessori. She currently conducts RIE Parent-Infant Guidance classes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lee has 45 years of experience in Early Childhood Education as a parent educator, preschool teacher, author, and administrator of university, military and private programs. Lee has a MA in Human Development, specializing in Infants and Toddlers from Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena, CA where she trained directly with Magda Gerber, and a Montessori Teaching Certificate from Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL and St. Nicholas Montessori in London, England.

Chris’ professional background is in investment banking and a strong personal commitment to outdoor adventures and family life allow him bring a unique perspective and a valuable set of skills to the organization. As a long-standing advocate for respectful and responsive caregiving, he firmly believes in the transformative power of the Educaring Approach, and is committed to contributing his expertise to advance its principles. Throughout his career in investment banking, Chris has had the privilege of advising large companies on their strategic initiatives and growth-oriented goals. This experience has honed his abilities in financial analysis, risk assessment, and strategic planning. He believes these skills can be leveraged to support RIE in achieving its mission while balancing its financial objectives, ensuring long-term sustainability and growth. During his tenure as the Chief Financial Officer of a public investment banking firm, he developed a deep understanding of financial management, budgeting, and financial reporting but maybe more importantly, he learned the importance of communication with different stakeholder groups and balancing the objectives of the board, the management team, the employees they can empower and the clients they serve.

Beth Middleton is a career caregiver in private family and group care environments. After attending the 2013 Los Angeles Winter Foundations course Beth continued her studies, becoming a RIE Associate in early 2021. Beth consults on a sliding scale with individuals and families, as well as in group care, community and conference settings. She enjoys sharing the life and relationship enriching benefits of our approach, traveling, music and comedy.

u003cspan style=u0022color: #0a1551; font-family: Circular, -apple-system, ‘system-ui’, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’; white-space-collapse: preserve;u0022u003eShannon Carr (St. Louis, MO) became a RIE Associate in 2020, but has been in inspired of the Educaring Approach since learning about it in 2002. She has worked with families and early childhood professionals in some capacity since 1994 as an early childhood professional, director, parent educator, advocate for children in foster care, and trainer. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Development. Shannon is a Child Development Specialist, Consultant, Trainer, Mother u0026amp; Owner of RISE where she provides workshops to parents and early childhood providers, facilitates parent-infant guidance classes, and consults privately with families and professionals. She is also the founder of Friends of RIE Community Engagement (FORCE) where parents u0026amp; professionals gather, learn, connect, and collaborate (risechild.com/FORCE). u003c/spanu003e

u003cstrong style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003eAngela R. Fisher, Ph.D.u003c/strongu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e (South Orange/Maplewood, NJ), holds a Ph.D. in Infant-Toddler Developmental Psychology. She is an NJ-Infant Mental Health Mentor- IV [Policy], a Certified Infant Massage Educator, Childbirth Doula, and serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Early Childhood Graduate Department at City University in New York. She consults with parents, caregivers, and educators on developmentally appropriate and respectful practices with infants and toddlers nationally and internationally. She facilitates RIEu003c/spanu003eu003cem style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003eu003csup style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;u0022u003e®u003c/supu003eu003c/emu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e Certified Parent-Infant Guidance™ classes in the New York/New Jersey area. Angela’s scholarly research and parent-infant observation tool are uniquely influenced by Magda Gerber’s work. She is dedicated to supporting parent-infant relationships across cultures based on Magda Gerber’s Educaringu003c/spanu003eu003csup style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003e®u003c/supu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e Approach. u003c/spanu003eu003ca style=u0022background: transparent; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: #f4856e; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022 href=u0022mailto:ababydr@gmail.comu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopener noreferreru0022u003eababydr@gmail.comu003c/au003e

u003cstrong style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif;u0022u003eChristine Hou003c/strongu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;u0022u003e has more than 15 years’ experience leading diverse teams in product development, commercial launch, and business operations.  She leads global teams in resolving complex issues and engages with clients and customers to ensure their needs are met.  As a new mom, Christine participated in RIE’s parent-infant classes and learned the value of listening and respecting the child’s individuality.  These lessons have influenced her both personally and professionally.  Christine holds a BA from UC Davis and a MBA from USC.u003c/spanu003e

u003cp style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Ariel, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;u0022u003eu003cstrong style=u0022background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: bold;u0022u003eRaija Horstmanu003c/strongu003e is a mother of four and also an attorney focused on complex commercial litigation, including false advertising, trade secrets, copyright and trademark infringement at Crowell u0026amp; Moring LLP. She was introduced to RIE by Melanie Snell and has seen the benefits of the Educaring approach after taking Parent-Infant Guidance classes with her. She is committed to helping RIE accomplish its mission of making the Educaring® approach accessible to as many babies and families as possible. Raija has a B.A. in German and a M.A. in German Literature from Texas Tech University and J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Raija is dedicated to raising her two daughters and two sons with respect and is enjoying watching them explore and grow into their own individual personalities.u003c/pu003e

Jessica is an educator, mom, and RIE Associate. Families know what type of environment they want to raise their children in – one that is deeply reflective of their culture, language, and values. When she first started on the journey of becoming a parent coach, Jessica practiced a one-size, fits all approach. But she realized that context is everything. Now, she thinks the most important thing to understand is what are the family’s goals. Drawing from attachment theory, educating, home visiting, and mindfulness, Jessica works with parents and caregivers who want to feel more ease or more confident. In addition to being a RIE Associate, Jessica works at ParentChild+ to support the implementation, learning, and quality assurance for a national parent-child home visiting program. Prior, Jessica worked for Montefiore Medical Center’s Group Attachment Based Intervention (GABI), where she assisted with dyadic and play therapy in addition to managing clinical assessments.

Emilie feels strongly about the Educaring philosophy and wants to contribute to the important work of treating babies and children as whole human beings who deserve trust and respect. She first learned about RIE around the time her older daughter turned one, and they began attending parent-infant guidance classes in 2019. Now that her younger daughter is over two years old, they are nearing an end to parent-infant guidance classes. Emilie would like to continue her relationship with RIE – and also to serve an organization that has given my family so much over the past few years. Emilie’s professional background makes her well-suited to board membership. As an attorney with 18 years of experience in representing employers in the full range of employment litigation and counseling, she takes a practical and analytical approach to problem-solving, negotiation, and compliance.