Our Team

Melani has a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development from California State University, Los Angeles. She has been teaching Parent-Infant Guidance™ classes for well over a decade and is teaching throughout the San Fernando Valley, as well as at her home in Tarzana. In addition to the classes and consulting she offers, Melani has presented workshops on Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach in a variety of conference settings. She first fell in love with the Approach in a child care center where she worked as an Infant/Toddler Master Lead Teacher for many years. She feels strongly that this Approach strengthens bonds between parents and children, and fosters the development of competent, capable, and creative children. 

Shannon 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 & 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 & professionals gather, learn, connect, and collaborate (risechild.com/FORCE).

Angela R. Fisher, Ph.D. (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 RIE^® 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 Educaring^® Approach. ababydr@gmail.com

Raija Horstman 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 & 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.

Patricia Ryan (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. patty@twopillarsconsulting.com

Melanie Snell  (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.www.raisingwithrespect.com

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.

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.

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.