Our World Class Staff Sets Us Apart

St. Mark Children’s Day Out is proud of its CDO Staff! The St. Mark CDO Board reviews each potential staff candidate carefully and only staff that pass their review are afforded the opportunity to join our winning team.

Ms. Suzanne

Lead Teacher,
Toddlers

Team Member Since August 2003

Ms. Suzanne has been a part of our program since her children attended many years ago. Ms. Suzanne brings enthusiasm, laughter, and energy to the toddler classroom. She is an amazing teacher with a level of patience that makes her a favorite! When she is not enjoying toddlers, you can find Ms. Suzanne needlepointing or enjoying the antics of her precious cats! Ms. Suzanne is married with a grown son and college aged daughter.

Ms. Jennifer

Lead Teacher,
Threes

Team Member Since August 2004

Ms. Jennifer is a native Austin-nite , earning a teaching degree from Concordia University, with an early childhood emphasis and specializations in grades 1-6 and special education. She has also taught and directed at both the preschool and elementary school level.

As a long time member of the CDO team, we value her amazing patience and love for the littles!

Ms. Jennifer is widowed and has one adult daughter and two adult sons.

Ms. Julie

Lead Teacher,
Fours

Team Member Since August 2018

Ms. Julie lived in her birthplace town of Columbus, Ohio for 6 weeks before being on the move with her navy dentist dad and family, but became a true Texan in 1984 when she began her college career at Texas Lutheran College, now University, earning a B.S. in Psychology in 1988. She married her husband after college and has 3 grown sons. Ms. Julie is often seen walking up and down the halls having conversations with our CDO children and singing songs with them! We are blessed to have her presence at our school! In her spare time, Ms. Julie likes to work out and sew.

Ms. Deborah

Lead Teacher,
Fours (T&TH)

Team Member Since January 2024

Ms. Deb joined our CDO teaching team in the spring of 2024 and has already proven to be a valuable member of our staff, moving into a lead position for our 2 – 4 year old combined classroom in the Fall of 2024. Ms. Deb was born in Tacoma, Washington and grew up in Washington, Alaska, and California before finding her way to New Mexico where she worked at a community college. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in professional counseling. She made her way to Austin via New Jersey and New York and became involved in another Methodist preschool as a substitute teacher and taught Jazzercise before joining our team. Ms. Deb is intuitive and professional which serves both our CDO teaching team and children incredibly well and makes her a valued member of our team. She meets the children where they are and connects with them individually, seeing their gifts and talents and helping them soar to be the best they can be! When Ms. Deb has time, she likes to travel, hike, yoga, knit, crochet, and volunteer to serve those in need. We are blessed that she has chosen to join our lead teaching team this fall!

Ms. Debbie

Lead Teacher,
Pre-K

Team Member Since August 2023

Ms. Debbie has come out of retirement to become our Pre-K lead teacher! Ms. Debbie has taught in many different elementary schools over the years, mostly as she was raising her family in Oklahoma. When her references were called before her interview, every single one just couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was to work with her, to know her, to be mentored by her! Ms. Debbie originally retired to become a caretaker for her husband and later on for her grandchildren. She was a grandmother in our program before joining our staff and has already been such a breath of fresh air for our teaching team! She brings professionalism, compassion, humor, and a genuine excitement and energy for both the CDO and the teaching profession! She is gift to the CDO team!

Ms. Judy

Asst. Teacher (T&TH), Toddlers

Team Member Since August 2023

Ms. Judy Brown is a ray of sunshine for our program. If you ask her any day how she is, she will always say “Just living the dream!” Ms. Judy has been active at the CDO as a grandmother volunteer since her now elementary school aged grandchild began at the preschool several years ago! Ms. Judy brings years of experience as a preschool teacher, parent, and now grandparent and we are blessed to have her at the preschool officially on staff! In addition to her experience in working with young children, Ms. Judy also worked for and retired from the Department for Homeland Security. With her combined real life experiences and Bachelor’s degree in Recreation Administration, Ms. Judy brings us many gifts and talents and we give thanks for her!

Ms. Isha

Asst. Teacher (M&W), Toddlers

Team Member Since August 2023

Ms. Isha earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in her home country of India before coming with her husband to the United States in California. She and her husband were introduced and later married after their mothers, who worked together, decided that the two should fall in love and get married, which they did! Ms. Isha has been married for 10 years and has three children. Before joining our CDO staff, Ms. Isha volunteered at the Lake Pointe Elementary School where her daughter attended and decided that part time childcare was where she felt called to serve during these years while her children are younger.

Ms. Ashley

Asst. Teacher,
Threes

Team Member Since August 2024

Ms. Ashley is a graduate of St. Mark Children’s Day Out and native Austin-ite! She is also a third generation church member of St. Mark United Methodist Church. Ms. Ashley brings the gift of enthusiasm to the CDO children on a daily basis and loves to have intentional, meaningful conversations with them! She is a “natural” with children and a fan favorite of all ages at the preschool. Currently Ms. Ashley is serving the preschool as the assistant teacher in the busy bees classroom with toddlers aged 2-3 years old. Ms. Ashley is the proud mom of three sons aged 4 to 12 and loves being a boy mom! On any given weekend, you can find her racing motorcycles or engaged in some other high octane activity!

Ms. Shelby

Asst. Teacher (M&W), Fours

Team Member Since August 2022

Ms. Shelby is the newest member of the St. Mark CDO teaching team, joining Ms. Julie as assistant in the 3-4 year old Adventurers classroom. Ms. Shelby also worked at the CDO in the summer of 2022 and has been a CDO parent since her oldest son started here! Ms. Shelby graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. She has taught both Pre-K and kindergarten in Florida and for the Pflugerville Independent School District before becoming a mom. After a brief few years at home being a stay at home mom, we are thrilled that Ms. Shelby has decided to join our CDO teaching team this school year! Ms. Shelby brings her knowledge of primary education and also a quiet spirit that children naturally gravitate towards, probably from her time serving as a camp counselor during her college years! Ms. Shelby is married and has two young sons.

Ms. Carolyn

Asst. Teacher (T&TH), Fours

Team Member Since August 2021

We are so excited to welcome Ms. Carolyn back to St. Mark CDO! Ms. Carolyn is originally from the great state of New Mexico. Ms. Carolyn earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in computer science from New Mexico State University and a Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Texas in Austin. Ms. Carolyn retired from IBM after almost 30 years and is excited to return to St. Mark CDO after a couple of years off! In her spare time, Ms. Carolyn tutors students whose first language is not English in all subjects as well as helping them fill out college applications. Over the years, Ms. Carolyn and her husband have hosted three international high school exchange students in their home in addition to raising their own son. Ms. Carolyn enjoys traveling with her family, working out, and reading. Ms Carolyn is married and has an adult son.

Ms. Isha

Asst. Teacher (T&TH), Fours

Team Member Since August 2023

Ms. Isha earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in her home country of India before coming with her husband to the United States in California. She and her husband were introduced and later married after their mothers, who worked together, decided that the two should fall in love and get married, which they did! Ms. Isha has been married for 10 years and has three children. Before joining our CDO staff, Ms. Isha volunteered at the Lake Pointe Elementary School where her daughter attended and decided that part time childcare was where she felt called to serve during these years while her children are younger.

Ms. Marina

Asst. Teacher,

Pre-K

Team Member Since January 2023

Ms. Marina is a CDO grandma that after a couple of years of her grandchild attending our program shared that she is a former elementary school teacher that has an elementary education degree earned at the University of Durango-Miguel Aleman Campus in Durango, Mexico! Besides her teaching experience, Ms. Marina also spent many years in the business world where she owned and managed properties in El Paso and in Central America. Ms. Marina joined our staff as an assistant teacher in January 2023 and has been an amazing team member since the day she arrived! Ms. Marina is hard working, always showing up early and staying late to be able to be the best team player doing whatever tasks need to be done! She is innovative and always looking for new ways to engage the children in activities in each of the classrooms she serves! We are blessed by Ms. Marina being a part of our team!