Staff

Krissy initially launched the idea of Wildflower Cottage for Children after 16+ years directing at another program. During that time, she expanded the preschool program to include younger children, maintained a full program with waiting lists, and achieved both ​a 5-star license and NAEYC-accreditation. After all of the boxes were “checked,” she still felt that […]

Jordan’s work centers around his belief that young children and adults are really quite similar to each other. They both get swept away by the magic of learning. . . they enjoy many complex relationships. . . they sometimes fall short in making the best choices. . . they have unanswerable questions. They are more

Emma was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia but grew up in Franklinton, North Carolina. She studied Child Development with a concentration in Family and Child Studies and a minor in Psychology at Appalachian State University. One day, Emma hopes to pursue a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a desire to do Speech/Language Pathology with children. 

Lauren has lived in Hawaii, the Philippines, California, and now North Carolina! She is the oldest of four siblings and has spent a large portion of her life surrounded by young children. Her earliest memory of wanting to be a teacher was in second grade. She memorized every detail of her teacher reading to the

Chantel joined the Wildflower Cottage team in November 2023 with nearly a decade of prior preschool teaching experience.  She also has a great deal of experience teaching older children (K-12th grade) through her art studio.    Chantel, her husband, and two college-age children have lived in Durham since 2000.  Her in-laws are now also a part

Lily was born and raised in Honduras. At the age of 16, she moved to Durham with her mother. Lily provided care to two much younger siblings who inspired her to learn more about children. Lily has completed her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Durham Tech. In the classroom, she has learned how

Audrey is from Huntersville, NC.  She graduated from NC State University with a B.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology.  She worked with a zoo, a wildlife center, and even a mollusk lab before she realized that her calling may center around young children.  Audrey shifted her focus toward education, floating among multiple age groups

Aisa grew up in our nation’s capital–Washington, D.C.! She graduated from Dunbar High School has been consistently continuing her education ever since. Aisa has over a decade of professional experience in early childhood education settings. She assisted Wildflower Cottage part-time for 4 years as a Sometimes Teacher and Summer Support teacher before accepting a full-time

Caton is from Roxboro, North Carolina. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Child Development (with a focus in Pre-K/Kindergarten and a minor in Communication Sciences and Disorders). At Appalachian, she was intrigued by the Reggio Emilia approach and all of its uniqueness. Caton joined Wildflower in 2020. Caton has worked with

Destanee was born in Wisconsin but grew up around Hillsborough, NC. She completed an A.A.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from Durham Technical Community College in 2022. Destanee joined Wildflower in 2020 and quickly realized that the Reggio-inspired philosophy is both her vocation and her true passion.  She believes that you “do what you love,