Krissy H. Snyder
Founder and Executive Director
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…
Jordan Savage
Assistant Director & Mentor Teacher, Preschoolers
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…
Shaina Riley
Lead Teacher, Preschoolers
As a life-long learner, Shaina strongly believes that positive experiences in early education will foster a love of continued education. A strong partnership between parent…
Emma Day
Interim Lead Teacher, Preschoolers
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…
Chantel Warman
Afternoon Support Teacher, Preschoolers
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…
Lily Villeda
Lead Teacher, Middlers
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…
Audrey Keen
Classroom Teacher, Middlers
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,…
Aisa Abraham
Classroom Teacher, Middlers
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…
Caton Cobb
Lead Teacher, Toddlers
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…
Destanee Bartelmey
Classroom Teacher, Toddlers
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…
Shelby Baker
Classroom Teacher, Toddlers
Shelby’s hometown is Hillsborough, NC. She has always loved learning! She graduated from high school with honors, immediately pursued an AAS degree in Early Childhood…
Shruthi Kadiyala
Apprentice Teacher, Toddlers
Shruthi was born in India and grew up while living in 6 different cities and 3 countries. This diverse experience has enriched her outlook and…
Lauren Mallari
Support Teacher, Floating
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…
Jacki Wilkie
Support Teacher, Floating
Jacki grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and moved to North Carolina in 2017. She has a B.A. in Psychology and has coupled…
Lisa Greene
Support Teacher, Floating
Lisa was born and raised in North Carolina. Lisa completed her Associates Degree in Dental Hygiene at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2010. She also has 20+years of…
Viola Bestmann
Mentor Teacher, Floating
With over three decades of experience in early childhood education, Viola is a seasoned professional in teaching and nurturing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Her expertise…
Barbra Laird
Music Teacher
Barbra is happiest when she is enjoying activities with her husband and three sons. But, running a close second is sitting on the floor with…
Megan Mauriello
Sometimes Teacher
Megan grew up in the Chapel Hill/Hillsborough area. Some of her fondest childhood memories involve playing with friends in the nearby creek, creating art or…
Diana Shoaf
Sometimes Teacher
Diana has lived in Durham since 1972 and raised her three children into adulthood here. While they were young, she was active in their classrooms…
Kirsten Bohl
Sometimes Teacher
Kirsten joined Wildflower Cottage in 2023. She was seeking a community-based setting in which to learn and grow alongside young children-and, by golly-she found it!…
Debbie Breuer
Sometimes Teacher
Debbie was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She has always been surrounded by boys! She has 3 younger brothers. She married Matt and had…
Board of Directors
In order to provide a lasting, community-based school for generations to come, Wildflower Cottage for Children, Inc. is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. The non-profit status helps us to remain transparent to all stakeholders—parents, teachers, and charitable donors. All can rest assured that funding goes directly toward supporting the program, staff compensation, and our children's education.
Our founding Board of Directors is comprised of local, professional men and women. Each brings a unique perspective and experience to their role: business management, finances, accounting, law, human resources, education, health care, occupational safety, insurance, advertisement, education, real estate, grant-writing, counseling, etc.
