Lisa Gonzalez is the Lead Teacher in Leopard Lily. Lisa is a California State Credentialed teacher with Montessori Lower Elementary training. In addition, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Feminist Studies and a minor in Education from U.C. Santa Cruz. Lisa is a UMCS founding teacher beginning her UMCS journey as a support teacher. She has been working in East Oakland since 2008 finding her love of teaching early elementary while serving at two public schools in the Fruitvale District. Lisa's teaching interests beyond reading, writing and math cover subjects such as ethnic studies and youth as Changemakers in their communities. The focus of our classroom is that students have opportunities to be resilient, open, and empowered. Outside of work Lisa enjoys eating all types of food, enjoying the sun, and is a newbie meditator. Just breathe!