Our highly experienced and dedicated core staff consists of

teacher-director, Beth Mahar, lead teacher, Marcy Girt, teachers Christin Bushart, Mariangie Mercado, and Annie Peterson, and assistant teacher Ruthie Evilsizer.
In addition, parents assist in the classroom in the mornings.

We also have a number of student teachers and volunteers throughout the year.
Our daily adult to child ratio is 1:5.


Christin Bushardt, Preschool Teacher, Moved to Brookline from Arlington, VA September 2022 with her husband, 3 daughters, and labradoodle named Penny. She has her Masters of Arts in Teaching in Early Childhood Education. She taught kindergarten and first grade in SC public schools and served as a mentor teacher and literacy coach. Christin was the Assistant Director of her church preschool in Arlington, VA and started a “Writer’s Workshop” program that she taught to the 4 and 5 year olds. She served as the vice president on the board of her youngest daughter’s cooperative preschool in Arlington, VA for two years.

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Marcy Girt, Preschool Lead Teacher, has worked with children for over 20 years. Eight years were spent at the Montclair Cooperative Elementary School in New Jersey where she began as an assistant teacher and was then the lead music and drama teacher. She spent 3 summers as a dorm parent and teacher at Idyllwild Arts Academy in California as part of their summer camp program. She is an actress and director and has been living and working in NYC until moving recently to Boston after marrying local muralist Alex Cook. She is so excited to be a part of the Corner Co-op and to spend time getting to know these beautiful families!

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Celia Green, Administrator, comes to the Co-op with a background in higher education administration. For ten years at both Harvard and Columbia, her work centered on creating connections and building community among students and alumni. She was introduced to the Co-op when her daughter attended from 2022-24, and quickly fell in love with the community. She lives in Brookline with her husband and three kids.

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Beth Mahar, Teacher-Director, helps children create games and stories that span weeks, months, and maybe years. Beth has filled every role at the Co-op except student since her son attended the Co-op from 1994-6. She has been a teacher, parent, and board Vice President and President. She’s been recognized by Susan Linn in “The Case for Make Believe” as an effective, playful partner in child development. During the Spring and Summer of 2020, Beth created 16 wonderful Corner Co-op Adventure Books using photos submitted by students and parents to create a new digital picture book each week. Though we were unable to meet in person, these books brought joy and connection to our community in such a lovely, creative, and personal way. In the Fall of 2020 she organized our outdoor Meetups, and was instrumental in refreshing our Co-op space for our return in the Fall of 2021. In the realm of Architecture and Design, Beth has thirty years of experience designing residences, renovating childcare facilities, and creating schemes for Corner Co-op. Beth also studies Renaissance music and plays the dulcian and recorder.

To contact Beth, please email her at [email protected]

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Mariangie Mercado, Toddler Teacher, Lovely early childhood lead teacher since 2013 with an associate degree in Early Child Development as well as my (CDA), a widely recognized credential that demonstrates my knowledge, skills, and abilities in the early childhood education field. I have been working with children both in center-based care and with families. Since then, my passion is to see them grow while they learn and have fun. I am eager to continue learning at the co-op.

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Annie Peterson, Toddler Teacher, Graduated Lasell University in May after working for over a decade in early childhood education in various teaching roles. She is coming from a role as program coordinator at another co-op Infancy to Independence Waltham, where she also did diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Annie has experience working with diverse student populations, of all learning styles and abilities. She values connecting with her students both as a group and individually. She uses a whole-person collaborative approach to teaching. Annie also works in victim advocacy and policy reform. She loves hiking, traveling, and going to the beach with her 3 year old Lilly, who will be joining Annie at Corner Co-op fall 2023.

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Ruthie Evilsizer, Toddler Assistant Teacher, is a graduate of Colorado State University where she recieved her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and minored in English. Throughout Ruthie’s time at CSU, she was an active member of the Fort Collins community in helping new students acclimate to the transition of college, attending the school’s ASL group on a regular basis, and hosting her voice weekly on the university’s radio station. While these experiences were uplifting, Ruthie continues to look back fondly of her time enrolled in Human Development and Family Studies, wishing to be a foundational support for young children headed on a greater path of education and life changes. She is hopeful that her time serving in the Co-op’s environment will further this dream into fruition. In her free time, Ruthie enjoys writing, singing and playing the ukulele, practicing yoga, and exploring all Massachusetts has to offer. 

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Javiera Bascuñan Ibarra is a dedicated Early Childhood Education professional from southern Chile, where she was born and raised. With a deep passion for nurturing the growth of children and supporting families in their educational journeys, she believes in the importance of fostering curiosity and exploration. Javiera is committed to providing children with the tools they need to thrive and become active members of society, encouraging them to engage with the world around them.

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Kimberly McClendon: I received my Degree in Early Childhood Education in 2008. I have been working with children throughout that time in a school setting or being a nanny in their home. I live in Jamaica Plain. I have fur babies, Cosmos and SweetPea. They are my 2 purrfect cats! In my spare time you will find me walking around the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, or hosting Trivia nights at Costellos Tavern! I love teaching and inspiring minds to become creative thinkers and independent learners. I am so excited to be a part of this Co-op and helping out wherever I can!




Volunteers

Elizabeth Seater, Volunteer, Elizabeth’s younger son attended Corner Co-op from 2016-2018.  After attending the 50th anniversary & reunion in 2022, she was reminded just how special a place Corner Co-op is, and asked to come back and volunteer!  Elizabeth has worked with children in various capacities since middle school, when she discovered the then newly-published Babysitters Club books.  She lives in West Roxbury with her family, who also volunteer at Corner Co-op whenever they can.

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Tomoe Tsukuda, Volunteer, August of 2018, my family and I moved from Japan to Brookline. I came with my husband and two daughters. My younger daughter went to the Corner Co-op from April of 2019 until June of 2020. At first, she was extremely shy and couldn’t speak English but the Co-op teachers were very nice and cared a lot about her. At the Co-op, she enjoyed art activities and the lunch program which also made her more sociable and feel more comfortable. While my daughter was at the Co-op, I worked as Parent help and I got the opportunity to learn about the American Childhood Education. As a Japanese, I didn’t know a bit about the American way, so it was very interesting to get to know about it.
I started volunteering because I was curious about the American way and wanted to get to know more children and their sense, talents and energy. I am so grateful that I am able to support children and teachers and spend time with them.

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Emeritus

Rosie Kamal, former Teacher-Director, has a B.A. in Psychology, Northeastern University; EdM. in Foundations in Education, Boston University; EdD. in Humanistic Studies, Boston University.  Rosie has special interests in music and songmaking, recycling, and natural science. Rosie taught at the Co-op for 38 years; 36 years as Teacher-Director.  Rosie and Sajed’s son,  Ashok, attended the Co-op as well. He works and lives in San Diego with his wife, Marlene, and son, Aikido.

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Sajed Kamal, Teacher-Consultant, has a B.S. in Economics, Northeastern University; EdM. in Curriculum and Instruction, Northeastern University; EdD. in Humanistic Studies, Boston University.  He coordinates parent and staff education workshops. Sajed is also an award-winning poet, artist, translator, psychotherapist, renewable energy expert, author of a dozen books, and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Sustainable International Development program at Brandeis University. In 2007 he was awarded Boston “Mayor’s First Annual Green Award for Community Leadership in Energy and Climate Protection”, and in 2008 a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.  “The Greener Issue” of The Boston Sunday Globe Magazine on September 28, 2008, featured him as one of the “Six local heroes whose work is having rippling effects—at home and far away—in making the world a better place.”  Sajed taught at the Co-op 38 years, the first 3 years as a parent.

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Maya Ochoa-Blanco

Maya Ochoa-Blanco, Teacher, has worked with kids for over 9 years. She has worked with children in many settings, including a home and traditional center based care. Some of her passions are nature, and understanding the psychology behind child development, and cooking at home. She has been living in Boston all her life, and is currently achieving her associates degree in Early Child Development. She is very excited to be a part of the Co-op, and is very excited about worm composting. 

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Alex Vaillancourt, Teacher, has an M.S. in Early Childhood Education and a B.S. in Human Development, both from Wheelock College. She taught English in Japan and loves learning new languages. She’s a writer, a photographer, and a parent coach. This is her 18th year at the Co-op.

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Grace Littlejohn, Lead Teacher, has B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Boston University. Grace taught at the Early Childhood Learning Lab at Boston University for two years before joining the Co-op.

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Sue Shenkman, Teacher, has a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreational Services, University of Connecticut; Masters in the Management of Human Services, Heller School, Brandeis University; Certification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Boston Language Institute. She also teaches English at Showa Boston to Japanese college students and brings some of her students to Corner Co-op to do special activities with our children.” Sue likes traveling and talking about alternative education.  She enjoys helping the children create their own stories and perform them.  This is her 22nd year at the Co-op.  The first three years as a parent and her 19th year as a teacher.  She and her husband, Marc (former parent helper) have a 25 year old son Eli who attended the Co-op for 3 years and was home schooled in Jamaica Plain for 6 years and graduated from Sudbury Valley School, Framingham. He received B.S in Sustainable Agriculture from Sterling College in Vermont, and is farming and doing forestry in VT.