Jennifer Gumina-Silver - Director / Transitional Kindergarten

Jennifer Gumina-Silver has co-owned and operated Tiny Giants with her sister, Erin, since January of 2004. Prior to opening the center, she pursued her Bachelor’s of Science in Child Development at the University of California, Davis. She continued her education at the University of San Francisco where she was awarded a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential and a Masters’ Degree in Education. She began working in the Santa Clara Unified School District as a Kindergarten teacher.  Jen continued teaching Kindergarten in the Jefferson School District of Daly City after two years, where she remained for another six years. Prior to and during her work as a teacher, Jen taught in an Archdiocese of San Francisco School, owned and operated a summer school program for kids in grades K-8, ran an after school tutoring program, coached athletic teams for children in elementary through high school, and was a nanny. Her experience, combined with that of her sister, and desire to start a school of her own was the perfect formula for the success of Tiny Giants.

Jen is deeply rooted to the city of San Francisco. The child of two native San Franciscans and married herself to a San Francisco native, she plans to raise her three beautiful children here in the city. Jen enjoys spending time with her friends and family and has thrown herself whole-heartedly into making Tiny Giants a huge success. Making kids happy and building a solid foundation upon which children can build  in years to come is what she strives for when working with children.

Erin Gumina - Director / Preschool

Erin Gumina is very excited to be living her life long dream as a co-founder and owner of Tiny Giants Preschool and Childcare Center. She began her career with children after studying Child Development at the California State University at Chico. Erin returned to her native San Francisco after her studies and began working at a multi-age preschool in San Mateo. After one year she became a lead teacher at the Laura Vicuna Pre-Kindergarten in San Francisco’s North Beach District where she taught for six years. In addition to her work as a teacher, Erin has been a swim instructor, a nanny, a tutor, and has run an after-school program for young children. She has always worked with children and continuously strives to provide all children she encounters with positive, safe and fun learning experiences.

Erin loves to dance and enjoys music. She has four brothers and sisters who all still reside in the city and is the proud Auntie of six beautiful nieces and nephews with whom she spends much of her free time. She has a fun-loving, carefree spirit and looks forward to a long career in working with children at Tiny Giants.

Robb Rye - Preschool

Robb is excited to embark on his second year at Tiny Giants. Robb hails from the East Coast where he taught Preschool for three years in Washington, DC. Robb comes to Tiny giants with over 17 years experience working with young children. He began his career in Vermont, where he worked at a residential school for profoundly challenged youth. From there, he moved into public education, co-teaching first and second grade. For nine years Robb served on a team of eight mental health specialists and providers for an elementary school in Massachusetts.

Robb is also an award-winning photographer and artist who began shooting film at the age of 12 when a teacher put a camera in his hands. Robb has often used his artistic ability as a teaching tool in his work with children. He has written and professionally recorded songs for and about children to enrich their learning. He developed the concept and worked with over 600 children and families to create “The Butterfly Project”. “The Butterfly Project” came in the wake the September 11 attacks on the United States. It included over 600 children and gave them a venue to express their feelings, thoughts, and wishes for the future. His favorite collaboration with children to date is a project called “Rainbow World.” Rainbow World is a series of fine art floral photographs that were produced by Robb and titled by children who ranged in age from five to 12. This was done through a process of mentoring and teaching about art perspective. The series later became a fine-art exhibition to benefit a pediatric AIDS foundation.

Robb has written several essays about children and Early Childhood Education. An article he wrote on teaching early literacy skills was recently published by Zero to Three, a national nonprofit organization that supports the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families by informing, educating, and supporting adults who influence the lives of children. The article is also being used as a resource in Child Development courses at City College of San Francisco, along with another he wrote entitled Working With Families in Early Childhood Programs.

Robb's two greatest passions are learning and teaching, which have led him on an exciting journey!

Minna England - Preschool

Minna England grew up in Southern California. She studied fashion before realizing that working with small children was what she really wanted to do.  She was a nanny for three years before her work began at Tiny Giants.  This will be her fourth year at Tiny Giants Preschool. Minna really enjoys seeing the children happy, safe, laughing and having fun.  She enjoys cooking and doing art projects with the students.  She realizes that even though she may go home extremely exhausted at the end of the day, the smile in her heart makes it all worthwhile. 

When she is not working, Minna likes to relax in the beautiful nature the Bay area has to offer and is usually doing something outdoors in her free time.

Teresa Meredith - Preschool

Teresa Meredith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She holds a BA with a concentration in Early Childhood Education. She moved to San Francisco in 2000.  Teresa is entering her fourth year at Tiny Giants.

Before joining the staff, she was a bookseller at Books Inc. for four years, where she specialized in Children's Literature.  She loves books and shares the magic of reading with her students.

Teresa studies languages at City College of San Francisco. She also enjoys arts and crafts, especially knitting and photography.
 

Jolie Bastable - Preschool

Jolie Bastable stumbled upon Tiny Giants six years ago desperately seeking a preschool for her now 7 year-old daughter, Madeleine.   Little did she know then that she had struck gold. Tiny Giants not only became a second home to Madeleine, a recent graduate, but also to Jolie and her daughter, Michelle.  Jolie is thrilled to be starting her third year and second career as a teacher with Tiny Giants.

Jolie’s previous career as a National Sales Manager for a Media company involved teaching adults on her sales team.  She has found those teaching and negotiating skills to be very useful with the little ones. The most wonderful satisfaction for Jolie is to see that she has made a difference and brought her students to a new level of self-confidence.  Being able to “connect” with a child is essential and Jolie feels her ability to do so only fuels her desire to continue down this road.

Jolie’s passion to write for children has also proven useful. Her dream is to some day be published as a children’s writer.  She is currently taking a writing course and finds much inspiration from her Tiny Giants students.

Jolie’s roots are in Boston where she grew up with her three brothers and a sister. She graduated from Boston University with a BS in Communications before making her way to San Francisco, which she now considers home.

Gina Prado - Daycare

Bio coming soon.

Devin Donnelly - Daycare

Bio coming soon.

Renee Cimarelli - Daycare

Renee Cimarelli was born and raised in San Francisco and has been working with children for over eight years. She studied child development during her college years and has known since high school that her focus in life would have an involvement with young children.

Renee's experience began with babysitting, and was followed by instructing children in an after school program. She has worked in traditional childcare settings as well as family childcare. The highlight of her career, thus far, was her experience as the nanny of an infant baby girl whom she cared for through her toddler years.

Renee is devoted, patient, and kind and believes that all children deserve a loving, nurturing environment in which they can learn and grow.

Deisy Linares - Daycare

Deisy was born in Son Sonate, El Salvador and moved to the United States in May of 1999. She is the proud mother of two beautiful boys and currently lives in Millbrae, California. In her spare time, Deisy enjoys shopping, dancing, and spending time with her family. They attend a variety of different sporting events together and she never misses cheering her son on at his weekly soccer games.

Before Deisy joined the Tiny Giants team in September of 2006, she took care of two children for a family here in San Francisco. She has been with us full-time since she began almost two years ago and never tires in her efforts of providing quality care for the children she encounters. Deisy is a happy, energetic, and lovely person to be around.

Christine Gemeund- Daycare

Christine was raised in Switzerland and moved to San Francisco 3 years ago. Before arriving in the city, she lived in New York and Boston, where she pursued her musical interests: the piano and cello.  She completed most of her education in Switzerland. Christine is a trained as a medical/technical assistant and has studied Piano and Voice at the Conservatory of Music. She worked in the field of medicine and taught piano to very young children. Her family, who are her parents, a married brother, her nephews and her sister, still live in Switzerland.

In the US Christine has pursued her musical studies of the piano, Voice and the Cello and has furthered her knowledge as a Garden Designer. She is currently taking courses in Early Childhood Education and studies at Ellis College in the field of Child Psychology.

Christine has traveled to many far away places where she most enjoyed connecting with children and their families and learning about the different ways of living.  In her free time she loves studying languages and reading books.  Christine has been at Tiny Giants as a teacher in the 2-5 year old daycare program since February of 2008.

Jeanne Deely - Daycare

Jeanne was born and raised in the heart of San Francisco.  A graduate of Mercy High School, Jeanne began working at Tiny Giants part time when she was in her last year.  She is currently pursuing her degree in Child Development.  Jeanne loves children and has been working with them since the sixth grade. She has been a babysitter, day camp counselor, and volleyball coach. Jeanne continues to be an enthusiastic employee of Tiny Giants and looks forward to spending many more years here with children.

Tim Smith - Daycare

Bio coming soon.

Katie Newman - Daycare

Katie is originally from Newport Beach in Southern California and, although she misses her parents, little brother, and dog, is happy to be going into her fifth year as a San Francisco resident. She just graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and is now finishing her Masters’ in Elementary School Education. 

When Katie is not enjoying the children, families, and staff of Tiny Giants, she is absorbing all forms of art in the city, whether it is film, music, or simply getting lost in a sketchbook. She is hoping to one day teach art, but she also frequently dreams of illustrating children’s books. Katie has touched the lives of all of the people here at Tiny Giants since she began working with us in the fall of 2007.

Allison Mahaney - Daycare

Originally from Berkeley, Allison has lived throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended school in Los Angeles for her first two years of college and is currently taking classes at The University of San Francisco.  She is majoring in Psychology, with a concentration in Child Development.

Allison has been working with children for about eight years.  She feels that working with children is rewarding and enjoys assisting children in furthering their learning and their understanding of the world around them. Allsion has worked as a childcare provider at the Bay Club in Marin and as a babysitter. She has been working at Tiny Giants since May of 2008 and plans on staying at least until she finishes her college coursework at USF in May of 2009. In the future, Allison hopes to travel around the world, especially Central and South America, where she hopes to be able to work with underprivileged children.