Meet the Team

Dedicated to Growth and Learning

Patsy Vasquez

Lead Teacher

Patsy is happily married and has one son and three grandchildren, who are her pride and joy. She is a loving and caring person, who likes to make a positive difference in children's lives. Patsy is the lead teacher in the Infant Room and has twelve years of experience working with Infants and three years in the Early Toddler Room. She has enjoyed working at Peace Lutheran Preschool and Daycare for the last fifteen years. Her priority at PLPD is for our children to learn and develop in a safe and caring environment.

Silvia Gutierrez

Assisant Teacher

Silvia grew up in Southern California. She has a son and daughter, who are her heart and strength. When she is not teaching, she enjoys walking, reading, and cooking. Silvia decided to make early learning her life’s work because she believes a child’s education is the most valuable thing in the world. Silvia is a Teacher's Assistant for the Infant room. She has worked for PLPD for fifteen years and has been fortunate to work with various ages from infants to elementary students during her time here. Silvia enjoys helping others and watching the children learn and grow. Being a part of a child’s life and making a positive impact is truly an amazing feeling.

Lilia Judd

Lead Teacher

Hi, my name is Lilia Judd. I was born and raised in Cuernavaca Morelos MX. I am the third out of 1 sister and 2 brothers. When I was 8 years old I discovered my liking for art and music. I realized I wanted to work with children in my family's Montessori school when I was 18 years old and would go help out. When I was 19 I got married to Anthony Judd, vice president of Bank of America, whom I've been married to for 32 wonderful years ,and I have 2 excellent kids Alec my oldest who graduated in microbiology and Josh about to graduate high school, and 1 grandson. I have lived in the United States for 29 years, I have lived in Dallas and El Paso. I have had experience working in daycare for 23 years.

Maria Jones

Assistant Teacher

Maria is a resident of El Paso, Texas. She has been working in childcare for twenty-three years and aspires to own her childcare facility one day. Aside from taking care of her grandkids, Maria enjoys watching kids grow, learn and experience the world around them. She is grateful for the opportunity Peace Lutheran has given her to further her experience. Taking care of PLPD children continues to be a blessing for Maria, and hopes one day to see them aspire to greatness.

Marilyn Gutierrez

Assistant Teacher

Marilyn has been babysitting since she was thirteen years old, and has always had a strong passion for working with children. Not a single day is the same, and she is constantly learning something from children at PLPD. The most rewarding aspect of Marilyn's job is watching the children develop into confident and communicative learners. She attended PLPD as a child, so to be back, is nostalgic and emotional for her. Marilyn looks forward to growing with them.

Christina Castro

Lead Teacher

Christina has four children and two grandchildren. She has over twenty years of experience working with children from infants to elementary and has obtained a CDA (Child Development Associate Certification). Christina chose to become an Early Childhood professional because of her love of children. She loves to watch their little faces light up when they accomplish any task at hand. Christiana is very compassionate and eager to help every one of her students learn through a positive and fun experience. Christina is blessed to be part of your child's learning and growing experiences.

Blanca Estrada

Lead Teacher

Blanca was born in El Paso, Texas, but was raised in Juarez, Mexico. She comes from a big family with six sisters and one brother. As they got older, little by little, her family began moving to El Paso. Blanca lives with her husband and two beautiful daughters, whom she enjoys crafting with. She attended "Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, Universidad Normal Superior Porfirio Parra and Universidad Pedagogica Nacional” and earned a Bachelors and Master Degree in Early Childhood Teaching.Before working at Peace Lutheran Daycare and Preschool, Blanca worked as a Preschool and Elementary school teacher in Juarez. She has always enjoyed working with young children and contributing to their development. Blanca likes to prepare colorful materials to help ignite a child’s imagination and always tries to incorporate reading from books and poetry as well as art and music to help children explore and develop many skills. It is truly wonderful to be part of a child’s development and watch them become the future of our community. Blanca is grateful to be part of the PLPD Family.

Sofia Fuentes

Assistant Teacher

Sofia was born in El Paso, Texas, and is currently a student at UTEP, completing the Master's program in Business Management. She loves to spend time with her friends and family, work out, and take care of her two beautiful dogs. Sofia joined
PLPD in early 2020 and feels beyond blessed with her work.

Patricia Rayner

Lead Teacher

Patricia has been an early childhood development educator for fifteen years. During that time, she's had many roles and worked with various age groups. What Patricia cherishes the most about being an Early Childhood Development Educator is the ability to help teach and encourage each child as they progress through their learning journey. She believes in each child’s abilities and enjoys providing them with engaging learning opportunities, whether it be through art, playtime, or reading. Patricia enjoys seeing each child create their own story and allowing their imagination to run wild. Through her years of experience, she has seen many children grow and develop to be bright, creative, and caring individuals.

Ana Paula Flores de Borrego

Lead Teacher

Along with her love for children, Ana Paula brings twenty-five years of experience in working with preschool children. Her experience begins with Preschool/Kindergarten. Throughout her years of experience, she has taught Pre-K curriculum, dancing (Jazz and Ballet), and Spanish language education. Ana Paul is currently teaching Catechism with St. Luke's Church. She feels very honored to be part of PLPD and bring her experience to serve your children. "Trabajemos juntos!". Ana Paula is looking forward to meeting with you and is thankful for the honor of working with your children.

Cheyene Faulks

Lead Teacher

Ms. Cheyene was born in El Paso raised in Europe. She is the mother of one daughter. Cheyene has been working with children for over 8 years and absolutely loves what she does.

"I’m so excited to see what this new year is to bring to us all. I'm very blessed to be apart of the school and I hope to help your kids grow the best that I can!"

Melinda

Lead Teacher

Ms. Melinda was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Melinda is a mother of a beautiful daughter whom she loves dearly. Her love for her daughter encouraged her to be apart of the education career and help teach, care, nurture other students just as she did her own daughter. Ms. Melinda has worked with young children for two years and currently apart of the PLPD community since May of 2022, which she is very grateful for. She hopes to educate her students as best as possible and is excited to see all their achievements throughout the year. Besides for her love of children, Ms. Melinda loves her parents, her significant other, crafting, baking and especially loves to cook.

Atalie Rodriguez

Subsitute

Bio Coming Soon

Olga

Subsitute

Olga has been with PLPD for a year and loves working with the children. As a substitute she gets to engage with many different age groups. She really enjoys helping in the baby room to help give the children extra tummy time, or enrichment like reading books to them.

Maggie Ornelas

Lead Teacher

Maggie Ornelas was born and raised here in El Paso, Texas. She and her husband have been married for 25 years and have a son and daughter that also live in El Paso. Ms. Maggie left El Paso in 1998 and lived in Eagle Pass, Texas and Tucson, Arizona for 24 years. In 2022 she had the opportunity to return to her hometown and jumped at the opportunity.

Ms. Maggie worked as a Kindergarten Teacher in Tucson for 13 years. She has a passion for working with kids and shows kindness, empathy, and patience to each one of her students.

Ms. Maggie is grateful to be working for Peace Lutheran Preschool & Daycare and is very eager to get to know your children to work closely with them and their unique personalities. Her class will consist of a small group setting that will provide your child with shared tasks to help children interact with their environment and with others. It will also allow for independent thinking and problem-solving skills. Ms. Maggie’s commitment to education directly benefits a child’s success in and outside of the classroom.

Ms. Maggie is looking forward to a wonderful and memorable year with your children.

Laura Aguirre

Lead Teacher

Laura was born and raised in Chihuahua City, Mexico. Growing up, her favorite activities included playing basketball and participating in track and field events such as the Javelin thrown and shot put. Laura graduated from the UACH (Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua) with a Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1985. She taught grade school in both Chihuahua City and Juarez where her love for teaching children and being responsible for their development grew. In 2001 she and her family migrated to El Paso, TX, where they enjoy being in a new culture and meeting new people. Laura's passion for the development of children’s education brought her to PLPD in 2015 where she's proud to be a part of this community and being surrounded by amazing people that truly care about their work.

Naysla Barrientos

Assistant Teacher

Naysla was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, and later became a US citizen and moved to El Paso in 2011. She has been happily married to her husband for 34 years and is a mother of two. She enjoys practicing sports such as tennis and swimming. She loves spending time with her family and doing arts and crafts as a hobby. Naysla has a bachelor's degree in Economics from the UACI in Ciudad Juarez. She worked as a purchasing manager for Antech for eleven years and since then has worked in various education roles. Naysla has been teaching in the El Paso region for the past eight years. Her inspiration to teach and care for children comes from being a mother herself. Naysla's experience, along with her passion, has allowed her to embark on this beautiful journey of child development. She is so happy to be part of PLPD and to work with such wonderful children.

Victoria Gutierrez

Subsitute Teacher

Bio Coming Soon

Raquel Taylor

Assistant Teacher

I consider myself a very lucky person to be able to carry out my work as an educational assistant in this institution. I have a degree in bilingual pedagogy, as such, I have committed myself to search and discover what are the best teaching methods, to apply them in our classroom, and thus provide a quality education. nowadays, it is of great importance to teach our children to develop their potential, I love the work that teachers carry out as guides, of the future successful citizens of this country.

Araceli Barron

Assistant Teacher

Araceli has been working with children for many years. She loves the kids and watching them grow and learn.

Yoli Humanes Garcia

Assistant Teacher

Yoli is a very passionate person who enjoys every minute she can spend with the children under her care at Peace Lutheran Preschool and Daycare. She comes from Spain and has lived in three different countries with her beloved family: husband and two lovely daughters. Yolanda is currently working in the Early Toddler Room .

She has 2 years of experience working with infants and toddlers here in our community in El Paso. Her focus at PLPD since she joined our Team in September 2022, is on enabling our children to develop their skills to the most, always in a supportive, joyful and safe way.

Jazmin Pinon

Assistant Teacher

Bio Coming soon

Aisha Flores

Assistant Teacher

Aisha was born and raised in El Paso, is currently attending the University of Texas at San Antonio, completing her Bachelor degree in Multidisciplinary Studies. Where she receives her experience working with Elementary, Middle, and High school students. She is a First-Generation student with an Associate of Multidisciplinary Arts. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as spending time with her pets. Aisha is very thankful for the opportunity of working with the students at PLPD, and looks forward to seeing your children's future success.

Shawntay Ballard

Assistant Teacher

She has been part of Peace Lutheran Preschool for about ten years and excited that we got a wonderful team of teachers and an awesome director! "We are all like family here!" She immediately fell in love with the school, the teachers, and the community. And believes whoever steps on board with PLPD becomes part of the family; including you and your child!
Shawntay grew up in El Paso and has an associates degree in applied science. She loves kids and can’t wait to educate your child while also learning from your child! She believes all children are equal but each child is unique, therefore they learn at their own pace. Shawntay will provide your child with the love, growth and the support! She loves all ages but the two’s has always been one of her favorites! Her favorite is music and all the exploring we get to do at this age. She knows that play is a child's most important work, so her goal is to create and maintain a fun environment where your child can grow and explore the world around them. “The impact I make in their lives makes for an even bigger and completely gratifying impact in my own life.
I can’t wait to spend this time on learning and growing with you and your child!"

Teresa Diaz Mesa

Subsitute

My name is Maria Teresa Diaz, I am 58 years old, I am really happy to be part of the Peace Lutheran School and Day Care Team, with 13 years of experience in day care. I'm always trying to be involved with my community and I really enjoy time with my family.

Karen Salinas Flores

Assistant Teacher

Karen has a daughter who recently turned 1 years old. Her daughter is her passion and she loves spreading that love to the children at PLPD. Karen is also a van driver for our elementary transportation and for field trips.

Sandra Acevedo

Lead Teacher

Hi, my name is Sandra Acevedo I was born in Cd Juarez, Chihuahua.

I'm a mother of three lovely kids.

I have 21 years of experience working with children. The most beautiful and lovely thing I love about my job, is when you hear the kids singing, and recognizing the lessons we teach them.

I'm happy to be part of Peace Lutheran Preschool and give some of my knowledge to the kids.

Saralhi Dominguez

Assistant Teacher

Bio Coming Soon

Cristalena Roepke

Lead Teacher

Cristalena was born in Michigan but was raised here in El Paso, Texas. She is a proud mom of two wonderful children. Cristalena has always had a passion for working with children because she believes that being a part of a child’s life and making a positive impact can benefit the child as they grow up. Cristalena feels blessed to be a part of our PLPD family!

Priscilla Morales

Assistant Teacher

Bio Coming Soon