Support Teachers

Missouri Alice Williams
Tova Mellen

Missouri Alice Williams

Missouri joined our Nursery and Pre-K team as a full time assistant support floater teacher on our team. She has an Equestrian background and has volunteered at Riding to the Top where she assisted children with Down Syndrome. She has a passion for music education, has classical voice training, and has worked in musical theater productions at Small Point Summer School. She recently worked as a substitute and floater teacher at Catherine Morrill Day Nursery and with St. Elizabeths Child Development Center in Portland since January 2016.

Tova Mellen

Tova joins our Nursery Threes team as a part-time Co-teacher fall of 2022! Her most recent work in education was as a lead preschool teacher at Breakwater school. Tova was also a park ranger at Acadia National Park where she developed and presented programs for the park’s youngest visitors with a focus on local ecology and storytelling. She is a certified Nature-Based Educator from the Eastern Region Association of Forest and Nature Schools and holds an MA in Policy, Management, and Education from the University of Maastricht Netherlands with her BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic. She has a great passion for nature-based education, the outdoors, and all things birds! We are thrilled to welcome Tova into our community and know her creative and collaborative nature will thrive in our community.

Emma Kepler Portrait

Emma Kepler

Emma has lived in Maine her whole life. She started volunteering at children’s camps in the local area and discovered her passion for teaching and helping others. She recently received her Social Work degree from SMCC in hopes of guiding and supporting children everywhere. Emma is thrilled to be a part of the JCA team!