Dr. Michelle "Mickie" Tubbs

Director of Scholar Success

Ms. Raquel Salazar

Student Mentor

Ms. Erica Brannon

Student Mentor

Cathie Fountain

President

Tova Pusl

Executive Director

Heather Gilman

Treasurer/Founding Parent

Aly Mancini

Secretary

As an educator and advocate in the early childhood profession for over 30+ years, Cathie has come to understand the profound importance of quality early learning experiences and its effect on a young child’s development. Cathie completed her B. A. in Human Development at California State University, Long Beach and received her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, also from CSULB.

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Cathie is a founding member of Little Owl School in Long Beach and currently full-time tenured faculty in the Child Development and Educational Studies Department at Long Beach City College. Additionally, Cathie is currently the Coordinator for the California Early Childhood Mentor Program at Long Beach City College. Cathie is a passionate advocate for children as well as providing environments that guide their discovery, providing opportunities that allow children to construct their own understandings and knowledge, and facilitate their growth of critical thinking through reflective engagement.

The mother of two high schoolers who attended a charter, home, and public schools in Long Beach, Tova began seeking educational alternatives when her children were entering kindergarten. Tova earned her BA in Speech Communication at CSULB in 1993, is trained in nonviolent communication and a certified parent educator. 

In 2008, she co-founded Functional Families to facilitate parents and caregivers cultivating connection and empathy in the relationship with their children. Her classes enjoy a wide following in the Long Beach area. As Executive Director, Tova strives to continue her passion of empathy and support for, not only the students and families of Fresh Ed, but for the staff/ team as well.

Mother of two school-aged children, one attending sessions at Fresh Ed and one at a charter-middle-school, Heather’s recognizes the need for personalized education. Her passion for individualized education has come from seeing the power that is gained by meeting the needs of children where they are vs where “they should be”! 

Heather is Vice President of Finance for Optum, earned her  BA degree in Biology from Williams College and an MBA from Stanford.

Aly Mancini is a parent of four young children, three of whom were adopted out of County foster care,  and is passionate children’s rights, community involvement about individualized education opportunities particularly for children with social-emotional special needs. 

Aly is a graduate of Chapman University with a BA in Organizational Leadership. Aly has worked for City government for the past 17 years and is currently the Director of Community Services for the City of Signal Hill.  Aly is a former Board Member of Comprehensive Child Development Long Beach and also served two years as a Human Relations Commissioner for the City of Long Beach.