Meet our Staff...
Wendy Clark / Shepherd
Wendy Shepherd has worked with children and families in the community for the past 24 years. She obtained her Degree from Gavilan College in 2003 in Early Childhood Education. She also, graduated from Santa Monica College in 2010 studying Leadership and Social Work. Wendy has spent numerous years studying and implementing play based learning practices within her classroom. Wendy possesses a California "Site Supervisory permit" as well as a "Master Teacher permit" from the California Department of Teacher Credentialing. She has numerous professional growth certificates in various expertise including special education, infants / toddlers, art therapy, school leadership, literacy and is a certified "Waldorf" teacher. She has been a CASA worker for foster youth in San Benito County & is currently a Mentor Teacher for Gavilan College students. She enjoys implementing child driven learning. She is a devout Christian dedicated to assisting children in discovering their faith. She is a proud mother of two daughters Savannah and Lilly. In Wendy’s spare time, she enjoys reading, volunteering in the community, excursions with her family, and spending time with her five adorable dogs. Wendy is a Presbyterian Co-Operative Preschool Alumni parent!
Executive Director
Welcome Patty Avila!
Hi I am Ms.Patty,
I am a mother of two boys (both adults 25 and 19 years old). I have always wanted to be a teacher and I decided to pursue it when my first son was born with Down Syndrome. I wanted to help him! I started by career in Early Childhood as a Teachers Assistant in 1999. I worked in Special Education for nine years and then transferred to Preschool Education. I love what I do! I enjoy being with children, watching them smiling, learning and growing. I am very happy to be a part of this community which has blessed me with the opportunity to do what I love! Thank you for your warm welcome and support.
Teacher - Patty Avila
Teacher - Anna Santillan
My name is Anna Santillan. I graduated May 2021 with an A.A. in Early Childhood Education. I am a state certified Teacher and am credentialed for Site Supervisor as well. I returned to school in 2019 to complete my early childhood education degree. I previously earned a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design Studies with a Minor in Advertising from San Jose State University in 2006. After starting my own family and wanting to learn more about child development I went back to school in 2008 to take early childhood education courses “just for fun”. As my children and our family grew so did my passion for child development. I took a break from school in 2009 to focus on my family and thinking I would continue when I had more time. In Fall 2019, I went back to school and made the time to finish my A.A.
A bit about me personally, I have been married to my husband, Bernardo for 20 years and we have 4 children; Joshua, Emma, Violet, and Maya. They are all In grade school and our oldest in a freshman in High school! I am a San Jose native. Our family moved from San Jose to Hollister in March 2015, after buying our first home. We have loved this small town community who has welcomed us home. My favorite things to do are; road trips, spend time with my family, finding and exploring new places with my family, creating new traditions like our yearly apple/berry picking trips to local orchards where we love buying fresh baked pie every time we visit! I love baking, reading, photography, writing, exercising, going to the beach, having movie nights at home, bbq’ing with friends on weekends and we love making new recipes while hanging out in our backyard. I love Theatre, movies and going out into nature whenever I can. My special interests in Education are; special needs, inclusion and equity.
I have been a HPCP family since 2017. Since then I have had our 2 youngest got through the preschool program. I have been e-worker, on staff Substitute and love the philosophy and mission our co-op stands for.
Ashley Razo
Teacher
Ms. Ashley grew up in Gilroy but has made a home in Hollister raising her family for the past 10 years. She has been a part of Hollister Presbyterian Preschool since 2014 when her oldest son was a part of the Pre-K class. She has since been a working class parent, a board member and an emergency worker. Our school is her second home. Ms. Ashley has two children. Hayden and Gavin both are alumni and can be seen on campus with her often. She has worked with children from ages 6 months and older since she was 17 years old. Watching and helping little hearts and minds grow is truly where her passion is. In her free time Ms. Ashley can be found studying college work, camping, at the beach or hanging out at home with her family and pets. She is an animal lover and has 3 cats, 1 dog, 1 lizard, 2 horses and 6 chickens.