MEET OUR DREAM TEAM
Welcome to Ohana Academy Inc!
My name is Stephanie Lapointe and I am an Early Childhood Educator that has specialized in Infant/Toddler Care and Supportive Development for Children with Special Needs. I was born in Kelowna and have been practicing in our community since 2005. During my practice, I have supervised classrooms, managed facilities, opened and operated new child care facilities and taught the Early Childhood Education program at a local college. I am a proud mother of two amazing daughters who were my inspiration that led me to create Ohana Academy Inc. It was built out of love, passion and innovation.
Jodie and Stephanie Lapointe have been married since 2007. Not only is he a fantastic dad to their two daughters, but it is wonderful when he visits the classrooms. Jodie has a wealth of knowledge in the construction industry and is a Red Seal Ironworker by trade. When he is not working on a commercial project out of town, he comes in to visit the students and makes fantastic wooden equipment and materials. It is incredible to watch as a male brings such a beautiful dynamic into the classrooms. Without Jodie’s belief in Stephanie and support, she wouldn’t have taken the leap to open her own early learning schools.
Ohana Academy Springfield East
Jungle Classroom
Full Day Toddler Classroom
Kristy Brown is the Director of our Springfield East Location and she teaches in the Full Day Toddler program in the Jungle Classroom. She is a proud Early Childhood Educator who has specialized in Infant Toddler care. She entered into the early childhood field in 2011 after having her daughter as a way to continue raising her. It was important to her to be apart of teaching her in the early years and the education and experience she has gained since is invaluable. She has 3 children and an amazing partner. They love spending weekends camping and riding dirt bikes. They are also board members for the 'Okanagan Forest Task Force' a non-profit group of outdoor enthusiasts who help to keep the back country clean from illegal dumping. If she is not home you will find her in the backcountry!
Angelina Simmons is an Early Childhood Infant Toddler Educator who has been working in the field for almost 20 years. Angelina has spent her career working in preschools, daycares, Early Learning Schools, the Supported Child Development Program, the Young Parents Program and several Infant/Toddler Programs here in Kelowna. She has worked as a room supervisor and Education Coordinator for the past eight years but is excited to be back in a toddler classroom! She is a proud mother to her angel-daughter Sevanah (aka Baby Boo) and can be found designing amazing early learning curriculum for other educators and parents when she is not at work.
Alli Meere is originally from Ottawa and moved to British Columbia with my two sisters in 1992. Before she got into the Education field, she worked as an Environmental Pest Management Technician and a Forestry Technician. In 2003, she chose to pursue a career in education and began her studies at UBCO where she graduated with a Bachelor of Education Degree in Elementary Education. She also has an Early Childhood Education License and began teaching at a French preschool. She also worked as an ECE in out-of-school childcare programs and in various daycare centers. She has experience teaching in Kindergarten to Grade 3 and in Montessori preschools. Alli loves working with younger children because they are so eager to learn. It is rewarding to plant the seeds of learning and watch them grow. As an Early Childhood Educator, she realizes the importance of providing children with an environment that is caring and secure, and one that enhances and encourages growth in all areas of their development. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening and watching TV.
Ocean Classroom
Full Day Junior Kindergarten
Julian Deacon comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He is a “Mythical Unicorn” within the early learning field as males are rare and hard to attain. He has over 10 years experience working with students from age two and up! Julian transitioned out of the Professional Audio Industry where he toured to many corners of the earth in his past career. Julian has a huge passion for camps and out of school care, he did this through developing young minds through adventure and nature. He has started multiple camps in the Okanagan Valley where he got to bus students to all the hidden gems this valley holds. When he is not working for Ohana, you can find him hiking, biking, tinkering with audio gear or on his car. He enjoys the serenity of going for drives and connecting with friends.
Shinel Brown-Carr graduated as an Early Childhood Educator with specialization in Special Needs. She is originally from Jamaica where she also had a career in teaching at the primary school level. Teaching has always been her passion and she continues to feel a huge sense of belonging in this field. She enjoys spending spare time creating Vlogs and practicing fun video editing skills. She is elated to serve Our Ohana Families.
Ohana Academy Springfield West
Forest Classroom
Full Day Junior Kindergarten & Preschool
Heather Morrison is a certified Early Childhood Educator. She was raised in Summerland and has been working with children since 2006. During her practice she has had the pleasure of being an Assistant Director for facilities, managing and supervising classrooms, overseeing practicum students and obtaining her Class 4 License. Watching the children grow and meet their individual milestones is something she cherishes, as it’s very rewarding being a Teacher. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys spending time with family and the great outdoors!
Tahara Simard is an Early Childhood Educator with a certificate in Infant/Toddler Care and Supportive Development for Children with Special Needs. She completed her education at the Okanagan College and graduated in June 2021. For the past three years, Tahara has experience working in infant/toddler classrooms along with three to five year old classrooms. She found her passion for working with young children when she chose to take on a nanny position for a family of five children ranging from 10 months old to 7 years old. On top of that, she has many beautiful nieces and nephews that she spends as much time with as possible. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her dachshund and doing outdoor activities such as paddleboarding and hiking. Tahara is happy to be a part of the Ohana Academy team.
Ocean Classroom
Full Day Junior Kindergarten
Fannie Bertrand has been living in the Okanagan for over 35 years. She began her adventure in Childcare in 2008 working in a French Preschool while taking her ECE through Vancouver Career College where she met a very passion driven instructor, Stephanie Lapointe. Stephanie was her instructor and an inspiration. Fannie has been in the field for over 16 years and continues to learn from the children as much as she teaches them. She is very artistic, loves to paint, create and have fun bringing out a child’s imagination through art and telling stories with puppets and felt boards.
She has raised three amazing children; they have been her cheerleaders throughout the last 16 years and continue to do so. In the last five years she expanded her education and gained her Infant Toddler Certificate in October, 2020. She is certain that the next 16 years will be just as rewarding, and will continue to educate and be inspired by young minds.
Peipei Yao is an Early Childhood Educator who specializes in Infant/Toddler Care and Supportive Development for Children with Special Needs. She was born in Tianjin, China and moved to Kelowna with her husband in 2017. Peipei obtained her Master Degree in Linguistics in her home country and obtained the Diploma of Early Childhood Education from Okanagan College. Peipei has worked in the ECE field since 2010. During her practice in her hometown, she has opened and managed new early childhood education centers, and managed facilities. During her practice in Kelowna, she has led infant/toddler classrooms, and dedicated her time ensuring quality programs for young children. Peipei enjoys helping create a caring and loving environment in which children can flourish. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, cooking, watching movies. Peipei is grateful to join Ohana Academy and be a part of the family!
Ohana Academy West Kelowna
Forest Classroom
Half Day Junior Kindergarten
Ami Bellingham is the Director of our West Kelowna Location and she teaches the Half Day Junior Kindergarten program in the Forest Classroom. She is an Early Childhood Educator that has specialized in Supportive Development for Children with Special Needs. Ami and Stephanie took the Early Childhood Education Diploma program together in Kelowna and she also has been working within our community since 2005. Ami has spent her career working as a classroom supervisor and a facility manager. Ami was born and raised in the lower Mainland, but has spent half of her life living in the Okanagan. She is married and has two incredibly amazing children. When she is not working, she can be found exploring the backcountry or tending to all of her critters at home.
Ocean Classroom
Full Day Junior Kindergarten
Lori Clapp and her three siblings were adopted by two wonderful parents. Family is really important to her and she is very close with two brothers, and sister. She was born and raised in Vernon and then moved to Vancouver to work as a nurse’s aide in a geriatric hospital and a medical office assistant. When Lori moved back to the Okanagan, she returned to college and graduated from the Early Childhood Education program. She has now been in this field for fourteen years and loves going to work each day. It is very rewarding teaching and supporting these young minds as they continue to learn, grow and develop. Lori believes that every child deserves to feel valued and loved. This is what she strives for each day with the children in her classroom. During her spare time, she enjoys meeting up with friends for a movie, going out for a meal and spending time at home with her cat Gracie.
Sarah Coe graduated from the Early Child Education program at Okanagan University College in 2004 and has been dedicating her career to educating children from a wide range of age groups for over twenty years. Sarah also has an Education Assistant certification and has worked in supporting neuro divergent youth and children with diverse abilities within the classroom. She brings along a knowledge of Montessori principles from her last three years of teaching in a Montessori school setting. Sarah was born and raised in Kelowna and moved to Vancouver in her early twentys where she spent most of her teaching career. She loves the Wild West Coast and returns back to visit as often as she can. Sarah is a single mother to a beautiful nine year old girl and loves to spend her free time enjoying the company of family, friends, hiking, biking, trying new recipe’s and reading good books.
Classroom Support Teacher
Melissa Foote is an Early Childhood Education Assistant that has twenty years of experience working in classrooms from infants, all the way up to school aged children. Melissa is our Floater and works in all three of Ohana Academy’s early learning schools. Melissa brings fun, laughter and love into our classrooms and she enjoys her job immensely. She was born in Saskatchewan, but moved from Hawaii to Kelowna in 2002 to be closer to her family. She has two beautiful teenage daughters who are her pride and joy. In her spare time, you will see her at the skating rink, fastball fields or dance competitions.
At Ohana Academy, our teachers are our ohana.
We are so blessed to have such an amazing group of individuals that not only are terrific teachers but are big hearted, compassion and hard-working human beings
