Meet Our Amazing Staff
Veronica Rae Cowen aka Coconut
FOUNDER
Veronica is a Marin native, and has been working at kid’s camps since 1998. She grew up traveling the world, went to Kindergarten in Nepal and taught 3rd grade in Thailand, and is now happy to bring her passion for summer, fun and children to Funderblast & Kinderblast Preschool. She started Camp Funderblast is 2013 and is excited to be expanding through Marin to impact and brighten the lives of even more children!
Veronica graduated from UC Davis in 2004 and spent the past years traveling around the world, running camps and teaching meditation & awareness classes to kids & adults at The Foundation for Spiritual Development. Veronica is grateful to share her love of the world and possibility with you. What inspires Veronica is inspiring others, she looks forward to getting to know you and your family!
Amy McKinney
TEACHER & DIRECTOR
Amy joined our team in January of 2020. She loves the joy, laughter and authenticity that young children bring to life. Amy believes in the importance of diversity and self love, and letting children learn by taking chances in a safe, supportive environment. She believes with the guidance from loving, present adults children thrive in a preschool environment where they learn invaluable, life-long social-emotional skills.
She loves to teach children songs, sing, do fun art projects and give warm hugs. She’s a mom to Davis and a wife to her best friend and college sweetheart, Sol. She loves all fruit, Stevie Wonder and North Shore Hawaiian beaches.
Tarn Kanokpatcharakul
TEACHER
Tarn joined our team in May 2026. She has been a teacher since 2011 and has spent the past eight years working with children ages 2–13. Through her experience, she discovered that she especially enjoys working with preschoolers.
Tarn is passionate about creating a safe, nurturing environment where children feel supported, cared for, and encouraged to learn through play. She believes that every child is unique and develops at their own pace. As teachers, we need to accept children for who they are, understand their individual needs, and support them as much as we can to help them grow into the person they were born to be.
Tarn is originally from Rayong, a small city in Thailand and she hold a BA in International Business from Thailand and earned her AA in Child Development at Merritt College.
Away from school, she enjoys spending time with her family. You can often find her cheering for her daughter on the pool deck during swim meets or watching her daughters sail in the bay through her binoculars.
Tina Andropolous
TEACHER
Tina joined our team in February of 2021. Every job Tina had as a teenager and young adult was with kids: babysitter, lifeguard, swim teacher, camp counselor, preschool teacher’s aide, paraprofessional, substitute teacher… Somewhere along the way, she left this path and after earning an MA in Education/Instructional Technology, she worked in the internet industry as a user experience writer.
After having her daughter, she left the corporate world and looked for work closer to home. That was when she found her way back to the path she started on with children, as an art teacher, and an after schoolteacher. She loves getting to know all of the little spirits and helping them to grow and learn and play. She is grateful to live in such a beautiful place, for her family, and for friends old and new.
Julissa Guadamuz
TEACHER
Julissa Guadamuz joined our team in September 2025. She is from Nicaragua and has worked in Preschools in the US since 2010 . Her main goal is to support children and her coworkers as much as she can. Her daily personal mission is to be helpful and useful. She loves art, and enjoys it in any of its many forms of expression.
As a preschool teacher she brings many different experiences; Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Play based. She often incorporates all of them in her teaching style. She values independence, creativity and freedom. She promotes respect for others in the classroom, including materials and the environment. Julissa's smile is radiant and contageous.
Anna Kleim
TEACHER'S AIDE
Anna joined the Kinderblast team in January of 2025. She was a high school gymnast and taught children’s gymnastics through high school and college. She has a BA in Communication Studies with minors in Spanish and German from Eastern Washington University. She has a Master’s in Education from Gonzaga University and has taught high school in Washington State and California for sixteen years. She is currently pursuing certification in Early Childhood Education at College of Marin.
Anna loves to see children express joy and try new things. She supports building resiliency in children and believes in focusing on a growth mindset. She enjoys seeing children try new foods and eventually like those foods even after many months of disliking them. She is inspired by children’s creative play and creative artistic expression.
Anna is originally from Washington State but has been living in California for twenty years. She enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, art in all its forms, and game nights with friends and family.
Elaine Gavin
TEACHER'S AIDE
Elaine joined the Kinderblast team in January 2026. She has been a preschool teacher since 2018 and worked with children and infants for over a decade. Elaine majored in Drama at San Francisco State University where she also studied Early Childhood Education. As a teacher, Elaine’s goal is to help children to find joy at school by encouraging imaginary play, creative expression and the freedom to be silly. She loves to share her knowledge of puppetry, story-telling and music as well as introduce children to knock-knock jokes. The less sense they make the better!
In June of 2025 Elaine had a baby boy who has filled her days with endless happiness and endless tiny socks. When she’s not working with children, she can be found writing, performing or teaching sketch comedy in San Francisco with her theater troupe “KML.” She also loves swimming, making and eating pastries, and petting dogs in Gerstle Park.
Heidi Steinhart
TEACHER'S AIDE
Heidi’s love for early childhood education began in a preschool classroom. Growing up in Los Angeles, she started her teaching journey at the very preschool she attended as a toddler. That early spark led her to Northern California, where she earned her Master’s in Teaching from the University of San Francisco and went on to teach first grade for three years.
When her three children Annika, JP, and Lucia came along, Heidi stepped away from the classroom to be present for them, channeling her energy into building her own personal training business, which she ran successfully for 20 years. Now that her kids are older, she’s returned to her first love: teaching preschool.
Heidi is passionate about the incredible growth that happens in these early years. She treasures watching children develop empathy and compassion for one another, and she’s especially inspired by the way little ones find pure joy in life’s simplest moments; a ladybug landing on a hand, a warm hug, a scoop of chocolate ice cream.
She believes wholeheartedly that preschool is where some of life’s most essential lessons take root: how to be kind, how to be confident, and how to show up for your community.
Heidi brings a contagious enthusiasm for movement, from gross motor activities to full-on dance parties. Wherever there’s a good beat, you’ll find her already on the dance floor.
Dayana Orihuela
TEACHER'S AIDE
Dayana is originally from Perú and is a positive, caring, and joyful person who always has a smile to share with everyone around her. She loves creating a warm and welcoming environment and believes that a positive attitude can make a difference in someone’s day. She loves animals, enjoys going on hikes and exploring nature, and, most importantly, loves spending time with her family, who are the most important part of her life.
Dayana joined the Kinderblast team in the Spring of 2026. She is currently studying Early Childhood Education and is passionate about working with young children and supporting their growth and development. She believes that every child is unique and deserves a safe, caring, and positive environment where they can learn, explore, and be themselves.
Dayana’s goal is to help children learn through play, creativity, patience, and meaningful experiences. She enjoys building connections with children, encouraging their confidence, and helping them discover new things while having fun.
Troy Cowen AKA Tiger
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER
Troy has been a part of the Kinderblast team since its conception. He has worked at Funderblast since 2014. He is filled with love, playfulness, and authenticity. Simply being near him brings everyone around him joy. Throughout the school year, he can be found working at Funderblast After School Camp and subbing at Kinderblast preschool. Troy and Veronica have been working together at summer camps since 2005, and working together in life since he was born! (They are brother and sister!)
Troy loves travelling, eating, making people laugh and just being a strong and authentic role model for all children. Come to Kinderblast and you might see his daughter there with him spreading light and love too!
