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.
Alexandra aka Miss Pancake
TEACHER
Alexandra joined our team in January of 2022. She is majoring in Early Childhood Education at Saddleback College. As a student and teacher, Alexandra looks at expanding her understanding of children and the how to support and inspire them through developmentally appropriate curriculum.
Alexandra also holds a BA in French Literature from McGill University and a master's degree in Translation from the University of Montreal, Canada. Her personal interests outside of Early Childhood Education include teaching meditation, painting Byzantine icons and incline running on Marin trails. As a native to Toronto, Canada, Alexandra really appreciates the warmth and natural beauty of the California coast and how special it is to live here!
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.
Cadence Larson
TEACHER'S AIDE
Cadence started working with Funderblast at our Petaluma site in May of 2022. She took a gap year between high school and attending Humboldt State and joined the Kinderblast team in January of 2023. In college she is studying "Intersections of Identity and Social Development." She is passionate about working with children.
Cadence loves art, creativity, music and simply being her authentic self. She loves helping people find their light. She considers herself an out of the box thinker, and enjoys finding creative solutions to problems. Candence loves to garden, cook and make music. She is currently attending school online so she can continue to be at both Funderblast and Kinderblast year round.
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!
