Sabrina Mirzaie - Director

Director Sabrina joined Laurel Hill in 2015 after teaching at a Montessori pre-school in San Francisco’s Sunset district for four years. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area but moved to San Francisco after graduating from UC Irvine with a degree in psychology and criminology. She has never had a job that did not involve working with children, from babysitting in middle school, working as a day camp counselor in high school, to teaching after college.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, re-watching old favorites on Netflix, and learning how to watercolor.

Jessica Duque - Office Manager/Admissions Coordinator

A proud mama of two, Jessica first fell in love with Laurel Hill when she toured for her eldest daughter. During her five years as a Laurel Hill parent, she knew she always wanted to find a way back to this special place where she learned so much. A native San Franciscan, Jessica received her BA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Ethnic Studies at SFSU, and certification in Early Childhood Development at City College. When not at Laurel Hill, you’re likely to see Jessica going for a long walk or playing soccer with her kiddos.

Justin Volmert - Head of Philosophy, Teacher

Justin has worked with children of all ages for many years, but was particularly drawn to early education through his experiences observing and teaching at Stanford’s Bing Nursery School while pursuing his undergraduate degree in child and adolescent development. After taking a quick break to pursue a legal career, he was delighted to return in 2015 to an inspiring play-based school supported by an amazing community

Sally Silva - Teacher

Sally earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies at UC Santa Cruz before moving to San Francisco in 2005 to study Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State. She promptly stumbled upon Laurel Hill and has been a part of the community ever since. She has over 20 years of teaching experience, having earned ECE credits at Cabrillo College and at San Francisco City College. She enjoys travel, camping, and spending time with her family and friends (during non-pandemic years).

Marissa Andrade - Teacher

Marissa knew that she wanted to be a teacher at Laurel Hill from the moment she moved to San Francisco. She had heard about the co-op from her sister who had enrolled her daughter (and then later son) but was miles and miles away in her hometown. Born and raised in Los Angeles, her love for teaching began in 2009 when she became an instructor for a music and movement program at an enrichment studio. While working with children and families, she received a bachelor’s degree in Child Development from California State University, Dominguez Hills. After graduating, she made the move to San Francisco where she started nannying for families and later applied for a teaching position at a different school. When a teaching position opened up at Laurel Hill, Marissa jumped at the opportunity to join the team and bring her love of music with her. This year brought changes to the school so Marissa brought music and movement to the children by going virtual while continuing to teach for the PM PreK. She feels so lucky to be a part of this community and looks forward to the days when the school is full of children AND parents.

“I believe that in order to be great at what you do you have to love what you do. I always loved music, but when I was able to share my love of music with the children and parents around me I knew that teaching was the path for me.”

Nuria Lopez del Moral - Teacher’s Aide

Nuria was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Her love of music and dance led her to study physical education, and later she served as an aerobics instructor at ORTHOS, Barcelona Sports. After moving to San Francisco, she began studying early childhood education at San Francisco City College. In 2015, her son attended Laurel Hill, and the experience of connecting with the kids strengthened her interest in the field of education. Nuria loves all of the activities she engages in with the kids, but her favorites include obstacle courses, slime and reading. Nuria believes in bilingual education as a benefit of increasing cognitive development and as  enrichment of cultural appreciation. She enjoys supporting Spanish language to children into the play-based program through interactions and songs.

She also is Co-founder of Spanish4Fun, teaching Spanish as a second language for after school enrichment program to K-5.

Lori Lockamy - Teacher

Lori entered early childhood education when her daughter started Laurel Hill in 2014. Lori holds an art degree from Sacramento State and is working on a certificate in child development at City College, San Francisco. She was mentored by Anne Randall and inspired by Bev Bos. Presently, Lori's favorite activities are digging/diverting rivers and reading.

Matt Tung - Facilities Manager

Matt is a Laurel Hill lifer, having attended as a child in the 80s and sending both of his kids, Hazel (2021 grad) and Levon (2024). As a parent he was an active member of the community, serving on the executive committee as Personnel Chair and President of the board, as well as on the director hiring committee. He’s committed to keeping our school beautiful and functioning for generations of Laurel Hillers to come. 

An artist by trade, when he’s not at the school or chasing his own kids around he’s working on his own projects at home or in the pottery studio (www.matthewtung.com).