Lindsey Widger
co-Director
Lindsey Widger is a passionate early educator who comes from a strong teaching and leadership background that spans a variety of educational settings and philosophies including play-based education, the Reggio Emilia Approach, exceptional needs education, and The Montessori Method. As a highly motivated personality and a strong believer in a play-based, emergent curriculum, Lindsey never stops challenging herself to improve as a teacher and is constantly involved in a large variety of professional development workshops. She has participated in The Hundred Languages of Children, hosted by NAREA and the Washington Collective in Seattle, and regularly attends conferences that span a wide breadth of philosophies related to play, such as The Power of Learning Stories hosted by EDvance San Francisco and The Play Conference in northern California. Currently, Lindsey is advancing her education in Early Childhood Administration remotely at Purdue University.
When Lindsey is not teaching, participating in conferences, or taking neighborhood walks with her bulldog Baloo, she is staying involved with the leading edge of the educational community by attending lectures from leading researchers and authors such as Alfie Kohn and Dan Hodgins. She is frequently networking with other leaders in the local and larger community by observing groundbreaking programs such as the Hilltop Children’s Center in Washington State, in addition to local programs with hopes of building a world-class learning environment for the next generation right here in her backyard.
Lindsey has spent years as a part of the Livermore community pursuing her teaching certifications and education in Early Childhood Development. Having found success as a leader and teacher for multiple great programs locally, Lindsey is finally able to begin the journey of bringing a new program to life with the Olive Branch Preschool.
Lauren Eisenmann
Co-Director
Lauren Eisenmann believes deeply in the power of education. Her passion for education began at the young age of 5 when she met her Kindergarten teacher. Inspired by her teachers, she went on to become an Early Childhood Educator, earning her B.A. in Child Development. During her first few years of classroom instruction, she began to uncover her unique ability and passion for leadership within the field. Lauren pursued an M.S. in Educational Leadership and fine-tuned her school leadership toolkit through certifications on Inclusive Leadership, Managing to Change the World, and Workplace Equity. Concurrently, Lauren began developing her own approach towards education. Merging the ideas of Maria Montessori, Lev Vygostky, Bev Bos, Loris Malaguzzi, Alison Gopnik and many others, Lauren began to define her own philosophy.
Today, Lauren knows that fostering children’s curiosity and innate aptitude for learning is key. Growing a love of learning and a base for learning transcends any specific fact or unit that can be taught. Lauren knows that teaching children to read, write, count, etc., is not about “checking the box,” but moreso about giving children the requisite skills to access life opportunities and all the world has to offer. Lauren seeks to foster environments and instructional approaches that steward each child’s relationship with the world, themselves, their place in their community, and their futures.
Outside of the classroom, Lauren rigorously advocates for underserved communities, commits an abundance of time to her children and family, and loves to be outside. Her goal in life is to leave the world a better place than when she entered it. She looks forward to continuing to learn, grow, and make an impact!
