MEET THE TEAM
☼☾
MEET THE TEAM ☼☾
Blithe Raines
Co-Founder and Director
(she/her)
Blithe co-founded Waking the Village in 2003. She helped to open Artenia Beast in 2014. She holds a BS degree from UC Davis. She is currently the Early Childhood Programs Director and oversees Artenia Beast as well as other Waking the Village sites. Her weekends and evenings are claimed by the joys of parenting, baking something tasty, and exploring the world.
Contact: blithe@wakingthevillage.org
Dru Tran
Site Director
(he/they)
With eight years of experience working with children and degrees in Child Development and Psychology, Director Dru focuses on fostering socio-emotional development and tailoring learning to each child’s unique needs. Within his role, he is now mentoring the caregivers here to do just the same. Dru believes in finding the light in every situation and hopes to bring that light to others. A lifelong caregiver at heart, Dru loves exploring creative ways to interact with children, celebrating their achievements, and learning from their wisdom— like the importance of embracing all feelings. For Dru, every day is an adventure, especially when spent connecting with families, children, and nature.
Contact: dru@wakingthevillage.org
Rachel A.
Lead Preschool Teacher (Moons)
(She/Her)
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Teacher Rachel is a nature enthusiast and animal lover who treasures time spent with family and friends. Her journey in early childhood education began as a high school intern, where she fell in love with the wonder and exploration children bring to learning.
Since then, she has worked as a nanny, an aide in SCC’s childhood development center, a tutor, a soccer coach, and a leader of a kindergarten learning pod during COVID. Rachel enjoys camping, hiking, running with her dog Remy, playing soccer, practicing yoga, and tending to her plants.
As a child, she loved pretending to be a fairy and creating potions with her favorite stuffed animal. Today, she finds joy in doing art and exploring nature with children, embracing their ability to teach her the beauty of getting messy and immersing herself in the moment. Her favorite adventure so far has been traveling through Europe.
Irma G.
Co-lead Preschool Teacher (Suns)
(She/Her)
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Teacher Irma holds an Associate’s Degree in Social Science from American River College and has completed over 12 Early Childhood Education units. She taught preschool for eight years at Peregrine School in Davis, a play-based program that emphasizes fostering creative and critical thinkers.
Outside of teaching, Irma enjoys collaging, dancing, cooking, and listening to vinyl records with coffee in hand. Her favorite childhood memories include playing outside with friends and building with toys like Barbies, Lite Brites, Legos, and Lincoln Logs. Irma loves inspiring children through art and reading, cherishing their natural joy and curiosity. She considers her greatest adventure to be motherhood, a journey that continues to teach and inspire her every day
Since then, she has worked as a nanny, an aide in SCC’s childhood development center, a tutor, a soccer coach, and a leader of a kindergarten learning pod during COVID. Rachel enjoys camping, hiking, running with her dog Remy, playing soccer, practicing yoga, and tending to her plants.
As a child, she loved pretending to be a fairy and creating potions with her favorite stuffed animal. Today, she finds joy in doing art and exploring nature with children, embracing their ability to teach her the beauty of getting messy and immersing herself in the moment. Her favorite adventure so far has been traveling through Europe.
Kyrin B.
Co-lead Preschool Teacher (Suns)
(She/Her)
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Teacher Kyrin, a Sacramento native, has been working with children for the past five years here in the Sacramento area. Her journey in early childhood education began with an afterschool program, and over the past three years, Kyrin has had the joy of moving towards working with preschool-aged children and discovering how much wonder, curiosity, and imagination they bring into the world around them.
Outside of teaching, Kyrin loves spending time with friends, admiring and caring for plants, and traveling. Traveling is her favorite hobby! As a child, her favorite toys were my Barbies. Kyrin’s favorite thing to do with children is experiment and discover new things together-- whether that is exploring new environments, asking thoughtful questions, or finding new ways to learn through play.
Brooke F.
Preschool Teacher (Moons)
(She/Her)
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Teacher Brooke an ECE educator with deep roots in California, having lived there since age three. Originally from Dunwoody, GA, Brooke grew up in the East Bay and now resides in El Dorado Hills. An only child with a close-knit family, Brooke’s passion for working with children began at age 10 and evolved into a professional career at 16.
Her credentials include an A.S-T in Child Development, a CAP-8 Certificate, a B.A. in Early Childhood Studies with a Psychology minor, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s in Child Development at Sacramento State, focusing on Emotion Coaching and co-regulation for preschoolers.
Brooke enjoys video games, arts and crafts, sitcoms, pop culture, and exploring graphic design. As a child, she loved searching for bugs, swinging, reading, and sensory play—activities she now shares with children, along with her love for books and art projects. Children have taught Brooke to embrace life’s simple joys, a lesson she carries on adventures to places like Seattle and Cape Cod.