HEAD OF SCHOOL
Kylie Walker
Kylie is passionate about inspiring students, staff, and families to be excited about and engaged in an alternative experience of education. She is an Iowa native and graduated from Central College with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish. She is ever committed to her own growth and believes that life long learning is imperative to continued success and development. Traveling the world and working in different countries has helped her to understand and value a wide range of perspectives and educational philosophies. She has had vast experience in the classroom from an educational assistant to lead educator to Director of Administration. She excitedly took the helm of Sycamore as the Head of School in 2024. In this role, Kylie is continuing the mission of Sycamore with intention and passion and upholds the values on which Sycamore was established. Kylie believes that students should be in the driver’s seat and staff should act as empathetic, inspiring, and thoughtful guides. One of her passions is helping students and educators to find joy in math exploration. Once labeling herself as “not a math person,” Kylie has attended numerous math conferences over the years, which has allowed her to redefine what math learning looks like in the 21st century classroom and inspire those around her to do the same. You can often find her “playing math” with students throughout the day. Kylie strives to work collaboratively and seeks to build trusting relationships with all community members. In her free time, Kylie enjoys traveling to new countries, reading for both fun and learning, spending time with friends and family, and playing paddle ball or relaxing on the beach.
director of admissions & Development
Molly's history in admissions began in 2006 in Shanghai, China, where she was the Director of Admission and Marketing at an international school. After seven years, in search of blue skies, she relocated to the island of Oahu, where she served as Director of Admission at Honolulu Waldorf School, Island Pacific Academy, and as Admission Associate at Punahou School. Molly is passionate about the value of engaged and future-focused learning and is excited to share the Sycamore School philosophy in the community as the Director of Admissions and Community Engagement.
Molly Ripton
our educators
Brie Tompkins
Brie believes that when children’s wonderings are nourished, magic can happen. She is curious about how her students feel, think, wonder, and learn, and she wants them to know how much they are valued. Supported by a deep understanding of child development, her observations of students’ creative play are essential building blocks in her approach as an educator. Since joining the Sycamore family in 2017, Brie is dedicated to collaborating on a team, developing innovative curriculum, supporting new educators, and documenting life and learning at school. She has over 18 years of experience as an educator, a degree in Psychology and Education from Middlebury College, and a Masters in Literacy from the University of Vermont. Brie is most energized by the ways that creative process, playfulness, and collaboration shape the lives of children and educators. She lives in Topanga with her husband and two children. When she’s not at school, Brie is living it up as a mama, enjoying great books, playing with inviting art materials, and relaxing at the beach.
Camryn Ciancia
Growing up in McKinney, Texas, Camryn’s favorite game to play was “school." She collected her teachers’ old textbooks and used them to teach a class of stuffed animals. Camryn eventually moved to Boston to attend Emerson College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Writing, Literature, and Publishing with a concentration in Children’s Literature and Publishing, and a minor in Gender and Sexuality studies. Throughout her time in Boston, she worked with children in many different capacities - from nannying, being a camp counselor, working at a daycare center, and interning for children’s publishing houses. After graduation, Camryn began substitute teaching in Boston Public Schools, working with students from various ages and backgrounds. She was a long-term substitute in an inclusive transitional kindergarten class where she took the lead role. All of these experiences have ultimately led Camryn to teach at Sycamore, where she lets curiosity, creativity, and imagination thrive!
Kelsey Shoults
A Chicago native, Kelsey graduated from Baylor University in May 2022 with a degree in Elementary Education. She first discovered her love for working with young learners after working as a counselor at an outdoor learning summer camp in New Mexico. Kelsey spent two years attending Denison University, a small liberal arts college, before transferring to Baylor to earn her education degree and teaching certifications. While pursuing her degree, Kelsey interned at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and worked as an AmeriCorps member in Central Texas. She has spent the last two years teaching 3rd Grade in Austin, Texas. Kelsey is passionate about creating a supportive and encouraging classroom environment by helping her students to take ownership of their learning. Through her experience teaching so far, she has loved watching her students explore questions and innovate together through creative projects. Outside of the classroom, Kelsey enjoys keeping up with her barista skills, running, and reading. She loves being outside and is hopeful about learning how to surf as a resident of California! She was overjoyed to join the Sycamore team and contribute her knowledge and experiences to the community.
David is excited to be part of Sycamore and its amazing community. He is dedicated to fostering creativity and confidence in his students. David's journey in education began with a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Elmira College, further enriched by a Professional Certificate in Music Theory & Counterpoint from Berklee College of Music. Prior to Sycamore, David served as a third through sixth grade instructor at Oak Meadow, a distance learning school. Before moving to California, David taught third grade, eighth-grade English and capstone, mindfulness, wellness, and sixth grade public speaking at The Peck School in Morristown, New Jersey. His career also includes teaching third grade, music, and special education at South End and North End Elementary School in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. David has a strong passion for educational innovation. He created a podcast with his eighth grade students called Sports Rewind, established a school recording studio, and pioneered digital literacy programs. Outside of the classroom, David enjoys coaching lacrosse, playing guitar, songwriting, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.
Born and raised in Ventura County, Sydney has always had a strong passion for embracing her creativity. Growing up, she loved to show her creative side through the art of ballet. She also has a deep interest in working with young children. When working with children, she creates a nurturing, safe environment to promote emotional, social and intellectual growth. Sydney graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. While attending the University, she also took Education courses that taught her a lot about childhood development. Her favorite aspect of working with children is guiding them to use their unique creativity when learning new material. Just like Sycamore, Sydney is also a big advocate of having a growth mindset. For this reason, she is thrilled to have joined the Sycamore School!
David Bucchino
Sydney Tarnowski
Paige Showalter
A lifelong Oregon native, Paige moved to California with her husband in 2017 to come and teach 3rd-, and then 5th-grade, at the Sycamore School. After receiving her Master of Education degree from the University of Oregon and spending a decade teaching in both public and private schools, in 2019 Paige was ready for a new adventure and made the jump to become a production manager for commercials and television. These past 4 years working on sets have been invaluable for Paige to put to practice the mindsets of collaboration, adaptability, and creativity, and she witnessed time and again how these competencies and skills are often missing in adults. Therefore, she felt called back to the Sycamore community and its imperative mission for education and is ecstatic to jump back in with the 5th-grade cohort. Paige is passionate about emphasizing process over product and fostering agency and growth mindset in both students. One of her favorite tools in the classroom is using field trips that capitalize on critical thinking and meaningful interactions with the subject matter. When she's not in the classroom, Paige can be found reading on her Kindle, gallivanting around Disneyland, or exploring the trails of the PNW.
innovation specialist
Agustin Molfino
Agustin Molfino is a learning designer and artist informed by a multinational upbringing - his mother’s artistic tenacity, his father’s coaching sense, and principles found in psychology and anthropology. He has worked in education for over a decade, including in public, private, and charter schools in DC, São Paulo, and Los Angeles. As a curriculum designer in LA, he designed ed-tech instructional experiences and worked alongside Sycamore co-founders, Tedd Wakeman and AJ Webster, supporting curriculum and instruction at the PlayMaker School at NewRoads. For three years, Agustin was the STEM Learning Designer at JetSpace, a 21st century innovation hub situated inside of Locke High School in Watts, CA. There he designed and delivered curriculum around 21st C. skills, 3D printing, game design, making and tinkering, poetry, performance, and art. Agustin is passionate about exploring what an ideal education looks like for each community, supporting efforts he believes help the members of that community to self-actualize and create new systems when innovation proves necessary. Currently he thinks that innovation is especially needed in redesigning learning spaces, reimagining assessment, and inventing personal learning technologies and practices. He is excited to be part of a team of passionate educators and a community willing to entrust him with the development of their youth!
educational & Office assistantS
Megan Fisher
Megan is passionate about working with children because they remind her daily of what truly is important to her in this world: being present, having fun, feeling your feelings, staying curious, simple joys, and sharing love. She feels that it's so important to foster curiosity and creativity in young children.
An avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast, she loves how exploration in the natural world encourages wonder, helps children develop grit, and connects them to our beautiful Mother Earth. Megan is an East Coast native but has lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. She is excited to be part of the Sycamore team where she can bring her enthusiasm, silliness, and creativity to the community. Megan loves fun, sunshine, art, traveling, and having adventures. When not at school you might see her out on a local trail with her best hiking buddies, her teenage daughters, Lily and Ruby.
Growing up in Indiana, Anna was drawn to the rewarding experience of shaping young minds and pursued a degree in education from Ball State University. Since relocating to California in 2022, she has taken on various roles at Sycamore. She was motivated by a calling to expand her ability to help others. Anna is now studying to become a physical therapy assistant at Cerritos College. She is excited to continue her journey with Sycamore as the Office Assistant.
Anna Neville
FOUNDERS
Christy Durham
Tedd Wakeman
