HEAD OF SCHOOL
Christy Durham
Co-founder/Head of School
Christy Durham is an educator with over 20 years of elementary and middle school teaching experience. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, as well as a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. First beginning her career at the Walt Disney Company as a recruiter, she pursued her passion for teaching in 1998 and soon landed at the prestigious Buckley School in Sherman Oaks as a middle school teacher. Having increasingly developed a teaching philosophy around integrated, project-based learning, Christy left Buckley in 2012 to teach 4th and 5th grade at Los Encinos School, where this teaching philosophy is part of the daily curriculum. Christy is active in promulgating her vision for change in education by presenting to other educators. She has presented at Archer School for Girls STEM conference, Playful Learning Summit, Games in Education conference, IndieCade, Intentional Play Summit, Online Educational Symposium for Independent Schools conference, and local public charter schools. Christy is currently co-founder and administrator of the Sycamore School, which is focused on revolutionizing education for the Twenty-first Century.
director of admissions & Community engagement
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 is eager to learn and grow with her Kindergartners at Sycamore. A passion for nurturing young children led her to pursue a degree in Education, Psychology and Art from Middlebury College, and a Masters in Literacy from the University of Vermont. She joined the Sycamore family in 2017 and has nearly 15 years of teaching experience in primary grades and curriculum development. Brie believes that when teachers nourish their students’ wonderings, magic can happen. Supported by a deep understanding of child development, Brie’s observations of students’ creative play are essential building blocks in her curriculum. She regularly merges her students’ ideas with their learning as mathematicians and communicators, and synthesizes it into creative game-design and theatrical performances. Brie is curious about how her students feel, think, wonder, and learn, and she wants to show them how much they are valued. She is equally passionate about collaborating with the team of educators, taking a leadership role in curriculum development, modeling a growth mindset, and documenting life and learning at Sycamore. Brie lives in Topanga with her husband and two children. When she’s not at school, she is living it up as a mama, enjoying great books, playing with inviting art materials, and relaxing at the beach.
Colbey Waggoner
Daiana Baez
Colbey graduated from Texas A&M-Commerce in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, as well as a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Much of her experience in the classroom includes teaching kindergarten through third grade, where she excels in helping these early learners build a foundation for mathematical thinking and reading skills through structured play, games, and various hands-on activities. Colbey has taught in a variety of school settings including public, private, charter, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia. Using a combination of these vastly unique and differing teaching styles, Colbey’s educational approach focuses on the use of student interest to create authentic, project-based lessons in which students take ownership of and pride in their learning. She works hard to create a warm and safe environment where students can question, wonder, and thrive. Outside of the classroom, you can find Colbey rock climbing, traveling, or simply enjoying good company alongside a delicious meal. She is genuinely excited to learn and grow with the 1st and 2nd graders at Sycamore, while adding her energy and expertise to the staff and community!
A Ventura County native, Daiana graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies. After graduating, she spent 5 years working in the education world wearing a variety of hats. From 2015-2017, she served as an AmeriCorps member through FoodCorps to establish school gardens, advocate for nutritious school meals, and run engaging garden lessons for K-6th graders. Upon finishing her term with AmeriCorps, Daiana dove into the after-school world for a year, then later led and directed Red Oak Elementary’s extended learning program. Throughout this time, Daiana recognized society’s need for radical change in the way students were taught to learn in schools. This led to her pursuit of a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential and a Master’s of Education in Inspired Learning and Teaching through National University. After spending 5 years working in public schools, Daiana clearly understood how important it is for schools to provide students with a space to take ownership of their curiosity and learning. She is thrilled more than ever to work together with the Sycamore team to facilitate meaningful learning experiences that lead to lifelong learners and resilient problem solvers.
Originally from Iowa, Hanna recently relocated to the Los Angeles area to join the Sycamore team. Hanna’s passions are marine sciences and ocean conservation. She attended Drake University to study biology with a desire to educate people in marine sciences. Hanna spent a year managing a marine science lab, and four years working at a veterinary clinic, where both of these experiences showed her the value of collaboration and learning in a hands-on environment. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge and love of conservation with the students and is excited to be a part of a community that values experiential and future focused learning. In her free time, Hanna enjoys photography, painting, and being outdoors.
Hanna Walker
Kylie Walker
Educator and
Associate Adminstrator
Over the past few years, Kylie has developed a passion for working with students from diverse backgrounds and nationalities all over the world. Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, she graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish from Central College. During her undergraduate career, Kylie spent a semester abroad in Granada, Spain, where she realized the importance of experiencing new places, cultures, and ways of life. Upon graduating, Kylie worked as a Language and Culture Assistant in Mallorca, Spain at CEIP Ponent Primary School where she supported children of all ages in a variety of classrooms and subject areas. In 2015, she traveled to South America and ultimately settled and lived in Montevideo, Uruguay for one year. There she worked for two different language academies teaching English to children, adolescents, and business professionals. These experiences were incredibly inspiring to her, as she learned how much she enjoys connecting with, educating, and having a positive influence on children. Kylie moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to join the Sycamore family and hopes to further her educational experiences, while working with a team of talented educators who foster students’ growth through experiments, play, problem solving, reflection, and interactive learning in a fun and engaging environment. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, playing soccer, reading, and spending time with her family.
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 nearly 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 Tedd and AJ supporting curriculum and instruction at the PlayMaker School at NewRoads. For the past 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 creating 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 joining a team of passionate educators and a community willing to entrust him with the development of their youth!
educational assistant
Anna Neville
Originally from Indiana, Anna recently relocated to the Brentwood area with her husband. Since high school, she knew she wanted to be a part of elementary education and began leading small groups of students in a 2nd grade classroom. Anna went to Ball State University where she received a Bachelors of General Studies with a concentration in Elementary Education in 2021. There she continued her passion for leading young minds but realized she longed for a more meaningful experience in education, one that could be transformative for students and educators alike. After spending a year in Chicago working for a realty company, she began to miss being in the classroom. Not wanting to teach in a traditional setting, Anna sought out a school with innovative techniques. She found that and more in Sycamore School! The school creates the meaningful, impactful, and critical learning model she had been searching for. Anna is excited to be a part of such a ground-breaking team in education!
office manager
Born and raised in Mexico City, Karla moved to Pasadena, CA at the age of 13 where she remained through high school. After attending college at LMU, she had the opportunity to study abroad at Louvain-la Neuve, Belgium where she was able to meet people from a wide range of nationalities. Upon her return to the States she began to work in a variety of fields from a start-up in the sports industry to real estate development. As a member of the founding team, Karla played a major role in building the foundation for the Sycamore School and continues to be a vital part of its success. Karla calls Santa Monica home where she lives with her husband, two adopted cats and some fish. She enjoys learning through experience and is passionate about her family, friends, and animals.
Karla Reyes - Cooper
co-founders - advisors
Tedd Wakeman
Co-founder/Advisor
AJ Webster
Tedd Wakeman has been working with children in education, recreation, and research for three decades. He worked locally with LAUSD in South Central LA, teaching at the elementary and middle school levels for 14 years, while concurrently traveling the country developing and implementing STEM curriculum for Nike/Eco Educators. In addition, Tedd taught extensively across the globe. He worked in the Republic of the Maldives, teaching English to groups of adults from over 25 nations while diving the local coral reefs as a PADI dive master. In Bali, he lived and worked among Indonesian farmers, learning permaculture practices while utilizing a distance education program created through Queensland, Australia, to educate local teenagers. Tedd went on to spend two years teaching in Costa Rica while exploring local rainforest ecosystems. After these varied approaches and experiences in culture and education, he returned to Los Angeles and joined the GameDesk team in founding the revolutionary PlayMaker School. PlayMaker gained notoriety for its unique approach to 21st Century learning and game-based curriculum. Tedd has delivered keynotes, spoken on panels, and presented at numerous conferences, including LA’s General Assembly, Progressive Educators Network, California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), Playful Learning Summit, and Game Learning Society. With his current adventure, the founding of The Sycamore School, he hopes to preserve the spirit of creativity and curiosity while developing young problem solvers who possess the desire and skill to innovate in the 21st Century.
Innovator and educator, AJ Webster brings two decades of educational experience to the Sycamore School. AJ has his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He specializes in game-based learning and embraces the Maker Movement, in which students design, construct, and “think with their hands.” AJ’s work with the PlayMaker School was featured on PBS NewsHour. He is a frequent speaker and has conducted workshops at numerous conferences including the Game Learning Society, Progressive Educators Network, California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), Games in Education, the Institute for the Future, and the Playful Learning Summit. A multi-subject expert, he has taught science, Latin, language arts, math, and social science. AJ continues his mission of revolutionizing education as a co-founder, alongside Christy and Tedd, of the Sycamore School. While he is no longer a part of the day-to-day running of the school, he remains a valuable resource for the Sycamore community.