Our Staff
Director / Owner
Saprina Rodriguez
Ms. Saprina has a degree in business Management, Accounting, and Early Child Development. She is co-owner of Ace Copy & Shipping Center with her husband Martin. Saprina serves on the Willits City Council and various other Board and committee’s as an elected official. Previously she served four years on the Willits Unified School Board. Saprina is the President of Willits Youth Soccer and coaches several youth teams. She’s also the Director of a non profit: Foster Youth Outfitters. Saprina has seven children in her home from biological to adopted, to foster care.
Teacher Juan Salinas
Teacher Juan moved to Willits in the Fall of 1996 from the Bay Area. His son attends at UCSC. Teacher Juan worked at Brookside School & Head Start Preschool for 16 years. He joined the team at Imagination Station on 6/1/2012. Teacher Juan is bilingual in Spanish. He enjoys sharing his language with students in the classroom. He took a hiatus a few years ago to pursue a river guide career. He loves fishing, kayaking & camping on the weekends. He often finds way to integrate his hobbies into the classroom. Children love the hands on learning he offers.
Teacher Lorenzo Rodriguez
Lorenzo was born and raised in Willits. He is the proud father to Amelia with another child on the way. Lorenzo is Teacher qualified and 2 classes away from his AS in Early Childhood Development & Family Relations. He has worked at Imagination station as a teacher from 2011 to 2014 and made his return in December of 2018. Lorenzo has spent a large portion of his adult life working with youth ranging from preschool age to middle school age. In his free time, Lorenzo enjoys being a dad most of all, going on walks with his family, reading a good book, and crafting projects such as wood burning and leather crafting.
Teacher Kelleigh Fischback
Teacher Kelleigh is the mother of nine children. She's a student at Mendocino College with a breathtaking number of Child Development classes under her belt. She's been teaching at Imagination Station since 9/10/2014. She's soft spoken & a good listener. She loves working with children & validating her experiences. Kelleigh is a former Girl Scout Leader. She enjoys spending time with her family.
Teachers Jenny Montes
Teacher Jenny grew up in Willits. She's the proud mom of Carter. She has an honors AS degree in Early Childhood Development & Family relations. She's worked in this field for many years, including time teaching at Pinoville Native American Headstart. She speaks some Pomo. Teacher Jenny is a ballet & gymnastics instructor. Since joining the team at Imagination Station on 1/1/2015, Jenny has found teaching very rewarding. In her spare time she loves to skateboard, quilt, and is a dog lover.
Assistant Teacher Alondra Gonzalez
Alondra was born in Mexico and has spent the last 2 years in Willits. Currently she attends Mendocino Community College and is working on becoming a fully qualified preschool teacher. During her time off, you can find Alondra off exploring new places around the Willits are and spending time with family and friends. Her favorite hobbies include attending Mexican band concerts and she loves to go horse back riding.
Teacher Tawnie Fruge
Teacher Tawnie was born in Ukiah & grew up all over cities in California before moving to Willits in 2010. She joined the team here on 2/15/2016. She attends Mendocino College & is working toward her degree in Early Childhood Development. Her aspirations include becoming a Labor & Delivery Nurse. Tawnie worked at Mendo College CDV center for three years prior to coming to Imagination Station. Tawnie loves working with children & would like to operate her own center one day. Teacher Tawnie is an animal lover. In her free time she enjoys playing softball, swimming & beachtime with her nephews.
Teacher
Bo Self
Bo started working at Imagination Station on April 24, 2018. She grew up in Louisiana and relocated to Willits in 2015. She and her husband have been married 19 years and have two sons, ages 14 & 15. Bo's past experience with children includes doing behavioral therapy for autistic children, ages 3-18 years old. She is currently working toward her child development degree at Mendocino Community College. In her spare time, Bo enjoys spending time with her family and her dogs.
Teacher Donna Leake
Teacher Donna is originally from San Diego and moved to Willits from Lake County in 2016. She started working at Imagination Station on November 11, 2018. Donna has her associates degree in Child Development from Yuba Cuty College. Prior to working at Imagination Station, Donna worked at Walmart for 10 years. You can still find her in the faberics department
Teacher Jamey Harden
Jamey is originally from Salinas, Ca. She spent most of her adult life between San Jose and Rosville, Ca and moved to beautiful Willits CA in 2019. Jamey is Teacher qualified and will be taking additional units at Mendocino Community College to further her education. Jamey’s favorite part of teaching is the “Ah-ha” moment, when you can see the little light bulb going off when a child masters something new.. In her free time, Jamey enjoys hiking, going to the ocean, swimming, collecting things from different countries, being a trekkie, and she loves movies.
Teacher Shawna Byrns
Teacher Shawna has a Bachelor degree in Math. She teaches full-time at Willits High School. She's taken classes in Early Childhood Development as well. She has two children of her own. She connects well with kids and loves teaching. She enjoys taking her dogs for long walks & hikes in her passtime.
Teacher Adalyd Gonzalez
She'll be working in the Yellow Stars classroom. Miss Ada is a graduate of Sonoma State University. She earned her Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Development. Ms. Ada is excited to work in a classroom with our youngest students age 18 months to 3 years.
Teacher Liz Carrillo
Teacher Liz attended Mendocino College. She was born in Mexico City and is bilingual in Spanish & English. Teacher Liz has four children and she enjoys reading. Teacher lives spends her weekends cooking for her family and her favorite vacation is to go back to her home town to see the rest of her family.
Teacher Renee Dawson
Teacher Renee attended Humboldt State University. She's working toward a degree in Early Childhood Development. Renee began employment at Imagination Station on May 26, 2017. She aspires to open a souvenir shop on tropical island one day. Renee moved to Mendocino County in 2012. She's the mother of an elementary aged daughter. Renee is a fan of music. She plays the saxophone. Hiking and art are her other passions.
Teacher Erin Schleintz
Teacher Erin attends Mendocino College. She's working toward a certificatin Early Childhood Development. After exploring other career fields, she discovered that working with children is her calling. She was born & raised in Mendocino County. Erin's been married for 17 years & has five children. She began employment with Imagination Station on October 23, 2017. Teacher Erin loves working with young students. Her personal passion is spending time with her family, outdoor activities, and swimming.
Assistan Teacher Jessica Turner
Teacher Jessie is currently going to college to be a high school teacher. She moved to Willits about 7 years ago from the the Sacramento area. She graduated from Willits High School in 2014. Jessie volunteers at Kamp Konocti (a girl scouts camp) during the summers. On the weekend, Teacher Jessie catches up on her reading, play video games, or goes on a day trip to the coast or city.