Our Team

  • A woman with long, wavy brown hair smiling outdoors amid greenery, wearing a purple top and a pendant necklace.

    Leah Cauley, Director

    Favorite thing about Language Garden: I love that anytime I visit one of the outdoor classrooms I know that I will find myself laughing, smiling or marveling at something that the children are doing. It is such a gift!
    Favorite thing about working with children: I especially love witnessing the children seamlessly share responsibilities and tasks to explore a new activity or material and then seeing the layers of imagination and cooperation that occur without noticeable explanation between the children.

  • Close-up of a woman with wavy brown hair, blue eyes, freckles, wearing a black sleeveless top, smiling outdoors with blurred greenery background.

    Sarah Gormley, Assistant Director, Garden Coordinator

    Favorite thing about Language Garden: It feels like an extension of my dearest values—raising kind, compassionate humans in connection with nature and community.

    Favorite thing to do outdoors: Tend to my garden and learn about native plants and trees. I love growing food and exploring herbalism, especially learning local species’ roles in the ecosystem. It helps me feel deeply connected to the land.

  • Close-up of a woman with short blond hair with dark roots and highlights, wearing a cream-colored sweater and a gold chain necklace, standing outdoors with a blurred green leafy background.

    Liz Hayes-Moody, Lead Teacher (La Casita)

    Favorite thing about working with children: Creating connections that make kids feel safe and encouraged to be themselves. I love that every side of them—the wild, curious, creative, thoughtful, and even risk-taking sides— belongs here.

    Favorite season: I believe everything is wonderful in its season—pool days in summer, hiking in fall, hot cocoa in winter. But in spring, everything feels fresh, alive, and colorful again. It breathes new life into you, like the world is waking back up.

  • Angee Hornsby, Co-Teacher (La Casita)

    Favorite thing about working with children: The way they show you how to slow down and appreciate the small things. Everything is new, so everything is a wonder.

    Favorite thing about the Language Garden: The people! This is such a positive, beautiful community. I learn new things every week and get to laugh and play every day!

  • A smiling older woman with long gray hair, wearing a red sweater, standing outdoors in front of a tree, with colorful flags hanging in the background.

    Marilyn McGinnis, Co-Teacher (Homeschooling Class)

    Favorite thing about Language Garden: The very positive work atmosphere and the support that parents and colleagues give so freely. And, I get to be outside in a beautiful space with beautiful children all day!

    Favorite thing to do outdoors: I love to hike with friends, especially in the mountains.

    Fun fact about me: I have lived in Scotland and Uruguay!

  • A woman with curly brown hair, wearing glasses and a red sleeveless top, smiling outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Lauren Richardson, Co-Lead Teacher (El Bosque), Habitat Restoration Lead and Garden Manager

    Favorite thing about working with children: I deeply admire the way children come to know their world through curiosity, play, and persistence. They are so brightly present in their experiences as they build connections and ideas.

    Favorite season: I really like them all, but I think Winter is my favorite season. I love how, when the little creatures and insects go to sleep, the forest opens up and we can move about the forest floor so freely.

  • A woman with short, curly, dark red hair smiling outdoors in a garden or park setting.

    Sandra Rojas, Spanish Teacher (La Casita)

    Favorite thing about Language Garden: I love working in an open space with so much nature in the middle of the city and with a spectacular team of people. And the children! Their innocence, creativity and brain capacity is so powerful at these ages, and that translates into not only cognitive but also physical and emotional development.

    Favorite thing to do outdoors: I love to walk, observe nature in detail, and feel how my senses perceive the nature that moves around me and how I become part of it.

"If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it." ~David Sobel