Our team
Learning Cooperative Leadership
Shannon hoskins, Director
Hello! I am Shannon Hoskins, and I am the new Executive Director. I am ecstatic about being a part of the community here at Mountain Laurel! I grew up on a farm in West Virginia and attended college at West Virginia University for my BS in Child Development and Family Studies. I have always wanted to continue living in this wonderful and wild state but was unsure where my journey may lead me. Tucker County has always been a place I would explore by backpacking, skiing, and browsing the local shops before I moved here about a year ago. I look forward to the upcoming school year and meeting all the exceptional individuals.
julie dzaack, assistant director
After completing college at Frostburg State and Penn State, Julie moved to Canaan Valley to work as a park naturalist, XC ski director, and outdoor educator. She and her husband Ken homeschooled three daughters. Julie volunteered and worked extensively in administration and project management with several local non-profit organizations specializing in place-based education, trail connectivity, and public land use. She also moonlighted as a field technician for NOAA and performed endangered species wildlife research.
Julie joined MLLC in 2020 to support the growth of this learning cooperative. In her free time, she does fun stuff with her family and five grandchildren!
Learning Center staff
Caroline Hoyle, Primary lead guide
Caroline is a proud West Virginia native, born and raised in Randolph County. For more than five years Caroline studied under the highly skilled Appalachian educator, Ms. Pamela Morgan, while learning Montessori theorem and putting it into practice. Just as her mentor, Caroline is pursuing her formal training through the United Montessori Association. Her passions include flower sculpture, storytelling, childhood education and enrichment, and the expression of the essence of life in rural America.
GRACE DUBANSKY, PRIMARY CLASSROOM ASSISTANT
Grace Dubansky has always loved working with children and watching young minds grow and develop. When she is not in the classroom at Mountain Laurel, Grace is a farmer at Backbone Farm.
POsition Open —- Lower Elementary Lead Guide
annlee boutwell, lower Elementary assistant
Annlee was born and raised in the Greater Baltimore area of Maryland. She attended Towson University where she received her BSN and MS in Health Administration. Her love for backpacking, hiking and skiing brought her to Tucker County where she decided to put down roots with her husband, Rob and two senior pups-Rusty and Polly. In addition to exploring the great outdoors, she has a love for travel, yoga, reading and music. Annlee (AKA Booper) is looking forward to her new adventure at the Mountain Laurel Learning Center!
AL ZOE SCHNEIDER, UPPER ELEMENTARY lead guide
al received their MLitt in Theatre Studies from the University of Glasgow and their BA from The Evergreen State College; they completed their Upper Elementary Teacher Training credential through North American Montessori Center in 2021. al mentored in the classroom under Shannon McCann in 2020-21 and has been teaching with us since that time. When not in the classroom, al spends time with their dogs, makes theatre, and enjoys exploring problem solving and being curious through reading and doing math problems.
Eva Gutierrez, Upper Elementary Classroom Assistant
Eva is a second generation American, who grew up in the arid west and then in Florida, as a teen. She received a bachelor’s of arts degree from New College of Florida, with a thesis on Moroccan immigration and landmark nationalism in Spain. In the years that followed, she enjoyed many seasons in the backcountry, working variously in food access and wilderness education. From what is now her WV highland home, she relishes water, family, wild lands, salvaging secondhand items, and traditional singing. Eva is delighted to join the Mountain Laurel team.
Kristen Behrens (KB), Advanced Practical Life Specialist
At an early age, KB learned from the women around her the value of working with her hands to create things. She enjoys exploring different mediums, including various fiber arts, sewing, knitting, cooking, and gardening. In 2017, she completed a two-year Herbal Apprenticeship at Owlcraft Healing Ways in Scottsville, VA. She is grateful to be able to share her knowledge of practical life skills with these children and learn more with them, too. She values the natural world and works to incorporate this into the classroom.
Shannon McCann, substitute
Shannon earned a BS in environmental science from Lynchburg College and received her Master of Teaching degree (middle school math and science) from Virginia Commonwealth University. Shannon completed upper elementary Montessori certification through North American Montessori Center in 2016. She has worked in public schools, having taught 7th grade life science for five years and 5th–8th grade math, including algebra, for four years. She enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and hiking with husband Rob, daughter Delaney (a former MLLC student), and their dogs.