Ivana Bradaric Grubbs
Executive Director
Ivana has been a lifelong educator since 1996. She has taught a variety of subjects in German, English and Croatian from elementary schools to university levels. After completing her PhD coursework in German literature, Ivana purposefully refocused her interest and research to the youngest students of German. She is intrigued by the studies on neurodiversity, and committed to inclusion and special needs integration in schools.
Ivana received her supervisor permit from the Early Childhood Department at City College of San Francisco and has been working as a teacher and director at Kinderhaus since 2017. She is dedicated to serving the Kinderhaus community and developing an open and child-led curriculum based on children’s inherent innovation and creativity.
Steffi Haas
Teacher
Steffi grew up in Bavaria in Germany and completed her training as a state-approved educator in 2014. She worked as a lead teacher for nine years. In June 2023, Steff moved to California to join the Kinderhaus team. She is looking forward to spending time with the families and being able to support the children in learning and playing.
Malena Nopper
Teacher
Malena is from Villingen-Schwenningen, at the edge of the Black Forest in the state of Baden-Württemberg. After successfully completing her Abitur, she spent some time in Huntington, New York, as an AuPair.
In 2015, she completed her degree as a certified Early Childhood educator. While working at her local child care center as a lead teacher, Malena completed her studies as a Social Worker. In 2022-23, Malena worked at a preschool focused on nature education.
In August of 2023, Malena moved to San Francisco to gain more experience in the field of early pedagogy. She is looking forward to working with the Kinderhaus team and developing trusting relationships with parents, in order to support the children.