Donna Elmquist
Director:
I have been a director of Lutheran preschools for the last 20 years and taught preschool 9 years before that. I received my Early Childhood Education Degree at Edmonds Community College. I joined the staff at TVLCP in February 1994. My husband and I are members of the Church. Don and I have been married for 38 years. We have 2 children: Todd: who is the daddy to our only grandchild Dillan. She just had her fifth birthday last May. Our daughter Sarah is living in Tucson. We have had some changes in our life in the last year. Our friend and the previous Assistant Director of TVLC survived a stroke on September 24th. Mari has joined our family and that has been a big blessing to all of us. We all love to cook, take the dog for walks, plan parties and work in the yard.

Jo Gustafson
Assistant Director of Special Events
I am originally from South East England. I met my husband Paul in 1998 and moved to Tucson to be married in 1999 and begin our lives together. We have been enjoying the Sonoran Desert ever since! We have been blessed with two terrific boys. Ben graduated from TVLC Kinder in 2006 and this year will be entering 2nd Grade at Desert Christian Elementary School. Ryan will be enjoying the Giraffe Program here this year. I am thrilled to join the Team at TVLCP and be a part of their remarkable Preschool and Kindergarten Programs. Our family attends Fellowship Bible Church. My passions are traveling, photography and food allergy related topics and awareness as we learned early on that our son Ben has many severe food allergies. I also enjoy time spent with family and friends and, of course, cheering on our boys in their sports!

Lori Martzke
Bookkeeper
My Husband, Eric and I have been married for 10 years and members of TVLC for 8 years. We have two daughters, Jessica, 8 and Kristin, 5. Both girls went to TVL Preschool. I was on the Preschool/Kindergarten Board for almost 4 years when I took the position of bookkeeper. We enjoy spending time outdoors and riding quads

Debbi Broduer
Office Assistant
I have been a stay-at-home mom for the past eight years. Brian and I have been married for fifteen years and have two wonderful and energetic boys. Jacob is eight and will be in third grade this year and Joshua is six and will be in Kindergarten. During the summer I enjoy teaching vacation bible school and vacationing with my family. We enjoy trips to the mountains to fish or play in the snow. When the boys are in school, we stay busy with soccer and baseball.

Judy Bachman
A.M. and P.M. Bunnies (3 year old) Teacher
I have been a member of the TVLP staff since September, 2000. I moved to Tucson with my husband Dennis from Texas. I attended Kirkwood College and I have taught in both preschool and public school for several years. My husband Dennis and I have been married for 36 years and have two sons and a daughter. My husband works for Raytheon. Our son Greg and our daughter Beth live in Dallas, Texas and our son Tom lives in San Diego, California. I have three beautiful grandchildren, Haley, Hayden and Taylor. My husband and I are members of Pantano Christian Church where we are both involved in the kitchen ministry and various other ministries.. I enjoy traveling, music, decorating and especially spending time with my family.

Kathy Braucksick
A.M. and P.M. Giraffe (4 year old) Teacher:
I am happy to say this is my 19th year at Tanque Verde Lutheran Preschool. I was born quite a few years ago in Lima, Ohio. My Dad was a Methodist minister and is now deceased. My Mother still lives in Xenia, Ohio with my sister, Mary Lou. I met and married my husband, Art Braucksick in Cincinnati, Ohio. We have been married 40 going on 41 years in November. He is the chief estimator for JB Steel Co. We have two children Our daughter, Tracey Crane, is an RN in Labor and Delivery, and is married to Bryan. Our son Arthur is an RN living with his wife YooRi in Sacramento California. My schooling has been in Early Childhood Education at Pima College, and also Central Arizona College. My hobbies are walking, cooking, going to craft shows, and Uof A basketball games. My husband and I also sing in Christ Community Church's Choir. I look forward to a fun year with your children at the preschool.

Margaret Casolari
Bunnies ( 3 year olds) A.M. Teacher
Giraffe ( 4 year olds) AM Teacher
Kids Club Assistant Wed.
This is Margaret's 18th year on staff at TVLCP and her 22nd year with the program. She attended San Jose State and Mission Valley College in California. Margaret and her husband, Michael, have been married for 29 years. They moved to Tucson 26 years ago with IBM. Their two children attended TVLCP. Their son, Nicholas, just graduated from the UofA with a degree from the College of Architecture. Elizabeth begins her student teaching this fall at Collier Elementary School. She will graduate this December from the College of Education at the UofA. Their family is members of TVLC. Margaret enjoys free time outdoors hiking, gardening or at the gym. Michael and Margaret also enjoy country-western dancing.

Jackie Meiner
M/W/F Morning and Afternoon Giraffe Assistant
T/TH Morning and Afternoon Bunny Assistant
This is my 8th year as an assistant for TVLC Preschool. This year I will be working as an assistant in the morning and afternoon Bunny and Giraffe Classes. I have been volunteering for 14 years at my own children's preschools and elementary schools. I am a member of the Tanque Verde Lutheran church. I have a 18 years old daughter, and a 11 year old son who is an alumni of TVLCP! I enjoy music, sports, walking and crafts.

Barbara Rovner
M/W & T/TH AM/PM Lamb (2 year old) Teacher
Barbara Rovner is a former TVLCP parent and starting her fourth year as our lead teacher for the Lamb's class. She grew up in Michigan but has been in Tucson since 1978. She belongs to Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. She's been married for 22 years to Barry. They have two children, Lindsay who attends the University of Arizona and Jeffrey who will be a sophomore at Sabino High School. Barb likes to cook, read and most of all spend time with her family.

Lesley Pinelli
Monday-Friday, Kid's Club Teacher
This will be my fifth year teaching Kids Club. I have really enjoyed working with the children and watching them grow socially and academically in this fun environment. I received my BBA in Business Marketing from Pace University in New York and worked in the advertising field for 9 years. I relocated with my family to Tucson 12 years ago. We joined Tanque Verde Lutheran Church 11 years ago and I taught Sunday Morning Life for about three years. My husband Michael and I have been married 22 years and have 2 children, Jon (age 15) and Emily, a TVLCP alumni, (age 10). I enjoy swimming, exercising, reading and volunteering at my daughter's school.

Pam Grimwood
Monday - Friday Morning, Bunny and Giraffe Assistant
This is my fifth year on staff and I am thrilled to be a part of a wonderful program with such great people! After many years in the Active duty Air Force my husband, Dan, decided to take a job at the Arizona Air National Guard. We have lived in Tucson for eight years and love it! I received my degree from the University of Minnesota - Duluth. I was a substitute teacher before taking many years off to be a stay at home mom. Lots of time was spent volunteering in our children's classrooms over the years. I worked for TUSD from 1999 until 2004. Dan and I have been married for 25 years and we have three children. Heidi is a senior at the U of A, Laura is a senior at ASU and Erik is a junior at Sabino. My hobbies include, walking, swimming, traveling, hiking and reading.

Nancy Stat
Owl (Pre-K) Assistant
I am originally from northeastern Pennsylvania. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. I taught fourth grade before I married. My husband and I raised two sons in upstate New York. We also have 2 terrific grandsons. During that time I taught ages two, three, and four at a Christian pre-school and volunteered in the Boy Scouts, marching band, PTA and Sunday school. In 1993, we moved to Tucson. That year I became a lead teacher in the Pre-K class at TVLP and I also assisted in the two's playgroup. In August 1999, due to my husband's employment, we relocated to Florida. Fortunately we returned in January 2005 and I am now the assistant teacher in the Pre-K class. I am looking forward to many more loving years at TVLP.

Tracy Walrath
Kindergarten Assistant Teacher
This is my 3rd year on staff with TVLCP/K. I love working in the Kindergarten with our wonderful "Gecko" students. My husband and I are members of TVLC where I enjoy leading a mother's Bible study and have volunteered to help organize past congregational events. Bill and I have been married for 13 years and are blessed with 2 children. Both of them are graduates of TVLCP! Jake is 11 years old and loves swimming, riding his bike and playing catch with his dad. 6 year old Emma is an excited learner and loves drawing and singing. I love baking, planning activities for my family and having get-togethers with friends. I am excited to start another year with our "Geckos"!

Jackie Upson
M/T/W/TH AM AND PM Lamb (2 year old) Assistant
This is my 6th year on staff. I have lived in Tucson Since 1987. I worked many years in the clerical field and then stayed home to raise my family. I was a teacher's aid in the Tucson Unified school district. My husband and I have 2 children. I enjoy the outdoors, taking walks and working in my yard.

Laura Sanders
Kindergarten Morning Lead Teacher
I graduated from University of Colorado with a B.A. of Psychology and K-8 Teaching Certification. I taught kindergarten for several years before choosing to be home with my children. My husband and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary. We have three girls. Hailey is a sophomore at UHS, Emily is going into the Sixth grade and Delaney is starting First grade this fall. I love to hike, read and hang out with my family. I joined TVLKindergarten in the spring of 2006. I continued in 2007-08 to be the afternoon arts and science teacher. This year I am moving into the morning position.

Julie Soulvie
Pre-K Owl Lead Teacher
Hi, my name is Julie Soulvie. I am the Pre-K teacher at Tanque Verde Lutheran Preschool/Kindergarten. I started in 2008. All three of my children have attended the Pre-K class. I am such a believer in the program and now I am excited to be able to teach it.

Susan Curnalia
Kindergarten PM Assistant
I have been married to my husband, Michael, for 24 years. We have three amazing children and one incredible son-in law. Our daughter, Kristin, got married this past July and is currently living in Flagstaff with her husband, Ryan. Our son, Jason, is a sophomore at Johnson and Wales University in Denver, Colorado. Our youngest son, Jeremiah, is currently in 5th grade at Fruchthendler Elementary. I have had the privilege of working with children for over 20 years in Sunday School, AWANA, Mom’s of Preschoolers (MOPS), Girl Scouts and Vacation Bible School. During our free time, you will find us enjoying worship at Pantano Christian Church, cheering on the sidelines at a soccer game, hiking on one of the many beautiful trails in southern Arizona, or trying out a new recipe at home.