Karith Gingrow, Nimble Craft

Karith Gingrow is the owner of Nimble Craft which is a small creative business started 2 years ago with the idea of bringing the love of creativity to young minds. Attaining her degree in Graphic Design from the Philadelphia Art Institute she currently works from home doing commissioned illustrations, wood burning and diy projects for all ages and levels of experience. Besides her creative endeavors she is raising three children with her loving husband in Springfield, Pennsylvania.

Ruark Downey, Roots with Ruark

Ruark started working with children in 2005 at Gymboree Play and Music NYC and spent the next several years honing his baby whispering skills with companies such as Kidville NYC, Little Maestros, Songs of Love Foundation, Striking Viking Story Pirates, La Palestra Kids, the YMCA and more. He started his own company, Roots With Ruark, in 2011 and has been successfully running his own brand music classes, parties and events for the 0-5 crowd ever since. A Roots With Ruark music class aims to provide you and your little one with an experience that will be the highlight of your week, where your little one will learn to connect their voice and body to their favorite songs, build confidence through repetition and create a deep and lasting love of music. We’ll plant a song and watch it grow.

tegan bernstein, toddler yoga

tegan lives in francisville and is a yoga teacher (ryt) and mother of a toddler with a previous 15 year career in food systems with a focus on food justice. tegan is founder of ten moons wellness (@tenmoonswellness) where she offers movement based trainings and pelvic floor support in addition to musings, information and ideas on cooking for and feeding families. tegan has studied with alex auder (magu yoga) and is a graduate of the wakeup! yoga 250hr teacher training, pranakriya prenatal training, the birthfit postpartum strength series and leslie howards pelvic floor yogatm training program. she has also trained as a doula, postpartum doula and lactation counselor.

marissa barnathan, intermediate zoom

Marissa is a performer, teaching artist, and choreographer in the Philly area. She holds a B.A. in both Drama and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, with a minor in Ballet. Marissa began dancing at the age of 3 and loves to move! She enjoys teaching theatre, dance, and creative movement to students of all ages.

Kelly anne davis, tiny home ec

This is me and my daughter, Fern. I am a local early childhood educator, breastfeeding peer counselor, children’s culinary instructor and hobby forager. Born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia before moving West in my adolescence, I grew up in a blended family of 8 where there were many needs to be met and hands to help. I’ve found that having varied responsibilities in my household gifted me with resilience, ingenuity and light-heartedness. For children, I believe that social-emotional learning starts in the home and most importantly, gaining the capacity for empathy. With Tiny Home Ec, I look forward to bringing both my passions for conscious homemaking & early childhood development to the teaching table. While not prepping vegetables, I am working towards becoming a certified postpartum doula with the intention of blending my experience in education, culinary arts and the perinatal field as a chef for new families.

Leila Zinni, prenatal yoga

Leila began practicing yoga over 10 years ago as a runner looking for a way to balance the stress city fitness was having on her body. She was a ‘home yogi’ for the most part, until she began practicing with the diverse teachers and styles at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia. After her first Kundalini class, Leila decided to dive into her teacher training. In the years since graduating from her 200hour teacher training in 2008, Leila has continued her education with specialized training in 50hour Dynamic Flow, PreNatal and Children’s Yoga. Leila is currently working towards her 500hour advanced teacher training, and has taught numerous workshops over the years including Yoga for Runners, Restorative Yoga, and Pre Natal. 

When she is not teaching classes, Leila can be found around town with her two sons, Wyatt (8) and Henry (2), playing basketball at Lemon Hill or splashing at Sister Cities Park. She has lived in the N Fairmount/Brewerytown area for 12 plus years and is very excited to be a part of the Kith + Kin community!

lilly mento

Lilly Mento has been a member of the Mister John Music family since the fall of 2017. Previously, Lilly had been working as a personal nanny for families in the Queen Village area and served as a Lead Toddler Teacher at Bright Horizons at Philadelphia, where she created and implemented weekly lesson plans. Lilly was also responsible for promoting creativity and movement activities, in order to foster self- and body-awareness. Lilly has assumed both an Assistant and Lead Director role in various summer camp programs, including White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, Delaware, where she organized nature-based curricula for school-aged children. In 2015, Lilly earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Delaware. Throughout her undergraduate career, Lilly has worked with children birth to age 8 in a variety of settings and stages of development.

kelly filios, beginner zoom

Kelly is an actor and teaching artist based in Philadelphia. She holds a BA in Acting from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, with a focus on movement techniques, and an M.A. in Musical Theatre Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has taught at several summer camps including The Arden Theatre and Delaware Theatre Company, and has led residencies for youth drama in Hamilton, Bermuda.  Kelly also coaches acting and gymnastics, and is passionate about teaching young children creative movement!

cate liguori

Cate Liguori earned her BA in marketing. She worked as a buyer in the fashion industry for seven years where she greatly expanded her passion for art and design. When her first child was born she left her job to focus on motherhood. As a creative spirit Cate was always offering her young children process based art experiences. It was especially inspiring to Cate when her eldest daughter took a keen interest in science from an early age. Cate began finding creative ways to incorporate art and science exploration into her family’s everyday life and thus Little Wonderkin was born. Little Wonderkin is a mobile process based STEAM lab offering classes, workshops, birthday parties and camps for all ages. Cate found her true calling working with children and is forever committed to guiding young ones in the wonder of learning. Cate also holds yoga and pilates certifications and is a mindfulness educator. She is a mother of two children and a lover of family dance parties, exploring new places, an adventurous trail run and anything topped with maple syrup.

Ashley rakay

My name is Ashley Rakay, MA BC-DMT, LPC, and I am a stay at home mama to my 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter Madelyn. Prior to becoming a mama, I worked as a licensed dance/movement therapist (uses movement as a means for self-expression and therapeutic growth), specifically with children with developmental challenges. In addition to my therapeutic work, I also have a degree in dance performance, as well as a children’s yoga certification. I have been working with children, either as a nanny, behavioral health worker, yoga instructor, or therapist, for over 15 years. I love children and love being able to play and experience the world with them.