BHN’s foundations can be traced to the late 1950’s, when a group of Brown Memorial Church families acknowledged the need for a mother’s group in the area. Eventually their group grew into a cooperative nursery school that served the needs of both working and non-working parents. Bolton Hill Nursery was officially founded in 1969.
In the mid-1980s, Bolton Hill Nursery became an independent, non-religious, non-profit school utilizing a play-based philosophy of learning. In December 2012, the BHN board made the decision to purchase our current building, the former home of Family and Children's Services. Importantly, the building boasts a big yard perfect for children’s outdoor discovery and spacious, bright, “homey” rooms ideal for indoor investigation.
Our Staff
2023-2024
Office & Administration
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Christy (she/hers) is a native of south-central Pennsylvania, just East of Gettysburg. She attended Goucher College, where she studied Studio Art & Arts Administration (non-profit management), with a minor in Psychology. She came to BHN in August of 2009, shortly after graduating from Goucher College. Christy taught classes at each age level, with most of her tenure spent with the Bluebirds, taking on the Bluebird Coordinator role and then Assistant Director. Christy moved to Austin, TX in 2017 and began working in the College of Fine Arts at UT Austin as the Program Coordinator for UTeach Fine Arts, the K-12 Teaching Certification program for undergraduate students in Visual Art, Dance, Music and Theatre. An artist at heart, Christy enjoys producing visual art and she dabbles in music, recently taking up drumming. She also enjoys exploring the outdoors and is an avid reader. Her husband, Alex Toprac, is an historic preservationist who consulted with BHN as the school moved into its current building. He also previously worked as a BHN camp counselor for several summers. Christy is excited to return to the school as we build our next chapter and her son Oscar is looking forward to becoming a Bluebird in 2025.
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Becky (She/Her) is a proud midwestern transplant who came to Baltimore to attend Goucher College. Through friends and a love of the city she knew she could make her home here. Though her focus in college was on art, working with children has always been a part of her life. She has been at BHN since 2015 and in 2020, she decided to take on the role as Assistant Director of Operations. Since then she is happy to have taken a larger leadership role for the school and is proud to be the Assistant Director She can often be found around the school wondering where she put something or asking if a child can help her get some coffee. She feels strongly about working with children two to five because they’re at such a formative age. She is always amazed at their growth and development and feels an immense joy she gets to be a part of it.
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![Leigh Hibler](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_0f20e2102fa84e828db54ba345b465ef~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_264,h_258,q_75/daab9d_0f20e2102fa84e828db54ba345b465ef~mv2.jpg)
Leigh (She/Her) grew up in Richmond, Virginia where she studied marketing and English at Virginia Commonwealth University, and then earned her MBA at the University of Richmond. After college she worked in the coal industry, focusing on market research and commodities trading, where she claims to have “sold coal to Santa Claus.” Leigh’s acquaintance with BHN began well before her time as the financial administrator. Both her sons are alumni and she served on the board of directors when BHN purchased its current building. When she isn’t crunching the numbers in the front office or keeping up with her boys, Leigh enjoys baking, soccer, spending time outdoors, or just relaxing with a good book. Leigh describes the continued appeal of BHN as a “magnetic pull” that has kept her close to the community over the years.
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Kateri (They/She) is a born and bred Baltimorean from Lauraville! Kateri grew up by proxy in the neighborhood, performing in Memorial Players shows and frequenting family thanksgivings at Bolton Place! They couldn't resist the hometown charm of northeast Baltimore and is now a true 'townie" living in Hamilton. Kateri holds a Master's in Theatre Directing from the University of London Royal Holloway and loves all things logistics, planning, and artistic. Kateri spends lots of time working in the amazing Baltimore performing arts scene - keep a look out for show postings! Although this is only their second year working in early childhood, they feel right at home amongst the bustling energy, joy, and creativity of these young humans. They are an avid baker, audiobook enthusiast, and adventure seeker, as well as a doting human to a very stinky cat name Spinach. Kateri aspires to be the first American on the Great British Bake Off, but will settle for directing their own version from the comfort of her home kitchen!
Full-Time Teachers
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![Lyric Brumfield](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_1454cacd6b3a4aa395acfdf0fce349b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_286,h_286,fp_0.48_0.39,q_75/daab9d_1454cacd6b3a4aa395acfdf0fce349b5~mv2.jpg)
![Sari Bowers](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_43af34f2e4314f8f97e033723ab548cf~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_264,h_258,fp_0.51_0.43,q_75/daab9d_43af34f2e4314f8f97e033723ab548cf~mv2.png)
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After moving to Baltimore about two years ago, she enjoyed frequent strolls through the Bolton Hill neighborhoods, especially admiring the cute school house with the green fence! She soon fell in love with childhood education as a Literacy Tutor in Baltimore city elementary schools, and leapt at the chance to join the team at that very same cute school house! She now lives in the neighborhood, and cannot wait to learn all about your little ones and their curiosities, and to share some stories of her own.
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![Reshena Frink](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_8a87ffb5d68544fb8ce23833e9834e64~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_286,h_286,fp_0.46_0.47,q_75/daab9d_8a87ffb5d68544fb8ce23833e9834e64~mv2.jpeg)
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![Tennille Jackson](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_71880a9f20d3447998bd9539d6f77a81~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_264,h_258,fp_0.48_0.53,q_75/daab9d_71880a9f20d3447998bd9539d6f77a81~mv2.png)
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![Anastasia Kupstas](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_f643ff7a37a74c2e90c8e7705530d58d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_286,h_286,q_75/daab9d_f643ff7a37a74c2e90c8e7705530d58d~mv2.jpg)
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![Trisha Pandohie](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_d2061e114d6d4d168b9e2ad1e5a1e111~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_264,h_260,fp_0.43_0.33,q_75/daab9d_d2061e114d6d4d168b9e2ad1e5a1e111~mv2.png)
![Rachel Richardson](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_e5269165c0f44f51b5606b6c90d4ac1b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_264,h_260,fp_0.48_0.45,q_75/daab9d_e5269165c0f44f51b5606b6c90d4ac1b~mv2.png)
![Kristen Schmitz](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_c514679b4006425db5f2c31e18f93c8c~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_264,h_258,fp_0.49_0.43,q_75/daab9d_c514679b4006425db5f2c31e18f93c8c~mv2.png)
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Substitute and Floater Teachers
![Najmeh Koramshahi](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/daab9d_82aa5c7fe9ae4f51ae5fdda2df3059be~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_264,h_258,q_75/daab9d_82aa5c7fe9ae4f51ae5fdda2df3059be~mv2.png)