About SFMCP
We founded Santa Fe Montessori Childcare Program (SFMCP) with a simple but profound mission: to nurture every child in a space that honors their natural curiosity and to provide access to quality Montessori education regardless of income.
As a woman-owned business, we bring a personal touch to our community, ensuring that every classroom is a reflection of our shared values. Our journey is rooted in the belief that education is a lifelong partnership between the child, the educator, and the community we all call home.
The Montessori Philosphy
Montessori education is built on the belief that children learn best through hands-on exploration, freedom within clear limits, and respect for each child’s natural pace of growth. In our Early Learning & Toddler Program, this philosophy guides how we prepare the environment, offer choice, and support independence in everyday routines and play. In our homeschool classroom, the same Montessori principles shape child-led learning, meaningful work, and a calm, respectful community, creating continuity for children across both settings.
Autumn Scoggan – Dance & Creative Movement Teacher
Autumn Scoggan is the founder of Clearly You, a movement-based program that supports educators, families, and communities through dance, wellness, and embodied self-expression. She brings a wonderful background as both a professional dancer and educator, with over a decade of experience working with children in educational settings. Autumn teaches creative movement classes to our toddler and primary students every Tuesday and Thursday. Her classes offer children regular opportunities for joyful movement and self-expression, building body awareness and coordination, creative play and community connection, and stress relief and emotional wellness. Her creative movement program is a beautiful complement to our Montessori approach, supporting the whole child through movement, creativity, and mindful expression.
Our Team
Christina Mata — Founder & Director
Christina is the Founder and Director of Santa Fe Montessori Childcare Program, established in January 2022. With over 21 years of Montessori education experience, she holds a Master of Science in Early Childhood Studies from Walden University. Under her leadership, SFMCP earned New Mexico’s highest 5-star CYFD rating, FOCUS accreditation, and NAEYC national recognition. She was honored as a 2025 Santa Fe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 40 Under 40 recipient and has been featured on CBS News advocating for universal childcare. Christina founded SFMCP to extend quality, accessible education to families.
Mario Griego – Roots Primary Teacher
Mario Griego was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, bringing deep cultural understanding and local roots to his role in the Primary classroom. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, an Associate's degree in Human Services from Santa Fe Community College, a 45-hour Certificate of Achievement through The Childcare and Education Association, and a Teaching Certificate in Early Childhood Education from the North American Montessori Center. Before joining Santa Fe Montessori, Mario worked as a family case manager at a local preschool, where he learned the invaluable importance of strong partnerships between home and school. This experience helped him understand the unique dynamics and needs of each family. Mario believes that a child's education is the most valuable thing in the world—knowledge truly is power, and the foundation built in the early years sets children on a path for lifelong success. He is driven by the opportunity to guide young learners as they develop into independent, responsible, and compassionate individuals.
Celia Basset – Seedlings Infant Teacher
Celia Basset brings a wealth of experience to her role teaching our youngest learners, including five years teaching in a Montessori toddler classroom, two years running a home daycare, and a year as a substitute teacher at Growing Up New Mexico. Her academic credentials include a Bachelors degree in Anthropology and an Associate's degree in Exercise Science, providing her with deep insight into both cultural and physical aspects of child development. Her specialized training encompasses certificates in Elementary Education and Montessori Early Childhood Education, along with completion of the Foundations course in Early Childhood Dance through Discover Dance. Celia uniquely integrates her love of Irish Dance into her teaching approach, helping preserve traditional movement forms while fostering children's physical and cultural awareness. She teaches dance in both our infant and primary classrooms. When not in the classroom, Celia enjoys hiking Santa Fe's trails with her young family. Her creative spirit extends to knitting, demonstrating her appreciation for both movement and stillness in nurturing young minds.
Paola – Sprouts Toddler Teacher
Paola brings over three years of dedicated experience at Santa Fe Montessori to her role as Lead Teacher in the Sprouts classroom. She recently completed her Montessori Infant/Toddler Certification, demonstrating her commitment to professional development and the Montessori method.
Paola is passionate about supporting young children through their most formative years and creating a nurturing environment where toddlers can explore, grow, and develop independence.
Santa Fe Montessori Early Childhood & Toddler Program
Lenny – Sprouts Toddler Teacher
Originally from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where she studied physical therapy, Lenny brings both her medical background and bilingual abilities to support children's development. Her journey to early childhood education began when she moved to White Rock with her family, where she worked as a teacher assistant at a bilingual Montessori school and discovered her true calling—nurturing and guiding young children through their most formative years. As a mother to her son Dante, who attended the Montessori program with her, Lenny understands both professionally and personally how precious these early years are. She brings a parent's heart to her work and believes that every child deserves patient, loving guidance as they explore and discover the world around them. Having recently made Santa Fe her home, Lenny is excited to be part of this community and to build lasting relationships with families.
Blake Lee Ogren – Blossoms Toddler Teacher
Blake Lee Ogren was born and raised in Washington state and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College. She brings over 15 years of educational experience from her work as an educator at Colonial Williamsburg, The Henry Ford, and the Hands-on Museum. Blake has developed educational programming for Colonial Williamsburg and the History Channel, and now joins the Montessori movement with great enthusiasm. Her love of history and the arts feeds her passion for sharing these subjects with her students. She looks forward to continuing her education in both early childhood education and creative movement to facilitate the growth of the young students in her care.
Dolores Mata – Teacher
Dolores Mata was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has a long 30-plus year background in communications and has always had a love for strong relationships with family and children.
Dolores became a first-time grandmother in recent years and realized her love for children and their education is strong. She completed her Early Childhood Education teacher training and has been studying the Montessori way of learning, truly believing that providing a nurturing, creative environment is key to early foundational education.
Dolores has worked with children as a volunteer to give back to the community and contribute to children's success for several years. When Dolores is not volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her family, especially her granddaughter Luna Sol. She also enjoys cooking and long walks in the mountains.
Porter Pryor – Seedlings Infant Teacher
Porter Pryor has been a valued member of the Santa Fe Montessori team since 2022, serving as an Assistant Teacher and Substitute Teacher. She is currently completing her Infant/Toddler Montessori Certification.
Porter has proven to be reliable, dedicated, and skilled in her work with young children in our Montessori environment. Her gentle approach and commitment to nurturing our youngest learners make her a perfect fit for the Seedlings infant classroom.
Diane Medina – Seedlings Infant Teacher
Diane Medina brings extensive training and certification to her role in the Seedlings infant classroom. She is Pediatric First Aid and CPR certified and has completed Early Head Start Training in Policy and Procedures.
Diane's specialized training includes AgriLife Extension courses in Infant/Toddler Nutrition, Learning Environments, Social Emotional Development, and Understanding Infant/Toddler Development. She has also completed ITERS Training, the 17th Annual Virtual Birth to Three Institute, and ChildCare Education Institute courses in Foundations in Learning and Active Learning. Additional certifications include Child Abuse Prevention, Mental Health and Shaken Baby Syndrome Training, Bloodborne Pathogens, Fire Safety, and Cultural Diversity Training. Diane's comprehensive background in infant and toddler care makes her an invaluable member of our team.
Our Team
Christina Mata — Founder & Director
Christina is the Founder and Director of Santa Fe Montessori Childcare Program, established in January 2022. With over 21 years of Montessori education experience, she holds a Master of Science in Early Childhood Studies from Walden University. Under her leadership, SFMCP earned New Mexico’s highest 5-star CYFD rating, FOCUS accreditation, and NAEYC national recognition. She was honored as a 2025 Santa Fe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 40 Under 40 recipient and has been featured on CBS News advocating for universal childcare. Christina founded SFMCP to extend quality, accessible education to families.
Leilani Sayers — Program Administrator, Director & Teacher
Leilani is an educator, proud mother, program administrator, and the lead teacher of Santa Fe Montessori Learning Collective. She brings over a decade of experience working with children and families in early childhood, elementary enrichment, and homeschool learning environments. Her background includes teaching PreK through upper elementary at Hawaiian language immersion schools, after-school and enrichment program leadership, and early childhood administration since relocating to Santa Fe in 2022. As Program Administrator and Director of SFMLC, Leilani oversees daily operations, curriculum
implementation, and family partnerships. She is currently pursuing graduate study in Cultural Administration
with a focus on community-centered education and youth programming.
Louise Yakey, MS, MPA, Ed.S. — Math & Science
Santa Fe Montessori Learning Collective
Autumn Scoggan — Creative Movement
Autumn is the founder of Clearly You, a movement-based program that supports educators, families, and
communities through dance, wellness, and embodied self-expression. She brings a wonderful background
as both a professional dancer and educator, with over a decade of experience working with children in
educational settings. Her creative movement classes offer joyful movement, body awareness, coordination,
creative play, community connection, and emotional wellness.
Louise is a 30-year career educator. She is a STEM-certified teacher in New Mexico and New York State. Since 2020, she has been a teacher in New Mexico. She holds a Master of Science degree in education, a Master's in public administration from UNM, and an educational administration certification also from UNM. She has extensive experience in nonprofit administration. Recently, she was the health careers instructor at Ortiz Middle School and the Santa Fe Indian School. Her diverse experience, including as a Community Educator at CHRISTUS Health, allows her to add interesting and relevant dimensions to her STEM teaching. She also completed two summers at the College of Engineering Program for Science Teachers so she often supplements lessons with engaging engineering design and problem solving tasks.