staff and rooms

Staff Qualifications

All staff employed at Wildflowers Childcare are qualified Early Childhood Teachers and are issued with one of the following certifications by Childcare Staff Qualifications through the Provincial Childcare Licensing Board:

Level 1 Early Childhood Educator
Level 2 Early Childhood Educator
Level 3 Early Childhood Educator

Some newly-hired staff may be granted an exemption until they complete the Child Development Assistant requirement within the first six months of employment. Certifications are based on a combination of experience and training in Early Childhood Education.

All full-time staff also have a valid First Aid Certificate. All staff, paid or volunteer, are required to have a criminal record check and a Child and Family Services intervention record check before working with the children at the Centre.

Meet our Wildflowers Educators

Lisa Daniel - Manager

"The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivation and the richer their experience." - Loris Magaluzzi

In her day to day routine, Lisa gets the chance to offer a wide range of opportunities to the children of Jasper, as the Childcare Services Manager for the Municipality of Jasper. She is a native of Peterborough, Ontario, and moved to Jasper in 2005 to work for the summer. Like so many Jasperites, she loved it and decided to stay. Lisa started working as a teaching assistant in 2005 at the Jasper Elementary School. In addition to her Bachelor of Arts, Honours, she holds a Bachelor of Education. In August 2008, she started working for Out of School Care and has been with the Municipality ever since. When not at work, Lisa enjoys spending time outdoors with her family , friends and her dog Charlie Brown.

Kharisma Mair - Assistant Manager	Kharisma lived in Calgary for 13 years before making the big move to Jasper. She is originally from the Philippines where she completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. In 2003, she migrated to Canada and in 2005 went to Mount Royal University for an Early Childhood Education Diploma and. She graduated in 2007 and has nine years experience working in the early childhood field. She is passionate about demonstrating the best childcare practices for children and advocating for their families.
Jeff Baker - Administrative Assistant	Jeff started working with kids when he was 11 years old at the Boys and Girls Club of Wetaskiwin, where he spent every summer as a camper and then as a staff member until the age of 19. Jeff has a Bachelor of Arts degree with an English major and Phys Ed minor, as well as a Bachelor of Education. Before joining our team in 2019, he was working as the program coordinator for both the kindergarten and OOSC programs in Fort Saskatchewan.
Andrea Fe Adriano	Andrea Fe grew up in the Philippines and was raised by family of educators. She took her Bachelor of Education Majoring in English at the Philippine Normal University. She has been an educator for more than a decade and moved to Jasper in 2016 to join her husband together with their daughter. Her optimism and fondness for kids made it a great fit for her to work in Wildflowers Childcare. She believes that the uniqueness of every child deserves equal amount of love, understanding and care.
Ruby Ann Mehari	Ruby Ann was born and raised in the Philippines. She moved to Canada to be with her parents in 1999. Her family has lived in Jasper ever since. After finishing high school at Jasper Jr/Sr High School, Ruby Ann took Early Childhood Development studies and received her Early Childhood Education Diploma in 2006. She then returned to Jasper to work with Wildflowers and has been part of our team ever since.
Sonali Vanjare	Sonali is from Mumbai , India. She came to Jasper with her husband in 2015 an has worked with us since 2017. She has a Bachelor of Arts, a diploma in Early Childhood Education and a diploma in Computer Management. Sonali has 10 years experience as a preschool teacher/ supervisor in Mumbai. In 2008, she was awarded the Best Teacher Zonal Award from Lions Club International and in 2013, a Best Teacher Award from Kala Academy. In her free time she enjoys cooking and drawing.
Mutsuko Higashikawa	Mutsuko is originally from Japan. After completing a diploma in Youth Care in New Brunswick in 2013, she moved to Jasper and worked at Wildflowers for three years. After traveling and working in Spain and Vancouver, she, like many Jasperites, missed the beauty of Jasper, and decided to come back! She loves the philosophy of Wildflowers, which respects children’s individual needs and learning through the spirit of play!
LeeAnn Lafond	LeeAnn is originally from Green Lake, Sask. She has been living in Jasper since 2014 and is a mom and grandma to two. She is a certified Child Development assistant and has 18 years experience working with children. LeeAnn’s passion is working with children who need a little extra help during their day or who have particular needs/challenges that require specific attention.
Jessica Jackson	Jessica was born and raised in Jasper and even attended Wildflowers Childcare as a child. She received her diploma in Early Childhood Education from Mount Royal University in Calgary and has been working at Wildflowers since 2006. Jessica is passionate about working with children who need a little extra help and finding solutions to challenging behaviors. When she's not at work, Jessica enjoys spending time outdoors with her family camping, hiking, skiing, or at the beach
Nilfa Dcunha	Nilfa is originally from India and moved to Jasper in 2012. She has completed her Diploma in Education and Master in Arts. She has 7 years experience teaching Grade 1 and Grade 2 in different Catholic schools in India. In Alberta, she is a certified Child Development Worker and has been working at Wildflowers since 2015. When not working, she likes spending time with her family, travelling, cooking and playing cricket.
Madeleine Daniels	Madeleine is a Child Development Assistant who was born and raised in Jasper. Madeleine has worked at Wildflowers Childcare since 2007. She has gained lots of experience in early learning and care and loves coming up with fun and creative art projects, and games to play with the children. When Madeleine isn't at work, she loves to get out and enjoy the great outdoors - skiing, skating, road biking and camping.
Daphne Patterson	Daphne was born in the Philippines and moved to Jasper in 1999. She spent most of her childhood in Jasper and while in high school completed her work experience at Wildflowers Childcare. Daphne knew early learning and care was a great fit for her and she has been working at Wildflowers for eight years now. Her enthusiasm for her work shows in her smile every day - especially when playing with the children and watching them discover new things. Daphne enjoys taking the children for walks, dancing, singing with them and doing fun activities and crafts. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family and especially loves spending time with her nephews and nieces.
Courtney Turcot	Courtney was born and raised in Jasper and has been at Wildflowers for over 10 years working with every age group. She welcomed her daughter Harper in 2020 and enjoys sharing all the things Jasper has to offer with her. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family including her nieces, Clara and Ayla. Courtney feels fortunate to work in such an amazing centre and believes each child offers their own unique qualities. Getting to know each child is important to her as it leads to individual relationships that nurture the strengths of each child and allows support that focuses on their interests.
Anastasia Furlong	Anastasia is originally from Manitoba, she moved to Toronto where she lived and studied improv for 8 years. Right after moving to Jasper she started at Wildflowers Daycare and loved it; immediately learning everything she could about early childhood education. She acquired her Level One certificate, and is now working on my Level Two! You can find her hiking around Jasper with her dog, Gus. She enjoys getting outside as much as possible on nice days and hiding away with a good book when the weather gets chilly. Her favorite children's book is Hairy Maclary from Donaldsons Dairy.
Emily Derksen	Born and raised in Ontario Emily came to jasper in 2007 shortly after graduating the ECE program at Sir Sandford Fleming college. Since then she has raised a family here with her husband Alex. They have three children and enjoy spending hours in hockey arenas watching their kids play, skating at JPL, skiing, hiking into the backcountry, road trips and traveling. They have quite an extended family here in Jasper and spend lots of time with them as well. She has always wanted a career in Early Childhood Education and is grateful that she has been a part Wildflowers Childcare since 2010
Naomi Chisholm	Naomi grew up in Jasper and graduated from the High School in 2016, heading to Kelowna soon after to attend the Early Childhood Education program at Okanagan College. Naomi completed her ECE diploma in 2019 and has been working at Wildflowers ever since. She is excited to have the opportunity to work at Wildflowers and is loving getting to know the children and spending time with them in her home community.

Meet our Out Of School Care (OOSC) Staff

	Jody Anderson has been an active member of the Jasper community for many years. Your children will know her well as the former school librarian. Jody has her ECE Diploma and over 20 years of experience working with children, working at OOSC since 2012. She loves exploring our community with the children and always has a game or two up her sleeve. Jody is very creative and active and the children always enjoy her positive energy. When Jody isn’t at work she spends her time with her children and her pack of poodles!
	Daphne Patterson was born in the Philippines and moved to Jasper in 1999. She spent most of her childhood in Jasper and while in high school completed her work experience at Wildflowers Childcare. Daphne knew early learning and care was a great fit for her and she has been working at Wildflowers for eight years now. Her enthusiasm for her work shows in her smile every day - especially when playing with the children and watching them discover new things. Daphne enjoys taking the children for walks, dancing, singing with them and doing fun activities and crafts. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family and especially loves spending time with her nephews and nieces.
	Miriam Molina is originally from Mexico and came to Jasper 4 years ago. She graduated as a General Nurse from the Center of Scientific and Technological Studies University in Mexico and had the opportunity to specialize in pediatric and emergency care. She has been enjoying her journey in the education field and started working at Jasper Elementary School in 2019 as an Educational Assistant. She became certified that same year as a Level 1 - Early Childhood Educator. She has been a member of the Out of School Care team since November 2020 and is really enjoying the program and the children. In her spare time she loves hiking and being in touch with nature and spending time with her family and friends.