Sarah is an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches and mentors undergraduate students at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory, where she also teaches a group of preschoolers and young toddlers. Sarah graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Master of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences with a concentration in Family and Community Services. She received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science with a Concentration in Early Childhood from The University of Texas at Austin.

Lara Pauley is a trainer with over 30 years of experience in the field of early childhood. Lara currently works as a Master Teacher at the UT Lab School. She is an Independent Facilitator of the Love and Logic Early Childhood Parenting Made Fun!® curriculum. She has been the director of two NAEYC accredited child care programs, has taught in early childhood and college classrooms, and has worked as a case coordinator for Early Childhood Intervention. She has an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from UT Tyler and a B.S. in Child Development and Family Relationships from UT Austin.

Maud received her bachelor’s degree in French Studies and Refugee and Forced Migration studies from York University in Toronto, Canada, and her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Texas at Austin. She began teaching preschool in 2012, and joined the Lab School as a Graduate Assistant concurrent with her Master’s program in 2020. Her experience is in play based learning, emergent curriculum, conscious discipline, and Reggio Emilia. Her practice is informed by an interdisciplinary approach that views learning as a collaboration based in mutual trust, and children as social agents. We grow the community we want to see in the world, and the classroom is where this takes root. Apart from teaching, Maud is a practicing visual artist and performing musician. She enjoys spending time with her partner and their one-year-old, Reggie, swimming, and playing music.

Elizabeth Porter is the Master Teacher in the Dogwood and Magnolia classrooms at the Lab School. She received her bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and her master's degree in Fine Arts from Hunter College (CUNY) in New York. She is a state-certified educator, with a specialization in early childhood art. For the last five years, Elizabeth has been teaching elementary and early childhood art in public schools. She utilizes elements of Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and Montessori approaches in her work with young children. In addition to being an educator, Elizabeth is an artist whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in California, New York, and throughout Texas.

Becca has a bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Sciences, with a focus in early childhood, from UT Austin, and a master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from UT Arlington. She is a certified teacher and has experience teaching Pre-K, 2nd, and 3rd grade in the public school system. Currently, Becca is an Assistant Professor of Practice at UT Austin where she teaches an experiential learning course for undergraduate students, as well as teaching a group of young toddlers and four and five year olds at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory.

As a management lecturer in the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, Marissa Epstein teaches graduate courses in nutrition entrepreneurship, showing business leaders how to evaluate the investment worthiness of nutrition-inspired products and services. She served as the director of the University of Texas Nutrition Institute, where she oversaw the Food and Beverage Incubator Practicum and the Food and Health Inventor’s Program, guiding early-stage entrepreneurs from ideation to go-to-market readiness through iterative, user-centered design. Epstein received an MBA and Certificate of Public Management from Stanford University and a B.S. in nutrition with special honors and a B.A. in Plan II Honors at The University of Texas, where she earned registered dietitian nutritionist certification, specializing in pediatrics.