Debbie Tomsho, Co-Director
I started working at PTCC in 1998 in the infant classroom, and I joined administration in 2004. During my experience as an infant teacher we discovered and began to incorporate the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and learning. I have considered it an absolute privilege to be part of a community that considers teachers as learners alongside each highly capable and curious child.
As a parent and an educator, I am keenly aware of the importance and the impact that high quality child care has on families lives. When we interact, choose materials, set up environments, as well as offer experiences and dialogue for young children, every detail matters. Both of my children left PTCC having a strong sense-of-self and important skills to recognize injustice in the world. The community resource that this early childhood center has been for my family is invaluable. I wish that for every family and educator who spends time at PTCC.
Nicole Pearson,
Co-Director
Nicole recently joined Peabody Terrace Children’s Center in January 2021. She has been working in the field of early education for over 10 years and considers herself a Kindergarten teacher at heart. Nicole had the pleasure of being an instructor in the Early Childhood Master’s Program at Teachers College. She has also worked as an administrator in two private preschools in NYC. Nicole believes that magical work is done when an early education community embodies its values. She has seen the myriad of ways in which intentional collaboration and the power of reflection strengthen a community. Nicole is committed to equity and anti-racism and is exploring racial socialization in early childhood as a doctoral student. Being the mama of a preschooler, Nicole has a new found respect and admiration for the role early care and education plays in the life of a family. Nicole received a Masters Degree in Early Childhood from Teachers College where she is also pursuing her Ed.D. She received her Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Wellesley College. Nicole enjoys spending quality time with her family when she is not at the center and looks forward to PTCC becoming a second home.
Ivonne Ortega, Program Coordinator
Ivonne Ortega is a recent graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she studied Instructional Leadership and Anti-Racist Approaches to Early Education. Before moving to Cambridge, she worked as a preschool teacher at a Reggio Inspired school in Pittsburgh, PA where she enjoyed learning from children ways to re-imagine and challenge the norms and structures of her world. She holds a B.A. in Gender Studies and Environmental Studies from Amherst College. In her free time she loves to garden, travel, dance, make pottery, and explore the city.