All Odyssey Educators are CPR & First Aid certified, food handler certified, have taken child abuse & neglect awareness classes and 
are registered in Oregon’s child care division’s criminal history database.

Tara Clark, MSW - “Miss Tara”, Owner & Executive Director

Tara Clark, operates from evidence-based practice, research, practice wisdom and personal experience. Odyssey Preschool focuses on the whole child and thus, believes in a holistic approach, delivering methods from early childhood education, psychology & social work best practices. 

Tara has a special interest in empowering women, parents & children and an invested interest in empowering our military families. She is a mother of two and a military spouse of 14 years with her husband currently serving in the Marine Corps as a Career Recruiter. Tara received her AA in Arts & Sciences in 2004. After working in administration for several years, Tara returned to school to pursue her passion for helping others and graduated in 2011 with her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from George Fox University. She completed her Master of Social Work (MSW) with the University of New England December 2013. Tara’s studies have included a focus on environmental influences on human development & behavior, psychology, childhood attachment theories, trauma and military culture.

Tara has experience working in both a preschool and daycare environment, mentoring at-risk youth with Sherwood’s Willamette School House, working with and assessing children and older adults with physical and/or mental disabilities, matching volunteers with children & older adults, starting mother’s of infant/toddler support & play groups, spending time with Portland’s homeless, working as a county mental health assistant providing case management, screenings and leading A/D & wellness groups, volunteering within Marine Corps family readiness as an assistant & advisor to the Marine Corps Recruiting station Portland’s Commanding Officer, founding a non-profit empowering our Nation’s military families residing in Oregon, working as a Vet Center trauma and PTSD readjustment counselor providing therapy & crises intervention to our military’s Combat Veterans, volunteering within the Clark’s residing churches, sponsoring a Rwandan child through African New Life Ministries, educating, building community relations, providing preventative care and advocating for the vulnerable and promoting community change. Tara has attended several trainings, which have included family readiness, life skills, preschool, developmental disability, operational stress, trauma, suicide prevention and customer service.

In addition to providing excellent care to her preschool’s children, Tara hopes to facilitate awareness, discussion and action within her community to raise standards of excellence in education and providing safe & nurturing environments for the communities’ children. She believes building community relationships will produce resilient, strong, culture & diversity aware, smart and caring children residing in Oregon. Tara opened Odyssey Preschool in May of 2014. The Marine Corps unexpectedly relocated the Clark family to the San Diego CA area in March 2015. Tara realizes the need for quality care outside the Portland area remains and has committed to keeping Odyssey Preschool open for years to come! Two additional schools have been open since!

Tara loves positively impacting children, gardening, nature, traveling, photography, cooking, art, interior decorating & creating.

Ashley Edelman, “Miss Ashley”, Licensed Primary Educator / Director

Welcome Ashley! Ashley was born and raised in Oregon, is the oldest of six children, married and is currently in the lengthy process of adoption. She has a variety of experience including spending her teen years assisting with infants in her mother’s daycare, working as a summer nanny, working in a private Christian daycare and an as teacher at an in-home preschool. She has completed three years of classes in psychology and international business from Portland State University and the University of San Francisco. She earned her Early Childhood Education AA in the summer of 2016 and is currently earning her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology with a focus in Child Development from Southern New Hampshire University. She is thankful and blessed to be a small part of Odyssey Preschool’s children’s lives spreading love, laughter and encouragement. Her passions are helping nurture and develop young minds and hearts to become strong and compassionate adults. Ashley has worked for Odyssey Preschool since June of 2014 and took on the position of Primary Caregiver & Director in February of 2015. Under the direction of Tara Clark, she operates the day-today functions of all Odyssey Preschool locations, manages and trains all educators and assists with administration and community relations.

Ashely loves children, knitting, cooking, sewing, gardening, re-purposing, painting and crafting. 

Emily Pelot, "Miss Emily", Circle Time Educator

Welcome Emily! Emily was born and raised in Oregon and has greatly enjoyed growing up in the Pacific North West. Emily graduated with her Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW) from George Fox University in April of 2017. Over the years, she has had many diverse experiences working with children varying in age from 6 months to 18 years as a camp counselor, nanny and a trauma relief nursery assistant teacher. Emily has discovered her passion to work with young children as they bring to light a unique sense of excitement and joy to life. She feels that each child deserves to know they are loved, appreciated, and have the opportunity to grow and learn in a safe environment. Emily is excited to help foster healthy development and environments as well as continue to grow and learn at Odyssey working with little hearts and minds.
 
Emily enjoys fueling herself with lots of coffee, going to the theatre, helping children grow, hiking, reading, swinging in a hammock, and traveling with her friends and family.

Dalia Rocha, "Miss Dalia", Circle Time Educator

Welcome Dalia! Dalia was born and raised in Oregon. Dalia joined our team with a passion in her heart to make a difference in young children’s lives. Dalia comes to us with both customer service experience working at Apple and unique experiences in childcare. Dalia’s experience in childcare consists of babysitting & nanny work, mentoring middle school age children though the Intercambio program providing life skills, moral support, tutoring & positive activities and more recently with Metzger Elementary’s dual language kindergarten class as a teacher’s assistant. In addition, Dalia is bilingual, Spanish/English. She is currently enrolled in Portland Community College's Early Childhood Development degree. Dalia joined Odyssey Preschool with a lot of enthusiasm and positive energy and looks forward to the reward of facilitating our children’s growth. Dalia teaches through play and exploration, our youngest Circle Time children and teaches our music program for CT and PT school's students in Spanish.
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Dalia loves children, hiking, going to the beach, cooking, photography, arts & crafts and watching soccer. 

Allison Momb, "Miss Allison", Intermediate Preschool Time Licensed Primary Educator

Welcome Allison! Allison is originally from Spokane, WA and is one of eleven children (with step brothers and sisters included!). Allison graduated with her Bachelor's in Social Work (BSW) from George Fox University in April 2017 and is currently completing her Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California. Allison is passionate about social work; helping people meet their life goals. Allison has experience in customer service working in retail, has three years of experience with caregiving for older adults and interned with Odyssey Preschool for her senior BSW year. A fun fact about Allison is she was an exchange student to Ecuador for a year in high school through Rotary. Allison is bilingual in Spanish/English and teaches music in Spanish to her school's students! Allison loves interacting with children and can’t wait to teach Odyssey Preschool students’ good communication skills and foster a healthy and positive learning environment for them over the span of the next year.
 
Some of her many hobbies include reading, writing, sports, traveling, and taking care of her cat, Bodie.

Kelsey Heath, "Miss Kelsey", Intermediate Preschool Time Educator

Kelsey was born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon and has twin three-year-old sisters whom she adores. She has studied Spanish for years and is currently learning Swedish. She is currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology degree at Portland State University. After her undergraduate program, she hopes to pursue a Masters and Psy.D. in Child Psychology and eventually open a private practice. Kelsey began working with special needs children as a skills trainer in 2015, which gave her a passion for teaching and working with kids. She is particularly passionate about aiding in development of socio-emotional skills in young children to best prepare them for the next steps in their lives. She has taken coursework in art therapy and thinks that art and visual learning are critical to early development. Additionally, she has spent time teaching in a preschool setting along with babysitting and caregiving independently. She identifies strongly with Reggio-Emilia education philosophies and believes that children learn best when given opportunities to be curious and explore.
 
Kelsey enjoys hiking, climbing, painting, petting dogs, and exploring the PNW.  

Dynasty Ames, "Miss Dynasty", Preschool Time Licensed Primary Educator

Welcome Dynasty! Dynasty was born and raised in Oregon and grew up with eleven sisters and four brothers on a beautiful farm outside of Eugene, OR. Many of her days were filled with corralling cows, bucking hay, and gardening! Dynasty has worked in childcare for seven years now and has found it to be her true passion. Dynasty has experience working with infants to pre-teens as a preschool teacher, assistant teacher, after school caregiver and coach. Her teaching style experiences include child-centered, holistic approaches, Montessori & Reggio Emilia. Dynasty is currently earning her Early Childhood Education AA and following, plans to obtain her Bachelors in the Early Education field. In addition to teaching and playing with our children, she strives to understand the business aspects of operating our preschool.  

When she is not chasing kids or playing dress up, she enjoys meal prepping, exercising, tennis, and practicing her swing at the driving range.

Natalie Salgado, "Miss Natalie", Preschool Time Educator

​Welcome Natalie! Natalie grew up in the Carolinas before moving to Oregon in 2015 in pursuit of a master’s degree in Global Development and Justice (MAGDJ) at Multnomah University. Natalie has experience working as a nanny, provided childcare to traveling private companies and the US military, mentored young children using art as a medium and has worked as a global advocate for those impoverished. Her passion is helping others find ways to live a fully present and engaging life. Helping people experience “life to the fullest” (John10:10) is what propelled her into an intensive two-year study of the structures and patterns that keep individuals, families, and communities from thriving and finding solutions to overcome those barriers. This is where she finds herself in her present work – helping children and families find a safe and secure start into the beautiful journey of life through education. She is joyfully embracing her time at Odyssey Preschool as an opportunity to live, learn, and grow with the beautiful children and families in her new home community.
 
Natalie enjoys being married to an incredibly charming husband, taking photographs, growing in faith, enjoys a sense of community and making seemingly simple moments something precious and memorable.

Alexandra Hartman, "Miss Alexandra", Preschool Time Educator - photo coming soon!

​Welcome Alexandra! Alexandra grew up in New Mexico and moved to Oregon to join Odyssey Preschool after completing her undergraduate degrees in physics and speech pathology from New Mexico State University. Her home school education prior to attending high school taught her the value of teaching students to their abilities and interests instead of following traditional curricula. She has always had a passion for working with young children and for teaching those around her. Whether this was expressed through babysitting, assisting children with disabilities, tutoring friends and peers or taking on leadership roles in organizations to provide younger students with foundational life skills, she loves to guide young people. She desires to pursue further early childhood development education. Alexandra comes to us with a strong understanding in both Spanish and ESL languages.
 
Alexandra loves reading, playing with her dog, crocheting and baking!

Makayla Fitchett, "Miss Makayla", Substitute Educator

Welcome Maykayla! Makayla graduated with her Bachelor's in Social Work (BSW) from George Fox University in April 2017 and is completing her Masters in Social Work at GFU in spring of 2018. Makayla was born and raised in Pasco Washington. She is one of three siblings. Makayla has several years experience volunteering in the community, babysitting, nannying and has had the pleasure of working with children with intellectual & developmental disabilities at the Arc of Tri-cities. She has also interned and worked at Odyssey Preschool since summer 2016. Makayla’s future interest is working as a child's play therapist. She has a passion for working with children as they give her great joy. She is very excited to be part of the Odyssey Preschool educator team engaging the preschool children in their growth and development. 

Makayla loves tennis, animals, crafts, playing with children, shopping, and meeting new people. 

Sini Mullins, "Miss Sini", Substitute Educator

​​Welcome Sini! Sini is born and raised in Finland. Sini came to the United Stated in 2007 as an AuPair. After finishing two years as an AuPair, she met her husband and moved to Oregon in 2010. Sini has experience working with children in daycare, as a nanny, as a riding instructor, as a teacher teaching Finish at the Portland Finnish School and as a mom to a preschooler. Sini is working toward her Early Childhood Education and Family Studies AAS degree. Sini loves working with the Reggio Emilia Approach at Odyssey Preschool.
 
Sini enjoys training horses, making crafts with her daughter and getting out for adventures with her family. 

Lori, "Miss Lori", Substitute Educator

Lori grew up in central California with two sisters. She received a BA in Education with a Special Education minor from Dordt College, Iowa, in 1985. After marrying her college sweetheart, Don, they moved to the Bay Area where she taught 2nd Grade at San Jose Christian School for five years.
Don and Lori have four adult children. Lori home-schooled all four children in their early years. Lori loves to teach young children and often led them in musicals, Sunday school and VBS programs at their church. She admires the Reggio Emilia style of teaching that Odyssey offers - imaginative play and hands-on learning. This was how she taught her little ones. Lori and her husband have resided in Oregon for over 25 years now. Their children are in the fields of teaching, web design and athletics (decathlete).
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Lori enjoys riding tandem with her husband, fitness with friends, spending time with grandchildren and co-leading women’s bible studies. 

Zoey, Occasional visitor

Zoey is a lover. Zoey is a 2 yr old Airedale Terrier/Poodle mix, super friendly & hypoallergenic. She is a trained companion animal with a specialty in anxiety and sensitive to people's emotions; thus, she is great therapy for a child who may be having a difficult day. She loves to play and snuggle too.  Zoey loves to be outside and in the garden...she loves to wander and eat raspberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, sweet peas and carrots from the garden. Zoey visits the students from time to time both indoors and outdoors. Zoey is in good health and her shots are up to date. All children wash their hands after visiting with Zoey.

Meet the entire Clark family!

The Clark family welcomes you to Odyssey, their in-home Preschools! 
The Clark's enjoy spending time with each-other, traveling, good food, music, their community, cool parks, farms, camping, quading, motorcycles, snowboarding, boating, the sunshine, the beach, hosting friends into their home, their church, family, holidays, learning about different cultures, art, gardening, golf, karate, dancing, tinkering, Home Depot, legos, checking out new library books, princesses, tea parties, Star Wars, pirates, essential oils, learning new things, being American patriots and lots of adventures. The Clark family currently resides in the San Diego area of CA.