Welcome to
Greenwood Forest
Children's Center
An inclusive community
2-Year-old Teachers
Goals for our two-year-old classes include
-SOCIAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT
-LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT & VOCABULARY
-MATH
-MUSIC & MOVEMENT
Christine Lucey
MWF Co-Teacher
Christine is a native of Englewood, New Jersey. She went to college at Hamilton College in upstate New York where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature with an minor in Art History. She then went to Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts to receive her Masters of Curriculum and Instruction in Elementary Education.
Christine has been in the classroom for 20 years. She has taught in third, fourth, and fifth grades, as well as preschool.
Living in Apex, Christine and her husband have two elementary-aged children, both GFCC alumni.
In her spare time, Christine enjoys time with family, cooking, and photography.
Christine is a co-teacher in the MWF Young 2s Busy Bees classroom.
Lindsey Clasen
MWF & T/Th. Co-Teacher
Lindsey grew up in Lakewood, Colorado. She and her family moved to the Raleigh area when she was in tenth grade. She has lived in various North Carolina towns over the years.
Lindsey attended South College in Asheville, NC where she received her Associates degree in Paralegal Studies.
Lindsey and her husband live in Apex with their three sons, all who attended GFCC.
Lindsey has always loved children and found opportunities to work with them. When her boys were very young, she worked as a nanny. She has been a volunteer in PTA, classroom Parent Reader, school Holiday bazaars, and Teacher Appreciations.
Lindsey enjoys reading, going to the beach, and spending time with her boys and assisting in all their various activities.
Lindsey is a co-teacher in the MWF Young 2s Busy Bees classroom and a co-teacher in the T/Th Mighty Ducks classroom.
Jen Cousins
MWF Co-Teacher
Jen moved to Cary when she was four years old and has lived in this area ever since. She attended Appalachian State University where she received her BS degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish language.
Jen taught 5th grade for eight years at Northwoods Elementary and 6th grade for two years at East Cary Middle before becoming a stay-at-home mom when her youngest son was born in 2015. Jen joined the GFCC staff in 2019 as a floater for the T/Th 2s classes, then moving into a co-teaching position in the T/Th Leap Frogs 2s classroom.
Jen and her husband, Chris, live in Apex with their two boys (GFCC graduates) and a giant labradoodle named Lucy.
In her spare time, Jen enjoys reading, spin classes on the Peloton, drinking too much iced coffee, and volunteering on the PTA board at her son's elementary school.
Nina Freeborn
T/Th. Co-Teacher
Nina grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She attended East Carolina University in Greenville, NC during her undergraduate years and received a BFA in Theatre Education. While in Graduate School, Nina attended the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and received her Masters in Theatre Education.
Nina taught theatre at Hunter GT Magnet School for 11 years before staying at home with her children. For the past four years, she has volunteered at both Briarcliff Elementary and GFCC. Nina remembers fondly the best summer job she ever had was hosting Karaoke on the Boardwalk of Virginia Beach with her dad.
Nina is married, and she and her husband live in Cary with their two children - a son and a daughter. Nina's family joined the GFCC family in 2016. Her son has been a Super Star, and her daughter has been a Yellow Puppy and also a Super Star.
In her spare time, you might find Nina having one of these fun experiences:
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Dancing in her kitchen with family and friends!
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Going out to eat at all of the amazing restaurants that Cary and Raleigh have to offer!
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Listening to live music with her husband - especially Bluegrass!
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Getting lost in a really, really good book!
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Hunting for and collecting vintage treasures - especially Pyrex!
Valerie Heikes
MWF & T/Th Co-Teacher
Valarie, while growing up, had the opportunity to live in all four time zones in the United States as well as live in South and Central America. She attended the University of New Mexico and earned a BS degree in Community Health Education. She worked in the public health field for many years before taking time off to stay home with her growing family while living in Austin, Texas.
While in Austin, Valerie became a volunteer in the community and served on several boards. Once her children were in school and settled, Valerie shifted gears and found her "happy place" in early childhood education. She has been teaching preschool for 15 years, and this will be her fourth year teaching at GFCC in the two-year-old classes.
Valerie enjoys spending time with friends, volunteering, reading, traveling, and enjoying the great outdoors. She is the mother of two grown children and lives in Apex with her husband and their two cats.
May Mitchell
T/Th. Co-Teacher
May received her undergraduate at Appalachian State University in Social Work with a concentration in family development. She worked as a social worker in Brooklyn NY working with teen mothers and then relocated to the triangle where she worked at the Orange County Rape Crisis Center in variety of roles focused on prevention and the support of survivors of child sexual abuse. She received her masters in counseling education at N.C. State. She then worked in the Chapel Hill City School System as a school counselor. After having her first child she went to part-time and worked at The North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness.
May and her husband live in Cary and have two children, one who is a graduate of GFCC and another one who is currently enrolled.
May likes to sew and has been working on a handmade wardrobe. She also likes to go on family bike rides especially with her son who learned how to ride without training wheels over the pandemic. May loves to read and is part of a feminist mom support group. She provides more of a supporting role in the family garden and have two chickens Hen Solo and Kylo Hen. She attempts to reign in her free spirited daughter who you will see wearing something panda related in the halls of GFCC.
May is a floater in our 2’s classrooms. She loves having the opportunity to learn from the 2’s team as well as watching the kids in the classroom learn and grow.