Candice spent her childhood years in Los Angeles, and there was a piece of land that separated her family’s backyard from the freeway. Candice and her siblings called this space “Neverland” and they spent hours every day engaged in imaginative play between the woods and wildflowers that inhabited this land. As a mother raising two young daughters in Los Angeles, Candice realized the landscape of “play” had substantially changed from when she was a child, and found raising children in a city very limiting.  After her family learned about forest schools, their lives completely changed. Candice discovered her mission of creating accessible nature programs for her communities, and founded Davis Forest School in early 2018. Candice also co-founded Atlanta Forest School in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019. Candice attended UC Davis as an undergraduate student and managed the local teen center for the City of Davis during her college years. She also volunteered as a camp counselor for several summers through the City. Candice has her MBA with an emphasis in Organizational Behavior from California Lutheran University. She is Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified, and trained in nonviolent communication. 

Jenna Kohls is the mother of 2 children, and recently married. She loves music, dance, playing the guitar, her husband, her home, and her children. Jenna was raised on a farm in the Delta region of California, and spent most of her childhood outdoors, connecting to plants, animals and frolicking through wildflower fields. Over the  years, Jenna has studied various healing and teaching professions. She holds a Ashtanga yoga certification, is certified by Mindful Schools, is a certified Massage Therapist, volunteered with the Awareness Institute, worked with Trackers Earth in Berkeley, CA, has 10 years of experience founding and directing nature-based preschools, has been a preschool teacher for 20 years, and is completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development at Sac State. Jenna also spent over a decade designing and leading yoga, ballet, and movement classes for preschool and school-age children who are experiencing poverty and not provided physical education. Jenna founded Starlight Cottage Playcare, Dragonfly Forest School, and co-founded Muck and Wonder Farm School in Sacramento.

Alana is a CA native plant enthusiast, mom, and lifelong resident of Northern California. She credits childhood family trips to state and national parks – and her child – for instilling awe and love for the beauties of this earth. She is currently in the process of becoming a Certified California Naturalist. She earned a BA in Psychology and a Minor in Child Development through CSU, Chico, and later returned to complete a BS in Nursing. As a public health nurse, she advocates for access to natural spaces and opportunities to connect with nature as public health issues. She believes children need to get to know and experience nature firsthand before they can care about it, and loves seeing them discover the natural world and hear their unique and inspiring perspectives.

Allison is a 3rd generation Sacramento local and loves the American River, the Pacific Ocean & all natural bodies of water she’s had the pleasure & privilege to visit. When Allison’s son was just an infant in March 2020, she found great refuge and peace by visiting the American River almost every single day of 2020 and beyond. She still visits multiple times per week with her family and always finds joy, solace, connection and comfort in our beautiful American River. 

Allison is a UC certified California naturalist, having trained with Brena Seck @ Effie Yeaw Nature Center. Allison has been teaching & performing hoopdance and creating hula hoops since 2007. She attended both UCSC and UCD and is a UCD graduate. She loves being a mom to her son, ZG! She loves dancing at outdoor concerts (especially Stick Figure), as well as visiting the rivers, the ocean and its beaches, tide pools and shores. She also enjoys creating stained glass art. Allison enjoys bringing people to these wonderful wild places around us, and she strives to help others find joyful connection with themselves, their communities and their environments.

Growing up in Northern California, Ashley has fond memories of spending her childhood exploring open spaces, streams, and forests with her friends. Her family were avid campers and road-trippers, which she still loves to do. Ashley attended Sacramento Waldorf school from k-12 grade, which instilled an independent spirit and connection to the natural rhythms of the world. She holds a B.S. in Business Management, as well as her Early Childhood teaching credentials. She has taught Early Childhood for the last 7 years. Ashley lives in midtown with her teenage son. They love to see live music, analyze films, and travel together. She sees herself as a guide for the children in learning and developing social-emotional skills and a deep appreciation of nature. Ashley uses play to engage senses, strengthen social awareness, and introduce curriculum.

Becky grew up in the Sacramento area, with many summers spent boating at Folsom Lake. After moving away to the Bay Area for college, she returned to Sacramento and received her teaching credential. Becky taught TK and Kindergarten for 6 years in a public school where she worked to shift the Kinder program into a more child-led, play-based program, including creating a natural outdoor playscape on campus. After having her daughter in 2021, she left teaching to stay home. She started a conscious parenting coaching and support business to help parents connect deeply with themselves and their kids, and hosts a podcast where she shares rich conversations on conscious parenting. Becky is rekindling her love of nature and its rhythms by exploring the beautiful place we live with child-like wonder alongside her daughter and husband.

Ingrid is a UC Davis student majoring in Environmental Science and Management with a minor in Wildlife and Fish Conservation Biology. Raised in the Sierra Nevada foothills, she feels most at home outdoors and developed her love for nature at a local Waldorf school, where hands-on learning through gardening and animal care inspired her career path. She enjoys working outside, getting her hands dirty, and helping both people and the environment. An avid adventurer, Ingrid loves hiking, paddle boarding, climbing, backpacking, skiing, camping, painting, and swimming in lakes and rivers. She also has extensive experience caring for children as a nanny and babysitter, working with ages 6 months to 13 years, and enjoys creating fun games and crafts. She is excited and grateful to be part of the Davis Forest School community.

Growing up in West Sacramento, JuliAnn spent summers enjoying the river and the beautiful California weather. Being near water has always put her at peace, and while she has lived in various parts of the world over the last decade, she is never far from a natural source of water. JuliAnn has a lifelong passion for working with children, which naturally led to a career in teaching. She holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and an MBA focused on Environmental Sustainability, and her enthusiasm for empowering youth to take care of the environment stemmed from working at a green school. In this season of life, she is seeking to blend her knowledge and life experiences with her love of working with kids, making her especially excited to join DFS! Outside of work, you can find JuliAnn lifting weights, reading, or hanging out with her cat, Catalina.

Lina was born in Germany and is the eldest of five siblings. She grew up playing in the woods behind her family’s apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden with her sister and their close friend. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 8 years old and although she no longer had the forest at her fingertips, she and her friends found little nature spots wherever they were to be found, with the consensus that the more expansive, and wilder, and freer, the better. She earned a BS in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at UCLA where she also taught outdoor education seminars as a guide through their Outdoor Leadership Training Program. After working in environmental consulting for three years in downtown LA, she moved to Davis to continue her education in ecology at UC Davis. She co-taught at Kindergruppe Waldwichtel, a German immersion forest school in Davis from 2017-2020 and became a certified California Naturalist in 2020. She finds great joy in getting outdoors with children, including her own two, and believes that a personal connection with nature fosters well-being and a sense of global responsibility.

Lindsay grew up in the Summit Mountains in Utah and the coastal lands of Monterey before settling in the Sierra Foothills. She developed a love and respect for nature through hiking and exposure to Indigenous lands and National Parks all throughout the southwest and California. Visiting protected sites and learning about indigenous cultures along with her studies in relational models of attachment to our environment are at the root of her personal connection to nature and land stewardship. She delights in witnessing her three young children growing their relationship with the land as they visit their favorite local sites for nature learning and rest. Lindsay brings warmth and respect to her interactions with young people and always keeps in mind her oldest child’s wisdom to “just trust kids… like it’s your favorite thing to do”.

Naomi grew up in Pittsburg, CA. She did not spend a lot of time in nature during her childhood but loved watching every nature show out there. As an adult she fell in love with the outdoors and protecting it. After graduating from UC DAVIS with a BS in Wildlife Conservation Biology she worked as a wildlife field biologist and became an avid birder and native plant enthusiast, until she had her daughter, Romneya. Not having spent much time in nature as a child, she tries to expose her daughter to nature as much as possible and foster the connection to Pachamama. Naomi has worked with kids as a garden teacher, swim teacher, & community gardener and she is excited to marry all of her passions for building community and spending time outdoors with other families.

Natascha was born and partially raised in Germany, and some of her most precious childhood memories are of wandering about in the woods, equipped with little more than her imagination, and coming up with stories inspired by the land she was exploring. Natascha went on to study Plant Biology at UC Davis and become a certified California Naturalist. After graduating, she discovered the magic of Davis Forest School and worked with the organization for almost three years, learning and growing right alongside the children she mentored, and becoming deeply familiar with the rhythms of the local ecosystem. In recent years, she unearthed a passion for ancestral skills and fiber arts, and loves to spin yarn, knit, and weave, as well as experiment with natural dyes. Natascha is so happy to be rejoining Davis Forest School after a year away and to build new memories with the community along the creek.

Stephanie was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to the Sacramento area in 2011 with her husband. She is the mother of two girls (8 and 1) who love spending time in nature. Stephanie has previously worked as a field educator for Sierra Nevada Journeys and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies with a minor in Non-profit Administration from Sac State. She brings 17 years experience working with children in various settings including outdoors, classrooms, nature centers, zoos, summer camps, and nannying. Stephanie loves crafting, gardening, and exploring nature (especially if a beach or waterfall is involved!). Stephanie realizes that the opportunities she was given as a child to experience the outdoors is what sparked her love and reverence for the natural world and she hopes to pass that on to the children she works with.

Terra was raised in Central Arizona but calls Long Beach, California home when she’s not in school as an undergraduate at UC Davis. She grew up immersed in nature with her parents, who cultivated a sense of environmental curiosity and responsibility from an early age. She’s happiest when backpacking with loved ones and exploring new trails. Terra enjoys taking on roles in community-driven organizations: she’s served on the Board of Directors for UC Davis’s Picnic Day, taught cooking classes at a small business, and worked to expand breast cancer resources in Southern California. You can find her reading in the sun, practicing yoga, and spending time with friends in nature.

Born and raised in Sacramento, Vanessa moved to the Bay Area to pursue a BA in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration from San Francisco State University. After 15 years, she returned to Sacramento with her husband and two children, while her stepson stayed with his mother in the Bay Area. A strong advocate for the power of nature, Vanessa has co-founded two nature camps and brings over two decades of experience working with children. She fell in love with Davis Forest School last year while her daughter attended and is thrilled to blend her passion for physical activity with the essence of the outdoors. She believes that nature is not only a playground but also a sanctuary for the soul, offering opportunities for growth, exploration, and connection.

Bryan is a student in the Redwood SEED Scholars Program at UC Davis. This is a four-year, inclusive residential college program for students with intellectual disabilities. Bryan really enjoys the inclusive culture on campus; he is a trombone player in the UC Davis Marching Band and University Campus Band and runs 100 meter sprints in the Track and Field Club. He loves to support Davis sports teams. If he’s not playing with the marching band at a sports game, he’ll often be found in the stands to cheer on the Davis team.

One of Bryan’s favorite UC Davis classes has been the Early Childhood Laboratory where he interacted with young children in an applied early childhood setting. He really enjoys spending time with young students at the Davis Forest School, especially swimming in the creek in the summer, and hopes to continue to take more classes focused on child development.

MATT MOKSKI (Assistant Forest Mentor, he/him) is in the Redwood SEED scholars program at UC Davis. He is part of the Aggie Golf Club and enjoys playing a round of golf on the weekend. He sometimes goes to the driving range on Fridays to hit a bucket of balls and practice some putting. Matt is from Petaluma, California and grew up being outside. In his free time, he loves hiking, biking, bowling, and spending time with his family and friends. He loves being outside and enjoying nature and hanging out with kids. Over the summer, he likes swimming and going on adventures to San Diego, Yosemite, San Francisco, and Point Reyes.