Shelley Kelly - Director

Shelley Kelly was born and raised in Oakland, California. She studied Early Childhood Education at Merritt College. She has a BA in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from California State University, Hayward. She taught Kindergarten and First Grade in the Castro Valley Unified School District. Her three children went to Linda Beach, and she has been working as a Linda Beach teacher for over 15 years – first as the lead teacher of the Pre-K program, and then as Director and teacher of the 3 and 4 year old programs. 

Jennifer Walker - Assistant Director

Jennifer Walker is a Bay Area native and has lived in Oakland for the past 12 years. She initially studied Psychology and Economics at Santa Clara University, and later earned her Master's degree in Social Psychology from San Francisco State University. She also holds a Level 1 Early Childhood Special Education Credential from Sacramento State University. Jennifer has 15 years of experience in education with a focus on children with special needs, and has worked both as a therapist and for 10 years as a therapy program supervisor. Two of Jennifer's three children attended Linda Beach, and she served on the Linda Beach Board as its Treasurer for two years. Jennifer became a Linda Beach Teacher in 2017.

Diana Almanza-Lin - Lead Teacher, MWF Program

Diana Almanza-Lin was born in Mexico and raised in Berkeley. She received her B.S. in Marketing and International Business and a Multiple Subject Bilingual Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University. Before coming to Linda Beach Cooperative Preschool as a parent Diana was a Spanish Immersion teacher in both San Francisco and Berkeley Unified School Districts. Diana brings her love of the cooperative preschool program, as well as her enthusiasm for both Spanish language and culture to our classroom.