Anna Ourada
OWNER/DIRECTOR
Anna Ourada took ownership of Growing Minds Clubhouse in February 2020. Anna’s mission as the owner is to create an environment for children and families that is positive, creative, safe, healthy, and fun! Prior to taking ownership, Anna worked at Growing Minds Clubhouse from 2017-2020 in various roles including a full-time teacher in Toddler 2 & Pre-K 1, Administrative Assistant & Curriculum Coordinator. Anna brings more than 15 years of childcare experience to her role and is committed to creating a place for children to grow, feel seen, heard, and important. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé, her two dogs, Tuck & Remi, reading, being outdoors, and staying active in the gym!
Ms. Denise
Assistant Director
Denise Glock has 27 years of experience in education, having worked with students from Preschool through those in College. She has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and two Masters Degrees in Special Education – Gifted and Educational Administration. As a teacher, she educated students in second and sixth grades and then took over as the Elementary Principal and Special Education Director at Shelby-Rising City Public Schools. Most recently she was the Undergraduate Data Operations Manager at Concordia University in Seward. She realized something was missing, and knew it was the magical experience of working with the “littles”. Her husband, Ted, is a farmer and works for a roll-off dumpster company. She has three children of her own; however, they are 32, 30 and 27 and don’t provide that cute and innocent interaction she needs! Fortunately, she has a new grandson, Baker, to snuggle, cuddle, and spoil. In her free time, Denise spends time with family and friends, attends live theater events and concerts of all genres, travels, and tries to check off as many of her “bucket list” items as she can. She also hopes to return to the stage and perform in the Omaha theater community!
Ms. Gabbie
Kitchen
With over 5 years of culinary experience, Ms. Gabbie is continuously creating fun & healthy meals for the children at the Clubhouse. She loves to base the menu off of the weekly theme to create an even better experience for the children all around! When she’s not busying enjoying the art of culinary, Gabbie has a passion for playing Pokémon, sewing/collecting plushes, and an affinity for all things green. She loves to embrace life with enthusiasm and has a zest for exploration, mostly in virtual worlds!
Ms. Kristy
Infant 1 Teacher
Ms. Kristy joined Growing Minds Clubhouse in 2020 as our Infant 1 teacher. She loves singing and dancing with the children, as well as making them laugh! She has worked with children for more than 17 years and is a mom to three children. Ms. Kristy strongly supports the cause to cure childhood cancer.
Ms. Jessie
Infant 1 Teacher
Ms. Jessie joined us in 2023 and is our Infant 1 teacher! She has been a birth and postpartum doula for the past 12 years. Jessie feels it is such an honor to welcome over 300 lives into the world. She truly enjoys educating families and continuing to receive certifications and experience in pregnancy, birth, family postpartum transition, and infant care. Jessie has loved working with infants since she was very young! She has three children of her own who are 21, 19, and 14. Now that they are so much older, teaching and snuggling the little ones really helps her get her baby fix! When Jessie isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and children. She is always finding ways to spend as much time with her family as possible with Sunday family dinners, game nights, camping, Netflix days with her daughters, and riding sports bikes with her husband and son. Her and her husband also own a candle company that keeps them very busy!
Ms. Sherri
Infant 2 Teacher
Ms. Sherri joined Growing Minds Clubhouse in 2023 as our Infant 2 teacher. Sherri is a mother to two handsome boys who also attend Growing Minds Clubhouse! She loves keeping busy with many kids sports like flag football, baseball and leading her Girl Scout Troop! Sherri loves coming to work everyday ready to positively impact the children’s lives and provide many hugs, high fives, and sing silly songs!
Ms. Janie
Infant 2 Teacher
Ms. Janie joined our team in 2023 as a floater! Over time, the opportunity presented itself to shift Janie to our full-time Infant 2 teacher, and we couldn’t have been more excited to welcome her on the team, on a full-time basis! Janie has two daughters of her own who are also a part of our Clubhouse family. She loves spending as much time as she can with them, enjoying the outdoors, playing and staying active. In her spare time, Janie enjoys watching design and illustration videos or keeping her three year old busy and creative with arts & crafts.
Ms. Lori
Toddler 1 Teacher
Ms. Lori joined Growing Minds Clubhouse in 2017, and she is our Toddler 1 teacher. She operated her own in-home day care for 20 years and has two children and four grandchildren.
Ms. Stephanie
Toddler 1 Teacher
Ms. Stevie (also known as Ms. Stephanie) has worked with children for more than 15 years and she loves the energy of her Toddler 1 class. She enjoys dancing and doing crafts. When she’s not at work, Stephanie enjoys cooking and doing anything crafty.
Ms. Emily
Toddler 2 Teacher
Ms. Emily is our Toddler 2 teacher and joined our team in 2023. She has 5 years of childcare experience and her favorite part about working with children is how contagious their laughter is! In Emily’s free time, she likes to write and meditate.
Ms. Sara
Toddler 2 Teacher
We welcomed Ms. Sara in 2024 as our Toddler 2 teacher! She comes from a background of teaching and is a total natural at it. Sara taught cosmetology for 5 years and hung up her scissors after 13 years in cosmetology. From there, she was soul searching and found out that being a teacher to children is much cooler! Her previous adventure was a school age teacher, which she loved in her heart! Her favorite thing about being a teacher is watching the children grow and learn new, fun things. Sara has a very loud & creative personality (which we LOVE) and she loves watching the kids find theirs!
Ms. Elaysia
Pre-K 1 Teacher
Ms. Elaysia joined our team in 2024 as our Pre-K 1 teacher! She has been working in childcare for a little over five years now, working with a variety of age groups throughout the years. Elaysia absolutely loves interacting with the kiddos, whether that’s learning, singing or doing activities with them. Her favorite part of working with children is getting to build that strong connection with them, while also watching them blossom into their own personalities and interests. She loves watching them grow and fill their brains with endless knowledge! In her personal life, Ms. Elaysia loves to read and draw. She is a homebody who loves to relax with her sweet dog, Nyla, in her free time!
Ms. Lexii
Pre-K 2 teacher
Ms. Lexii joined our team in 2023 as our Pre-K 1 teacher and recently shifted to our Pre-K 2 teacher in August 2024! Lexii has been working in childcare for a little over three years now, working with a variety of age groups. She absolutely loves interacting with the children, whether that means reading, singing, dancing, or even just being super silly with them! Her favorite part about working with children is getting to build a connection with them and watching the gears turn in their brains as they are learning the world around them. In her personal life, she is a big homebody who loves spending time with the people she loves and her sweet little old cat, Calvin.
Mr. Ammon
Pre-K 2 Teacher
Mr. Ammon joined us in 2023 and while he is just beginning his career in the childcare field, he has spent most of his life taking care of his four younger siblings, alongside his two older brothers. Having left home recently, to try to make something of his own life, he frequently grows wistful of the days when he could spend time with them and watch them grow. Ammon believes children are the purest form of humanity, brimming with innocence and curiosity, as well as general altruism and the desire to simply enjoy life. He explains that as we get older and experience the harsher realities of life, we tend to lose some of this wonder and love for life that everyone is born with, replaced by fear, anger, and anxiety. Since he left his home, he felt almost like a hole had opened in his heart. His discontent with that, as well as his remembered love for his own siblings, has lead him to seriously consider a career in education. He hopes he can help children grow into the very best versions of themselves they can be, and that they can help him do the same for himself. After all, nurture is proven to be a stronger force than nature. All that aside, Ammon’s hobbies include language study, playing instruments, especially the guitar, writing, coding and graphic design/3d modeling, and spending time with family. He also enjoys playing with his dog Umbra, or occasionally going hiking and enjoying the beauty of nature.
Ms. Julissa
FLOATER
Ms. Julissa joined the team in 2019 and spends quality time in each of our classrooms as a floater. She especially enjoys watching children glow when they learn new abilities. Ms. Julissa recently graduated from UNO with a bachelor’s degree in music entrepreneurship.
Ms. Cindy
FLOATER
Ms. Cindy began at Growing Minds Clubhouse in 2023 as a floater, stepping in from room to room as needed, mainly with the Toddlers! She has 15+ years of experience in childcare and her favorite part about working with children is seeing their little faces light up, when they learn something new or say her name, their enthusiasm, hugs and so much more. There isn’t a single thing she doesn’t love about every single child at the Clubhouse! In Cindy’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her 14 grandchildren, her family, reading on her deck and riding in her jeep.
Ms. Ashley
FLOATER
Ms. Ashley joined our team in 2023 and spends quality time in each of our classrooms as a floater. She is currently in high school and will begin her Junior year this fall. Ashley’s favorite part about working with children is putting a smile on their faces and building connections with them, as well as watching them learn and grow! In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family.
Ms. Roxanne
FLOATER
Ms. Roxanne joined our team in 2024! She originally started out as our Pre-K 2 teacher and lead our 4-5 year olds so well. After making the decision to go back to school, Ms. Rocky shifted down to a part-time position as a floater! While she may be relatively new to the world of professional childcare, she has been caring for a bunch of little ones for years, including her own 6-year-old son. Roxanne feels there is nothing quite like the joy of listening to the fantastical stories little ones concoct or witnessing the fascinating inner workings of their brilliant little minds. Children have this uncanny ability to be brutally honest, yet utterly innocent at the same time – talk about refreshing! What Ms. Roxanne adores most about this age group is how each child comes packed with their own unique personality. It’s during these formative years that they really start to blossom into their own little individuals, and Roxanne feels that being a part of their journey is an absolute honor. Rest assured, your kiddos are in good hands – hands that are ready to nurture their curiosity, celebrate their quirks, and guide them through this magical time of self-discovery!
Ms. Azia
Floater
Ms. Azia began at Growing Minds Clubhouse in 2022 as a volunteer while she attended school and now works part-time as a floater, predominantly with the infants and toddlers. She is currently attending UNMC to pursue her doctorate in occupational therapy. Ms. Azia has more than four years of experience in childcare and loves engaging with the children in each of the classrooms, whether it’s during free play, circle time, or outside on the playground. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and watching Netflix.
Ms. Payten
FLOATER
Ms. Payten joined our team in 2024 and has been working in childcare for a little over three years now, working with all of the age groups! She loves interacting with the kiddos, and teaching them new skills and fun concepts. She also enjoys doing science projects with them! Payten’s favorite part of working with children is having the opportunity to witness them grow and learn new things everyday. She is a very outgoing individual and loves to hang out with her friends & travel when she can. Payten is currently studying Early Childhood Education at Peru State College and loves it!
What People Say
“We’ve been with Growing Minds Clubhouse for almost 2 years now and in that time my daughter has learned so much! The structure and activities they do throughout the day really help her stay engaged and learn! I can’t wait to watch my son grow and learn here! The staff is amazing. They are always so welcoming and personable. If there is ever concern I know it’ll be taken care of. Coming to Growing Minds Clubhouse was one of the best choices we could have made as parents.”
– Jordan & Caty Lund