Mrs. Karen Wilson
Director
Mrs. Karen Wilson believes preschool offers young children the opportunity to play and interact within a group setting and to learn to share, cooperate, and be inspired by each other.  Preschool is a place where a child’s imagination is encouraged to soar or their spirit to be reflective.  Our preschoolers usually get their first exposure to being cared for and accepted in a group away from the safety and security of their own homes.  By offering stimulating – age appropriate atmosphere – Mrs. Wilson feels young children learn through their play to embrace our world and the people in it.

Born in Evanston Illinois, Karen has lived in Riverside since 1984 and has been a member of First United Methodist church since 1988.  She has taught Sunday school, co-directed our Vacation Bible School, taught the Church’s 3rd & 4th graders “Getting to Know Your Bible” classes, and volunteered in her daughters elementary schools.  She has three beautiful daughters and combined, their families have given her 4 fun grandchildren

Karen enjoys cooking, gardening, football, traveling, baseball, & hiking.  She has hiked Lake Tahoe’s Rim Trail, summited Mt. Whitney at 14,496’, & walked 14 days completing the Northern Route of the Pilgrimage to Santiago, Camino Del Norte, in Spain.
Nikki Kern
Office Manager
Nikki Kern was born and raised in Grand Terrace. She went to school in Riverside from
preschool through High School where she graduated from North High School. From there Nikki
went to Brooks Institute of Photography where she received a BA in Commercial Advertising.
She then started working in San Francisco for a number of years at a Model and Artist Agency.
In 2014 she and her husband moved back to Riverside in the hopes to start a family. In 2017
they welcomed Eva James Kern. In late March 2022 Nikki was hired to become the Office
Manager at FUMPS.

Interacting with the children as well as their parents is what Nikki enjoys the most. She has
been welcomed with open arms by the staff and is excited to interact with the families here
and serve them as best as she can.

Outside of work Nikki enjoys watching her daughter take dance classes, exploring new places
with a camera in hand, loves to bake, and enjoys any free time with her daughter Eva and
husband Christopher.
Mrs. Rita Theodorou
Brave Bears
Rita grew up in the Woodcrest neighborhood of Riverside, and is the middle daughter of three 
sisters. She has been happily married to her husband, Nick for 12 years. They have been blessed 
with two boys, George (11 years old) and Antony (9 years old). Rita has always been very 
passionate about working with children, helping them, and making a positive impact in their 
lives.

Rita attended San Diego State University to study Psychology and Sociology. She has 
worked with children with Autism as a Behavioral Therapist, and as a Victim/Witness Advocate 
in the Division of Victim Services at the Riverside District Attorney’s Office. Rita also teaches 
Sunday school, is the president of a philanthropic organization at her church parish, and 
continues to volunteer at her children’s elementary school.

​The Theodorou family has been a part of the FUMPS family since 2016. In the spring of 2018, Rita began her teaching career at FUMPS, and this is her third year as the Lead Teacher in the Brave Bears Classroom. Rita feels that a classroom environment should be welcoming, colorful, fun and diverse. She 
believes that children learn best when they are in a safe, nurturing environment that promotes the
freedom of exploration and discovery through play. Creating a curriculum that is meaningful, 
thoughtful, interactive, developmentally appropriate and inclusive for all children to learn to their
full potential is imperative. Rita also believes that it is important to have open communication 
with parents and family members in order to meet the individual needs of their child’s overall 
development. She encourages parent participation and collaboration on strategies to promote 
ongoing positive learning experiences and a love for learning.
Elizabeth Raygoza
Lucky Lions
Elizabeth Raygoza is a Riverside native.  She worked in Special Education for ten years before becoming a stay-at-home mom.  She has been married for 21 years and has 3 children.  Her oldest is serving in the military, her middle daughter is is high school and her youngest is in Jr.High.  She is involved in church ministry and enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with her family.  She is enjoying her first year at FUMPS. She loves teaching young minds though playful learning.
Mrs. Ramona Laib
Happy Hummingbirds
Mrs. Ramona Laib grew up in East Los Angeles. When she graduated high school she moved to Bloomington, CA. She then started to take Early Child Development classes and right away knew that working with young children was her calling. She believes that play enables children to learn in so many ways and helps them makes sense of the world around them. Play based learning allows children to explore, socialize and grow. She also believes preschool to be a safe place environment for children to express themselves.

Mrs. Laib started subbing at FUMPS in 2009 when her oldest daughter Ashley attended FUMPS and substituted for several years then. In 2016 she taught the youngest class, but  had to take leave due to her daughter being born. Mrs. Laib will be joining us this year as  Lead Teacher in The Happy Hummingbirds Class, which she is very excited about returning and teaching our young minds.

Along with teaching , Mrs. Laib has been happily married for 23 years to her husband Jeffrey. They have 3 girls, the oldest Ashley who will be an Assistant Teacher this year, and Riley who attended FUMPS in the previous years. The youngest Abigail, will be a Brave Bear this year and is very happy to be in school for the first time. My hobbies are walking and collecting "Tea Pots", all kinds of unique tea pots. I also love to watch good documentaries on TV and autobiographies, all while drinking a good cup of green tea.
Ashley Laib
Assistant Teacher
Ashley Laib is a recent High School graduate. She is attending Riverside Community College. She hopes to become an English and Yearbook Teacher one day. She has always been working with little kids and loves the creative side of working next to them.

Ashley is the oldest of three. She has two little sisters, Riley who went to FUMPS but is now in Kindergarten and Abigail who is a FUMPS kid as of this year. Ashley is also a returning FUMPS kid who was a Lucky Ladybug.

The teacher passion/love runs throughout her family ad her Mom is also a Preschool Teacher and various family members are in the Educational system. She believes teachers help kids grow and lead our world through their creativity.