Meet Our Faculty

Odette Huber, Founder/Teacher


Odette has been working with preschoolers since 1977.  She began while working for a children's Educational Intervention Agency just after graduating from the University of Illinois, where she received a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and Science.  After moving to California, Odette worked for the Santa Barbara School District’s Early Childhood Program, earned her Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Ventura College, and spent twenty years teaching at Children’s World Nursery School in Ventura, CA.
Odette has also been a Mentor Teacher for the California Mentor Program for the last ten years and holds a Child Development Master Teacher Permit for the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.  Odette helped develop the La Famiglia Program and has been co-teaching in this program since 2006. 

Philippa Adler, Administrator/Teacher


Philippa has been a staff member with La Famiglia School since 2009. She has over ten years of experience working with preschoolers.  Along with teaching preschool, Philippa has instructed special classes such as Transition Class and Mommy and Me and has described her career as “the most rewarding job!”.
Philippa attended the University of Texas at Austin and received her B.S. in Education, followed by studies in Administration from Santa Barbara City College, which she attended while working as a teacher and school director in Ventura, CA. 

Denisse Mora, Teacher

Denisse received a law degree while living in Mexico, where she grew up.  She then went to London where she spent one year working as a homeschool teacher.  This is where her true passion for teaching was realized.  She returned and studied child development at Ventura College, where she received her certification of achievement in Child Development.   She has been part of the La Famiglia staff since 2009. Denisse is the program developer, creating and maintaining an engaging experience for the school’s students.

Kasia Lisowska, Teacher

Kasia Lisowska was introduced to Reggio Emilia's philosophy during her son’s two successful years in the La Famiglia program. As a parent, she became involved in the program as a volunteer science teacher and later as an after-school science enrichment instructor. Now, with her sons in college, Kasia has become a permanent member of the La Famiglia family. She is committed to providing children with hands-on adventures in science, and music. From her native Poland, she brought a degree in pharmaceutical sciences; she has also recently graduated from Ventura College with an Associate Degree in history.