Anna Hackenberg
I was born and raised in Germany, where I lived until I moved to Texas at 10 years old. I moved around a lot for my education and medical school. Always having been drawn to California, I found my forever home and love my job at Urgent Care.
My favorite pastime is spending time with my husband, wonderful family and friends. I also enjoy playing wheelchair tennis, sit skiing, swimming and taking our boys on adventures. I love traveling and enjoying yummy food.
I am grateful to Die Rasselbande for being our wonderful new community and I look forward to contributing in any way I can.
Carolin Becker
Growing up on the Baltic coast of Germany, the connection to the sea brought me to San Diego. I met my husband, a Northern Californian native, in New Zealand while we were both taking time off to travel. We lived together in Hamburg, Germany for the last 3 years, and relocated to the U.S. at the start of 2023. Both of our sons were born there, and attended a wonderful "Kita", or preschool, that had similar values to those of “Die Rasselbande”. We had the freedom to choose where we settled down, and the Rasselbande, with its community, was a deciding factor in coming to San Diego. It was important for us to have an environment where our children could continue developing their mother language and the German traditions. We love it here and feel completely at home. We now live in La Jolla and are grateful to give our little family the values of community and that coastal outdoor lifestyle!
Briefly about myself:
I am trained as a master hair stylist, makeup artist and yoga instructor. In Germany I worked internationally for a major American beauty brand, providing hairdressers with ongoing professional training. For me, well-being and radiance are part of a holistic beauty image and I love to see people glow through a look that they feel good about.
I am excited to be a part of the board and look forward to working together to influence the education of our children.
Anna Buster
My name is Anna and I was born and raised in Vladivostok, Russia. The city borders China and North Korea, and it is often described as “Russia’s San Francisco”.
While studying for my BA in Economics and Business Logistics, I took a summer program to visit the United Stated. I moved permanently the following year post graduation. Fast-forward to today, my American husband and I now have 2 girls attending a German-speaking preschool and loving it. We have been with Die Rasselbande since 2022. This past school year I have volunteered to be a part of the Yearbook Committee, and this new school year I am excited to join the Board as well.
Professionally I am a medical interpreter for the Russin language during the week, and I am a sports photographer on the weekends. Back home I swam competitively in college, got into triathlons here in San Diego and then raced Ironman 70.3 as a pro triathlete for a few years. Nowadays, I still swim, bike and run time permitting as well as go hiking and camping with my family. Since our kids started the preschool I took German language classes at the German-American Societies. Learning a new language along with its culture all together had been one fun rewarding challenge.
Leila Oberdorfer ~ Treasurer
My name is Leila Oberdorfer and my three kids are all Die Rasselbande alumni. We all enjoyed our experience with this amazing preschool and loved the combination of play based learning and German language and culture. I also served on the board for a couple of years and that gave me an even bigger appreciation for the level of dedication and passion that the teachers and staff have for this school.
A little about me, I learned an appreciation for cultures and travel at an early age with an unconventional childhood travelling the world with my hippie parents. I graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Interior Design and then moved to Miami where I practiced as a designer and it is where I met my now German husband. We moved to San Diego in 2010 and discovered Die Rasselbande shortly before our daughter turned 2 years old. We were so grateful to find this treasure!
I have my own business as a wedding and event planner I bring my creativity and problem solving skills to this board position
Stephanie Measures ~ Vice President
I'm a current board member and now former Rasselbande parent. Our 5 year old just started kindergarten at Albert Einstein Academies and our 7 year old is in second grade there. My mother is German and I still have relatives in Germany, but I grew up outside of LA and have lived in San Diego for the past 13 years. Our children have benefited immensely from the caring and enriching environment at Rasselbande and I have loved serving on the board. It would be an honor to continue to give back for another 2 years and bridge the transition from old to new members.
By day, I’m a pediatric Allergist & Immunologist, and one of ways I was able to help the board was by helping to interpret the County’s ever-changing COVID-19 guidelines and be a resource for related school policies. I’ve also been on the yearbook committee for the past 5 years and have enjoyed all the fun events that we’ve documented. As a board member, I would want to help the school grow and make it even more special and unique.
Amanda Rowe ~ Secretary
For the past 3 years, I have been a dedicated volunteer to the school by participating in the yearbook committee, organizing a teacher breakfast, helping with the school fundraising Gala and the recent school relocation. For the past two years, I have been working as a part-time operations manager for a small biotech start-up, where I manage the day-to-day business operations, budgeting, presentations and grant writing. I am well versed in wearing multiple hats to get the job done. My husband and I spent 2 years at the University of Marburg in Germany. My husband finished his PhD in Chemistry, while I enrolled in the University's German Language program. I have a BS in Business Administration from Albright College in Reading, PA. I am excited about the opportunity to serve as governing member of the school.
Heidi Badger-Chrisman
I am a native San Diegan but have lived in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Toronto (Canada) and Pensacola, FL. I've spent over 25 years doing Human Resources, mostly for Biotech and High Tech companies, but also for a non profit while in Florida. I currently work part time at a specialty olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop, but most of my time is spent taking care of our human and dog children (Evie is currently enrolled at Rasselbande and Quentin will start when he's old enough!). My husband is a German speaker; he learned while spending summers with family in Bremen, Germany as he grew up. He tries speaking to the kids in German, but since I'm not fluent it makes it difficult!
My husband and I love the Rasselbande philosophy of play based, child led learning; my daughter absolutely loves it here and is learning so much! And of course, having her and her brother learn German so they can more easily communicate with their German family is something that is important to me. Not being a bilingual person, it’s important to me to ensure my children are bilingual.
I’m excited to be part of the Rasselbande board to help plan for the future and be able to support this awesome community!
Anna Weinkam
I was born in Croatia but grew up and spent most of my life in Nürnberg, Germany. In 2012 I decided to do a semester abroad at UCSD. During my first week in San Diego I met my husband Greg and decided to finish my Master‘s here and stay. Like most of you, I immediately fell in love with Rasselbande’s play-based approach and caring teachers. We are very grateful to have met - and hopefully continue to meet - wonderful families who share their passion for the German language and culture. This is our daughter Mia’s third year at Die Rasselbande and her younger brother can’t wait to soon be a Rasselbande child too. As a family we love being outside, go on hikes, runs, walks, the beach and travel. I love cooking and weightlifting. I am excited for the opportunity to help shape the schools decisions and future while maintaining the
core values.
Barbara Ecker ~ President
I am mom to two boys - one a recent graduate of Die Rasselbande and another who will start his adventures here in 2020. I am a former family law attorney and am currently spending most of my time taking care of our two children. In my limited spare time, I enjoy cooking, knitting and all manner of crafts. My husband is from Austria, so we are a German-English dual language household. We both feel truly fortunate to have found such a wonderful preschool here in San Diego and our lives have been enriched by being a part of the “Rasselbande Familie”. From the excellent teachers, to the outstanding curriculum and supportive parents, the community I have experienced at Die Rasselbande is unlike any other. I am pleased to serve on the board doing my utmost to keep Die Rasselbande a great place to play and learn for our children.
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