Meet Our Team
Rachel East
For the last 15 years, Rachel has worked in the field of Early Childhood. Her focus in the area of childhood development has taught her about the importance of working with children early on, to help them become successful students, so they can later transition into successful adults.
She married her high school sweetheart 20 years ago, and soon after, they made the decision to pack up and leave their home in Washington for sunny Arizona. As a young family with two little boys, they knew they needed to find a good church with a kid’s program. They weren’t expecting to also find an amazing preschool as well. At the same time she enrolled her son, Rachel started working at WonderWise and never looked back!
Connie Hardenburg
Connie has been with WonderWise for over eight years, and helped open the preschool at LifePoint Church several years ago, where she is currently the Director. She has over two decades of experience working with children and their families. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family. Both of her daughters have followed in her footsteps and work at WonderWise as well. Connie’s philosophy of early childhood education is that children learn best in a safe and developmentally appropriate environment where each child can explore, learn, grow, and build a solid foundation for their future.
Bree Harris
Bree graduated from Arizona State University in 2015 with a degree in Elementary and Special Education and a year later, completed her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. After a few years of teaching, she felt a call to ministry that she knew she had to follow. She spent four years working in many ministry capacities when God set her on a new path.
Bree is the WonderWise Church Relations Manager, allowing her to be able to pull from her teaching and ministry experiences to help you blend your church culture with your new preschool. When she is not at work, you can probably find her and her husband chasing around their three children (all who are ages 4 and under!).
Veronica Wagoner
After growing up in Peru, Veronica moved to the US with her husband and they started a family. Through WonderWise, Veronica was able to not only send her son to school, but also get herself connected with other parents and moms. She began working at WonderWise in 2012 as an aide and over the years has moved into the position of Acting Director and Programming Assistant. She loves being able to work at WonderWise, getting to know all of the amazing kids and families, and making them feel as welcome as she felt many years ago.
Leah Finney
Leah has been teaching in the Copper Basin community for ten years and six of those years have been with WonderWise Preschool. She enjoys teaching and watching little minds shape over the school year. She believes in providing a good foundation for students to start their learning adventure and giving them the tools they need to be confident and successful in the years to come.
When she is not working, she loves spending time with her family. She is married to a wonderful man named Jerry and they have four sons, Isaiah (20), Jeremiah (18), Austin (15), and Jacob (13). They enjoy watching movies, swimming, and playing basketball.
Sharon Tyson
Sharon Tyson has worked as a successful executive in the corporate world, a business owner and most recently as the Director of Preschool in the education space. During her tenure in education, she not only opened a preschool but worked as an administrator in a K-8 school.
She attributes all of her successes to her walk with Christ. Her favorite quote is, ‘without Him we are nothing’. Growing up as a preacher’s kid, she realizes ministry is the toughest space to be in and comes with its own set of challenges. Yet, it’s also the most rewarding as that is where life change happens. When Sharon isn’t working, you will most likely find her on a football field – she is a proud football mom.