Our Team

Our incredible team of teachers is passionate, dedicated, experienced and most of all caring.

Our unique and close-knit environment supports strong relationships between teachers and families – we are all part of the Step Ahead whanau – and your beliefs, culture and expectations will always be valued by our team. We look forward to meeting you.

• 

  Vicky Brandso

  Owner/Manager

  Vicky Brandso  has worked in ECE for nearly 10 years and has a bachelor of teaching (ECE) which was completed at Te Rito Maioha. Vicky has a strong passion for working alongside Whānau and building relationships, where together they can give your child the best outcome within their Early Childhood journey.

  Vicky is very passionate about empowering the future generation, learning and laughing alongside them.
  Her husband Josh and her have two daughters Katie and Maddy who are both at primary school

  When Vicky is not teaching, you will find her playing hockey, at the beach and out walking/bike riding with her little family.

• 

  Erin Petersen

  Teacher

  Erin comes to us with over 10 years’ experience in early childhood education. She graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Education – Primary, but upon completion discovered her true passion for the early years and has never looked back. Erin spent roughly 8 years teaching 3-5 year olds before making the change to an infant/toddler centre in 2018. In 2020 Erin completed a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood before taking a short break in 2021 to welcome her first child.

  Erin is super excited to be joining the Step Ahead team, hoping all her years of knowledge and experience can help create a true home away from home feel, by building strong quality relationships with tamariki and their whaanau. She is a natural nurturer, with calm and caring qualities.

  With a young child taking up most of her time now, when able Erin enjoys walks and coffee dates with friends, traveling and small trips, always has some creative project on the go and quality family time.

• 

  Vanetta Ras

  Teacher

  Vanetta started working in early years education in Auckland in 1998. Finding a passion for seeing young children grow and learn, she decided to become an early childhood teacher. Vanetta graduated in 2002 with a Diploma in Teaching Early Childhood Education. Once she graduated, she left for the United Kingdom, where she spent 3 months backpacking around Europe before settling in London where she taught in a Nursery class while completing her BA (Hons) in Child and Youth Studies.

  Returning to New Zealand in 2016, she settled in Whangarei and worked in both an infant and toddler centre and an over 2’s centre. During 2020/21 Vanetta went on to complete her Teacher Education Refresher, ensuring she was up to date with current policies and practices in teaching in Aotearoa,

  Having 2 boys has kept her quite busy. They enjoy camping every summer and time at the beach. Vanetta enjoys spending time with friends, going to a cafe or for a walk, but is also happy sitting down and enjoying a good book.

• 

  Mia San Gabriel

  Teacher

  Mia was born in the Philippines and grew up in Manila. Although she holds a Bachelor of Nursing degree, she has always been passionate about teaching young learners which led her to work in Early Childhood for 5 years before migrating to Whangarei, New Zealand in 2017. After being a stay-at-home mum for 3 years, she went back into teaching as a reliever for different centres.

  Mia loves to observe children’s interests and builds on that by providing a safe space to explore. She is respectful of different cultures and upholds that when building relationships with tamariki and their whanau.

  Mia and her husband have three kids that keep them busy. In her spare time, she catches up with friends and family, is busy baking or crafting.

• 

  Kes graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Teaching specialising in Early Childhood Education
  from the University of Waikato.

  After this she and her husband moved to Whangārei, which is his hometown. She is passionate about advocating for the importance of quality early childhood
  education and nurturing this to make a positive impact for tamariki, whānau, and within our
  community.

  Kes’s teaching philosophy is centered around nurturing respectful and reciprocal relationships,
  the concept of ako (viewing everyone as both teachers and learners), and nurturing children’s
  creativity, playfulness, kindness, sense of wonder, and passion for learning.
  In her spare time, Kes enjoys spending time at home with her husband and four cats, being
  creative with handcrafts such as sewing and embroidery, gardening, baking, and reading.