About Us - Our Staff

Dr. Dena Sellers
Principal

Dr. Dena Sellers has been the Principal at Open Classroom and Conejo Elementary since 2008. She was formerly Principal and Assistant Principal at other district schools and taught in the Conejo Valley and Long Beach districts. Dr. Sellers received her undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University and her Master’s Degree in Administration from CSUN. She completed her doctorate at the University of Southern California in studies for urban leadership and her doctoral thesis in teaching gifted students. Dr. Sellers’ passion is teaching students to utilize their individual gifts and how to incorporate Dr. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits into their everyday lives. She believes that building problem solving skills in both critical thinking as well as social and emotional areas, prepares children for a life full of possibilities as adults. Dr. Sellers has one daughter attending OCLM, and together they enjoy visiting museums and parks, baking and cooking at home, taking road trips, and spending time with extended family.

K/1

   Ms. Megan Triplett

   Ms. Megan Triplett joins OCLM with four years experience in the Conejo Valley Unified School District.
   She has taught 1st grade at Conejo Elementary, and has classroom experience in grades K-5. Her prior
   teaching experiences include the use of multisensory application and multi-grade collaboration. Ms.
   Megan received her teaching credential from California Lutheran University and is currently pursuing her
   Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Cal State Northridge. She is excited to be joining the
                 OCLM team and looks forward to a great school year.

Ms. Shoshana Wheeler

Previously at Ladera Elementary, Ms Shoshana taught Kindergarten for ten years and third grade for two, culminating with a brief period in second grade. She received her teaching credential from CSUN and her MA in Counseling and Guidance from Cal Lutheran University. In addition to her experience as a teacher, Ms Shoshana also has been a school counselor in the Las Virgenes School District at a school similar in philosophy to OCLM. She is also a certified parent educator through the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting, helping parents apply Nonviolent Communication (NVC, also known as “Compassionate Communication”) skills toward their children’s healthy development. This is Ms Shoshana’s second year with OCLM.

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Ms. Wendy DuBois

A nine year veteran of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, Ms Wendy joined OCLM from Acacia Elementary School, where she taught Kindergarten and worked as a Title 1 Specialist. In this latter role and as a substitute, she has extensive experience working across grades K-5. She received her teaching credential from Cal State Channel Islands and UCSB Extension.

Ms. Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer strives to tap into her students' learning styles and experiences to maximize their potential, building upon constructivism theory and Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Her education includes a BS in Child Development from California State University of Fullerton and an MA in Education from Claremont Graduate School, the latter of which inspired her to explore individual needs and experiences of students. She spent the earlier part of her career at Norwalk / La Mirada USD, teaching grades five through two, with buddy experience in corresponding lower grades; she also taught in team situations, created thematic units based on Bloom's Taxonomy, and enjoyed virtual field trips with classes across town using the v-tel. (Some of you technology buffs may remember those!) She moved to Conejo Unified School District in 1997 to be a part of Open Classroom and helped to create the underlying foundation for the school. At OCLM Jennifer has taught grades two through Kindergarten with buddy experience in corresponding upper grades.

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Ms. Heather Lane

Heather Lane has been teaching in the Conejo Valley since 2004 and received her teaching credential from Chico State University...a dream that was inspired by her sixth grade teacher in her hometown of Simi Valley. Heather has been at the Conejo campus since 2009 as a Title 1 Specialist and is now teaching grades four and five at OCLM. Previously, she taught fourth grade at University Elementary, second grade at Ladera Elementary, and was a substitute teacher for one year. Inspired by her sixth grade teacher to pursue education, Heather finds the unexpected turns of the day one of the most exciting elements about teaching along with discussions that occur naturally and that lead to the exploration of unplanned topics with students. Heather enjoys spending time at the beach, biking to play at the park with her son and family, and bodyboarding along the California Coast.