Our Story

Our Executive Director, Meghann Carrasco, co-founded our umbrella nonprofit, Seedlings to Sunflowers Nonprofit Childcare & Family Center, in June 2018 with the belief that every child presented with the opportunity to belong, develop independence, cultivate generosity and master skills will develop a healthy sense of self, which will enhance their ability to succeed academically and socially. And with a vision to nurture and support children and the whole family, and thus our community. Five and half years later, and with a lot of love, hard work, and support, we opened a new, second school location at 3 Gorham Industrial Parkway and a few months after that, the adjacent Sunflower Community Playspace & Cafe! This space is an extension of our efforts to cultivate community, as we believe it truly does take a village when raising children.

Our mission is to provide a welcoming and engaging space for families, children, and community members of all backgrounds to come together and support each other during the early childhood phase of life.

Our focus is on childhood development, parent support, and education for children, the community and early childhood educators. We hope everyone can use this space as a soft place to land. We welcome you all with open arms…and coffee (or tea!).

Meet Meghann Carrasco

Executive Director

Meghann is the Executive Director and oversees both Seedlings to Sunflowers Nonprofit Childcare & Family Center and nonprofit Sunflower Community Playspace & Cafe. She was a leader in developing the Public Pre-K Toolkit for programs across the State of Maine and one of the first Public Pre-K partners for the town of Gorham. Meghann was named as one of 20 Outstanding Early Childhood Leaders, Advocates, and Change Makers in the State of Maine by the MaineAEYC in 2024. She sits on the MaineAEYC’s Public Policy Committee and regularly testifies on legislative bills that affect early childhood learners, families, and teachers. She’s dedicated to working with the State and Department of Education to move public access to Pre-K forward. Meghann shares a home in Westbrook, Maine with her husband, Donny, their two boys, Isa & Luca and their dog, Oskar.

Meet Teresa “Mama T” Jaynes

Playspace & Cafe Director

Teresa (Mama T as we all call her) has been with Seedlings to Sunflowers since October of 2018. She comes from a background in business with a degree in small business management, most recently overseeing the bookkeeping, ordering, and overall office operations for our schools. Teresa is beyond excited to be moving into her new role as Director of our Playspace & Cafe and is eager to share our beautiful space and Sunflower Community spirit with the public. In her free time, Teresa enjoys feeding people, being outside with her family, and anything involving music. She resides in Windham with her husband, Joe, her 2 sons, Sam & Rowan, and their dogs, Maggie Mae and Rigby.

Meet Caitlin Diggles

Development Coordinator

Caitlin is the Development Coordinator for Seedlings to Sunflowers and Sunflower Community Playspace & Cafe. She has an extensive background in online marketing from account management, brand and media consulting, website and graphic design, and social media marketing. She also has editorial experience with online magazines, photo shoot design and styling.

Caitlin creates & manages Seedlings to Sunflowers’ and Sunflower Community Playspace & Cafe’s social media presence, newsletters, website, and marketing materials. She also oversees fundraising, grant efforts, and assists with special projects. Her role has filled her bucket as it has married her marketing skills with her passion for giving back.

Being a part of a non-profit dedicated to cultivating a lifelong commitment to positive educational experiences for children, is an amazing honor. She is thrilled to work alongside caring, creative, intelligent and passionate individuals whose mission is to help carry out the vision of this wonderful, innovative school. Caitlin has been with our organization since opening in 2018 and is overjoyed to have her daughter and son attending a school where they thrive and where her family feels supported by their loving community!

Meet Alicia Ross

Birthday Host & Cafe Attendant

Miss Alicia has been at Seedlings to Sunflowers since November 2019. She is the Assistant Director at our South Gorham Crossing Location and on Sundays, you will find her hosting birthday parties at Sunflower Community Playspace & Cafe. Alicia graduated from USM in 2009 with an English Degree. While she attended USM, Alicia took several education classes and volunteered in classrooms ranging from Head Start to 3rd grade. Working with children is Alicia’s passion and she always makes it a point to know every child in our school and be a set of ears if someone needs to talk and arms to help. On the weekends, Alicia likes to go on hikes around Maine and New Hampshire with her two sons, Noah and Ezra, and their puppy, Gracie.

Meet Graeme Miller

Food Program Director

My name is Mr. G or Mr. Graeme, I have been cooking professionally for almost two decades now. My mother had me in the gardens and kitchen as early as I can remember. I have cooked and catered everything from fine dining to southern BBQ and was Head Chef at Maine’s famous Eventide Oyster Company. I have extensive work with farm and sea to table and am excited to bring my knowledge to this organization. I have always looked to change our world through food. Our children are our future – let’s make sure our table is full of delicious food! I have two children at Seedlings to Sunflowers and we have lived here in Maine for almost 15 years now. We love to travel and bring recipes and flavors home with us!

Meet Sara Bernardo

Playspace & Cafe Attendant

I grew up in south eastern Massachusetts where I spent most of my time working at coffee and smoothie shops until I had my daughter. We traveled around in a tiny house with her father for about 3-4 years until we settled where we are now in southern Maine. Since then I’ve mostly worked on farms. I am now a parent to two children and it has been the most impactful and evolutionary journey I’ve gotten the pleasure to experience. This is my first time working in childcare but I am a seasoned café employee and am loving both positions. I get to fill in as a Floating Teacher at Seedlings to Sunflowers and enjoy my Playspace and Cafe Attendant position here at the Playspace!  I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to work with and be a part of this amazing and devoted team an organization and I look forward to all the ventures to come.

Meet Lauren Jacobs

Playspace & Cafe Attendant

My name is Lauren Jacobs, I am a sophomore in High School. I have been working around children for a while now, my mom has worked in daycare since I was 1 years old! I was lucky enough to be in the same school as my mom until I went to Kindergarten! Having spent a lot of time around kids since a young age, it has brought me so much joy, and I couldn’t have been more excited to join the Sunflower Playspace Cafe team!
When I am not at work or school I love to spend time hiking, camping and exploring nature in our state. In school I am super passionate about learning history and science programming. Next year, I will attend WRVC for medical programming, and I couldn’t be more excited. My goal is to become a nurse when I complete school.

Meet Annie Rich

Chef & Cafe Attendant

I have worked in the food service and hospitality industry for over a decade now and have worked in just about every facet and role imaginable. I come from a strong culinary background and a family that loves to cook and have taught me the importance of cooking and understanding where your food comes from from and early age. I graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 2019 with a BA in Music originally pursuing a path in audio engineering. I made the transition back to the service industry during the pandemic and found a renewed passion in cooking and feeding people. I’ve always enjoyed working with kids from teaching skiing and working at a children’s theater camp so I’m so thrilled to be a part of the team and help kids get excited about good food!

Thank you to our sponsor!