Meet the Speakers | Leaders Lounge

OUR AWESOME LINEUP

These world-class experts have the best tips, tricks, and strategies to help you build a thriving, profitable childcare business or preschool ministry. Each of these speakers normally charge consulting rates from $300-2,000 an hour. We say this not to impress you, but to show you the value of what they will share with you. And they are ready to help you move forward on your journey in your wellness biz.

Early Childhood Coach, Speaker, and Consultant/ Children's Book Author

Anisha Angella

Anisha has over 15 years of experience in early childhood education and is a childcare coach, consultant and specialist. She is located in Toronto, Canada but works internationally. Anisha specializes in online workshops and courses, childcare consulting like administrative support, team training, leadership training, quality control and branding and coaching childcare professionals. She also works with early childhood entrepreneurs who are looking to build a business in early childhood by becoming a coach, online facilitator or educator.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Human Resource Leadership; Operational Efficiency; Operations Management; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Reviving the ECE leader in YOU

COVID hit us hard in the early childhood community. Leaders in the field felt it the most. Professionals in the field are leaders no matter what role they play – its time to revive the leader within us and take charge of the field once again with tools, tactics and effective self-reflection for success.

Beth Cannon

Beth Cannon is an international speaker, educator and entrepreneur known for her passion for engaging leaders and inspiring teams. With 25+ years of experience in the education and business spaces, she is known for her niche in creating and teaching strategies and solutions through live or virtual experiences and retreats, and most recently…a digital course creator. In addition to leading thousands of educators each year through her professional development trainings, Beth leads a team of 40+ entertaining early educators through enrichment programs serving preschools and childcare centers – Stretch-n-Grow. She created the New Business Training Program and the Youth Fitness Certification for Stretch-n-Grow, International, and supports affiliates worldwide through curriculum and education. Beth has a Bachelors degree in Communications + Education Certification from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Topic: 5 Core Components to Transforming Your Employee Manual to Online Modules...using all free tools

You know zero new employees are actually reading your manual, but you’re too tired, strapped or stressed to figure out what to do about it. In this session, Beth will teach you 5 ways to break up your paper handbook and the exact steps you need to take to turn it into a repeatable asset that will be consistently delivered so you never have to read that thing to new employees ever again! Even if you're allergic to tech, Beth will teach you very simple ways to use free tools to tackle this all-important task to free you up to take those first few days getting to know your new people, rather than having adult story time.

Speaker | Trainer | Entrepreneur

Multi-Site Child Care Business Owner, Consultant, & Digital Content Creator

Dani Christine

Dani Christine has been in the child care industry for over a decade. After gaining valuable experience as a babysitter and preschool teacher, she opened her first child care businesses in 2014. Years of operating a multi-site child care business and sharing her tips and techniques with providers around the world on her digital platform, YouTube.com/DaniChristine, lead Dani to expand her brand in 2019 and launch her consulting agency, Dani Christine, Inc. In addition to providing support for aspiring and new child care business owners, Dani uses the childcaresites.com platform to offer helpful resources for child care professionals.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Operational Efficiency

Topic: Raise Your Rates! Are You Charging Enough?

Child care businesses are businesses, too! As a business, you need adequate income to implement and maintain high quality services. Start up child care providers often ask “what tuition rate should I charge?” Join this session to learn how to break down your budget and build it back up to reflect the true cost of care for your child care program's expenses.

Noelle D'Intino

Noelle D’Intino graduated with her B.S. Speech and Language Pathology degree and ended up heading into the financial sector after graduation where she spent 14 years learning and leading the operational side of a major financial institution in the USA. After a merger of the bank, Noelle decided it was time to focus on some of her passions including her husband, Michael, of 18 years and daughter Gabriella. At a lunch, with her sister Sarah and father, the idea sparked – to create the most incredible educational environment for children and working families and thus the birth of ScribbleTime A Center for Early Learning. As Chief Executive Officer of ScribbleTime, Noelle leads the operations of a team of 32 staff and 114 students annually. In 2014, after 8 successful years and a long waiting list at the Center, Noelle and Sarah decided it was time to help other Centers reach similar success. The Director’s Club was started – opening the doors of the successful operations of a child care center to other Directors from across the USA – Noelle shares her leadership and knowledge of the business side of child care centers through consulting and workshops. Noelle is passionately living her mission of creating a safe learning environment for children in her community and watching Centers build an amazing team and enrollment one family at a time across our amazing country!

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization

Topic: Find Your Next Great Teacher & Student On Facebook

Word of mouth marketing is the best way to build enrollment and find your next great teacher. Consistent Facebook posts help you do just that. In this workshop, I will teach you: • A simple posting plan to share what your child care center is all about for students and teachers • A 5-minute process I do each day to get my child care center noticed on Facebook (and my phone ringing!) • How to use Facebook Ads Manager to target your posts directly to teachers and potential families You will walk away with a pdf document that will help you create posts that will make parents say, “I want my child to go to that center!” and potential teachers saying, “I want to work there!”. With a bit of time and a small marketing budget, you will be on your way to hiring your next great teacher and filling up your waiting list at your child care center!

Chief Executive Officer

CEO

Marnie Forestieri

Marnie Forestieri is the CEO and founder of Young Innovators Academy and co-founder of Hopscotch CRM. She is an entrepreneur at heart with a passion for introducing innovative approaches and business models. As a successful operator of large childcare centers, she has been recognized nationally, presented at national conferences, and written books for parents, children, administrators, and educators. Marnie started her career as a CNN journalist, transitioned into the role of a VP of marketing for a telecommunications company, and launched a childcare franchise. Marnie is passionate about using research to develop content that introduces young learners across all market segments to the mindsets and skills that will help them become the fearless problem solvers of tomorrow. At Young Innovators Academy, Marnie leads a team of university professors, entrepreneurs, childcare professionals, marketing experts, and engineers. She holds a BS in business administration, a CDA, a director’s credential and is a graduate of the Stanford University Latino entrepreneurs’ program.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Human Resource Leadership; Operational Efficiency

Topic: Leading in Chaos

From attracting qualified leads to hiring and onboarding, labor is the number-one organizational risk that childcare providers are facing. In this Webinar, childcare expert and author Marnie Forestieri dives deeper into the characteristics of the workforce and share strategies to address some of the challenges that childcare owners and directors are facing. The goal of the presentation is to understand the root causes of turnover and develop strategies to create the culture of your organization.

Veronica Green

Veronica Green is an Early Childhood Educator and Consultant with 9 years of experience in the early years sector nurturing children from infancy to school age through play. Inspiring Educators from all over the world through her blog and professional development trainings & resources to bring the magic of loose parts into their settings, changing our perspectives on behaviour with collaborative strategies & curating learning environments that are filled with wonder and curiosity. Veronica offers professional development online in many formats and is an executive member of Manitoba Reggio and the Secretary on The Board of Directors for Inspired By Wonder Inc. She is a lifelong learner and an advocate of children who are neurodivergent.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: 3 Areas of Professional Learning that are Missing in the Orientation Process that Reduce Turnover

Recruiting new qualified ECE’s is getting harder and many are leaving the field. This means you are having to hire those with less education leaving many gaps that create more fires for you on a daily basis and a revolving door. This isn’t yours or their fault. The good news is, we can fill these gaps within the orientation process by implementing practical and effective trainings on the 3 main areas all educators need support in, behaviours, planning and sensory processing. Providing the right tools and professional trainings at the beginning can reduce turnover, save time and cost on hiring and most importantly positively impact your team of educators and the children.

Early Childhood Consultant

Educator | Course Creator | Entrepreneur

Adva Hanan

Adva Hanan is an early childhood educator and entrepreneur. She worked in early childhood for 7 years, starting as a second language teacher and working up to a lead teaching position. In that time, Adva saw a big gap in the way early childhood teachers were supported inside the classroom. Since then she has made it her mission to help teachers lead their classrooms with self-trust and confidence. Adva’s goal is to change the way teachers are supported in the early childhood industry through podcasting, providing workshops and courses, and impacting teachers throughout.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Child Growth and Development; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Classroom Leadership: 3 steps to leading the classroom with self-trust and confidence

If you’re a teacher, you’re a leader. Ever heard that before?! So many teachers struggle to see themselves as leaders and many struggle to show up confidently. Teachers who have a hard time managing certain unexpected behaviors and/or meeting their student’s needs, struggle to find the motivation to keep going. It’s really easy to get stuck on the negative and focus on it. Let’s turn that around by learning 3 steps to leading your classroom, trusting your teaching abilities, and gaining confidence along the way. Join Adva and master these steps to be the teacher and leader you’ve always envisioned.

Monica Healer

Monica is the Executive Director of the Early Childhood Christian Network. She has a broad range of experience in almost every level of early childhood education – from classroom teacher to administrator. She believes administrators and staff should be equipped with the latest research-based training available in order to provide the highest quality experience for young children in their first school exposure. Monica has a BBA from Texas Tech University in Management Information Systems.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Girls (and Guys) Just Wanna Have Fun!

We are working ourselves to the bone and burn-out is at an all-time high. Studies show that laughter and fun actually counteract stress and overwhelm. This session will be filled with practical ideas for adding a little bit of FUN back into your life.

ECCN Executive Director

Early Childhood Consultant and Author

Dr. Rebecca Isbell

Dr. Rebecca Isbell is an Early Childhood Consultant, inspirational keynote speaker, and author of 13 Early Childhood books.

Isbell has a wide range of experiences in the field of Early Childhood Education, including: Distinguished Professor, Director of the Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Learning and Development, and Director of a Laboratory School Program serving Infants-Kindergarten at the East Tennessee State University. In addition, she was a teacher of young children from 2- 6 years of age and a public school music teacher. She also coordinated a program for Gifted and Talented children.

Isbell presents in the United States and at Early Childhood Conferences worldwide. She has shared her expertise and insights in China, Singapore, Canada, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. Her focus has been on the amazing creative capabilities of young children and the dedicated people who work with them. Isbell continues to help early childhood professionals and parents by providing them with the best learning experiences possible for young children during their critical early years.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Child Growth and Development; Learning Environments; Professional Development and Leadership; Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Topic: Small Groups with Big Benefits: Choice and Center time Possibilities

Young children need the opportunity to work and play in small groups. In these small groups they can influence the play, use more language, problem solve, and be active participates. Because they have chosen where to play, they are more motivated, persistent, and will find more joy in the activity. In this session you will view different centers, varied choices, see children involved, and discover what they gain from these small group play opportunities.

Evelyn Knight

It may seem like I have it together, but it hasn’t always been that way. I started working in ECE over 25 years ago. I have held almost every position in a Preschool or childcare center. I have owned 3 centers, one I built from the ground up, one I purchased while it was operating, and I purchased one that had been shut down due to regulation violations. For years, my centers owned me instead of me owning them. I worked at least 50 hours a week and used my family’s personal money to keep the doors open. During that period, the director and owner in me were in a battle between creating a high-quality center and a profitable one. My directors mind wanted a high-quality childcare center, not a daycare! The owner in me knew that making enough money to pay the bills had to come first. For a long time, I thought it was not possible to have a high-quality, developmentally appropriate center and turn a profit.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Child Growth and Development; Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Human Resource Leadership; Learning Environments; Operational Efficiency; Operations Management; Professional Development and Leadership; Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Topic: Creative Recruitment

Detailed insight of childcare employee retention, so you know the major factor that involves hiring. Recruitment during Covid- the challenges and solutions Things to consider when your business is not steady and facing uncertain times Creating a plan for the bulletproof Business

CEO/Founder Child Care Business Professionals

Founder and CEO of Revabilities™ and Discovery Village Center

Dr. Shira Leibowitz

A dynamic educator, author and educational business owner, Shira is CEO and founder of both Revabilities™ and Discovery Village. Revabilities™ is a Professional Learning Center helping educational business owners and directors bring their vision for learning to life, standing out by what they stand for, so they can create world class schools, attract aligned students and staff, and positively impact their students and communities, all while designing lives they love. Discovery Village is a premier project and play based childcare center and preschool located in Tarrytown, NY. Shira holds a Ph.D in Education and is an experienced school leader who served for 20 years as a principal of nursery through eighth grade independent schools in the greater New York City area. She is a faculty member in the doctoral program of education at Northeastern University. Shira is co-author of The Coach Approach To School Leadership: Leading Teachers to Higher Levels of Effectiveness. Her upcoming book, to be released June, 2022, is titled Havens of Hope: Ideas for Redesigning Education from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Havens of Hope shares the experiences of educators who not only led their schools through pandemic, but dramatically improved the quality of their schools in the process. Shira has translated their experiences into a framework for success, supporting educators to more clearly craft their powerful visions, reimagine and improve their programs, and make their next leadership breakthroughs.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Human Resource Leadership; Learning Environments; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Redesigning Your School or Class To Be a Haven Of Hope: Insights Gained Teaching & Leading Through The COVID-19 Pandemic

In this workshop you’ll learn insights I gained leading through pandemic, and writing about the experiences of other educators who not only navigated through the adversity of the past few years, but became exponentially better in the process. My book Havens of Hope: Ideas for Redesigning Learning From The COVID-19 Pandemic will be released June, 2022 by Redleaf Press. And you’ll be among the very first to learn ways I’ve found of applying the knowledge we collectively earned as a field operating during the monumental challenges of the last several years. I’ve interviewed early childhood programs that remained open and early childhood programs that went remote, K-12 schools, pods that transformed into microschools, and innovative community programs. In these stories of other educators, you’ll be able to reflect on your own story, and on ways of transforming your experiences into a spark that can ignite the very best for yourself and for your school, guiding you in ways of redesigning your program as a haven of hope in a world in need of so much healing.

Vanessa Levin

Vanessa Levin is the creator of Pre-K Pages and a passionate advocate for equal access to high-quality early childhood education. With more than 20 years of classroom teaching experience, Vanessa encourages and supports early childhood educators around the world via her Teaching Trailblazers mentorship program. She is the author of Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers.

Topic: Top 5 Shortcuts to Skyrocket Alphabet Success

Do you teach your heart out every single day…but your kids just don't seem to be “getting it” when it comes to learning the alphabet? How do you get your little learners to remember the names of the letters? Which alphabet activities are the most effective? Join Vanessa as she shares her top 5 tried and true shortcuts that will help skyrocket alphabet success in your classroom!

Creator of Pre-K Pages

Author, Humorist, Inspiring Keynote Speaker and Workshop Trainer Extraordinaire

Vernon Mason, Jr. M.Ed.

Vernon has been called the trifecta of childcare. He grew up in an “in-home” program. As his company grew, he has been the owner-director of small, medium, and large programs. After 28.5 years, including a decade of multi-site ownership, he sold his schools to a large regional provider. Along the way, Vernon completed a Master's in Early Childhood, wrote a couple of books, and became a popular speaker. Today Vernon is Senior Vice President of Growth and Development for The Nest Schools. Author of: Don't Go! A practical guide for tackling employee turnover. Get Out! But before you go…..Practical steps to turn your Zero into a Hero or set them free! Both available on Amazon

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Human Resource Leadership; Operational Efficiency; Operations Management; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Hiring 101: 10 Breakthrough Approaches to Hire in a Covid World!

Five years ago, the biggest struggle for directors and owners was enrollment. Today, the need for hiring employees has surpassed enrollment. It seems as if there are not enough candidates to fill the vacant positions. This workshop will challenge you to adjust your recruiting, interviewing, hiring and operating technics to maximize your new hires' quantity and quality.

Melody McGuire

Melody McGuire is a prolific educator whose mission is to bring awareness to the importance of early childhood education, (ECE) and care. She has served young children, families, and communities as an Early Childhood Educator for over two decades. Melody started her career in early childhood education as a volunteer and has held various positions within childcare facilities from the assistant teacher to the executive director. Previously, Melody served as a licensing consultant, a quality advisor for the state of Indiana’s quality rating and improvement system, an ECE adjunct instructor, independent coach, and author. In her career, she has ensured to support high quality early childhood education programs to the best of her ability in each role acquired and assigned. Melody continuously encourages collaboration amongst early childhood educators and walks with a high level of self-effacement because of her inspirations. She is the Founder of the Early Childhood Educators Circle Time™ and affectionately known as Ms. Melody. She can be found on social media platforms under the alias and hashtag of ECEwithMsMelody or ECEcircletime. Melody always looks for the “good” out of any circumstances and is a catalyst for human connection and great conversation. Melody is looking forward to providing inspirational words in a humorous and calm disposition that ignites and unleashes the ECE Superpowers within each participant.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Unleash Your ECE Super Powers

Are you looking for the opportunity to maximize, strengthen and retain relationships with children, families, your local community and with other early childhood educators? This session will position you to become an effective ECE change agent. It will serve as a guiding light and motivation for you to unleash your inner Super Power as an ECE professional. After attending, the people looking for you will find you as the ECE change agent they have been waiting for because it already exists within you!

Founder

Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, and Creator of Not Just Cute

Amanda Morgan

Amanda Morgan has been curious about how children think and learn ever since she was a child herself! After growing up and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in both Elementary and Early Childhood Education, as well as a Master of Science in Human Development, she taught in a variety of school settings, from preschoolers to professionals. Amanda is passionate about aligning what we know about how children grow and learn with what we do in the classroom. She works to close the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that we can all work together to improve early childhood education while also protecting and respecting the experience of childhood. Amanda advocates for intentional whole child development and the power of play by writing, speaking, training, and creating resources on her site, Not Just Cute.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Child Growth and Development; Learning Environments

Topic: Why We Play: Getting Parents on Board with the Power of Play

As an early childhood educator, you know that play is the most efficient, most powerful method for teaching children. But on top of your responsibility to teach the young children in your class, you also frequently face the task of educating parents, administrators, and community members about best practice and why you teach the way that you do. People don't value what they don't understand. Helping parents (and others) to understand the power of play not only helps them to value the work you do, it creates a powerful partnership that enhances optimal child development. Parents will realize that your classroom is “not just cute” and see the amazing work you're doing for what it really is. As we get clear in our work and our communications, we'll soon find parents advocating right alongside us!

Prerna Richards

Prerna Richards is an international and national keynote speaker, social entrepreneur, coach, and consultant. She has been in the early childhood education field for the past 36 years. Her professional journey has allowed her to work in many different roles including being a preschool teacher and a Vice President of an early childhood division. The majority of her experience was in NAEYC accredited and trauma-informed learning programs. She is a registered master-level trainer with the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System. Most recently she started her own consulting business, Together We Grow to provide professional development, coaching, and consulting for educators and individual families. She also has a YouTube channel under the same business name. She is currently also working as a Texas rising star assessor. She is deeply passionate about supporting the teachers who are providing care for the young learners. Every child deserves the best start in life that trained and prepared educators can provide. She is the winner of the Susan Hargrave Trainer of the Year Award from TXAEYC in October 2020.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Child Growth and Development; Human Resource Leadership; Learning Environments; Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Topic: A Leaders Role in Managing Challenging Behaviours

Many leaders of childcare centers are facing teacher turnover, and burnout due to increased challenging behaviors and stress in the early childhood programs. In this session, we will look at 5 factors that can help reduce the behaviors and reduce the levels of stress. After this session directors will have tools to look at their programs with fresh eyes to see where and how to make changes to support their teachers and most importantly the young children they are educating.

CEO & Founder

CEO

Rachel Supalla

Rachel Supalla is a national childcare coach for the Childcare success company and she is also a multi-site childcare owner with 3 brands and has the energy to spare. Rachel has been nationally recognized as a teacher and director trainer and is a certified professional development specialist that specializes in brain-based creative teaching practices and leadership development. Rachel has been awarded as top 20 business leaders under 40, innovative business of the year, and best childcare of Helena. She is busy raising 4 teens in Montana and studies brain development as a way to help her in parenting and creating new training strategies.

Topic: Playful ways to turn chaos in to calm in the classroom

Chaos has become the new normal and we keep saying “this is just a season” but honesty, it is the season that never ends. Instead of surviving the chaos, we must learn how to use play as a tool to manage our days to reach calm and peace. This session will focus on brain based tools to help with mindset, classroom management and teacher interactions to revive the passion in teachers.

Renee Terry

After being a special education teacher for 6 years, Renee’s passion for kids (and fitness) led her to purchase Stretch-n-Grow, an international children’s movement program franchise, in 2005. Renee is passionate about personal and professional growth and loves to empower, inspire and equip others to learn and grow as well! She believes early educators have one of the most important callings in the world as they are charged with molding the next generation during the most impressionable part of a child’s life. It's her calling to pour into directors and teachers so they can continue to invest in the lives of little ones.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Child Growth and Development

Topic: Movement Matters!

In this fun, engaging, educational session you will learn how to incoporate locomotor skills and exercise into your lessons and learning stations. You will leave with numerous ideas and resources for meeting the new 746.2206 Minimum Standard of 60-90 minutes of rigorous activity each day. Did you know cross midline exercises develop the part of the brain children need for reading skills? Join us to learn new teaching strategies to help your students be successful.

Entrepreneur and Educator

Executive Director

Heather Torres

Heather has been working in ECE since 2003 and in management of ECE since 2006. She is a national presenter and sits on the board of AELL.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Child Growth and Development

Topic: In order the understand children, we must understand ourselves

We will dive into what makes ourselves tick in order to understand how children tick.

Carla Ward

Carla Ward is an Early Childhood Educator and the founder of Early Learning Foundations, a business dedicated to education and enhancing the work of Early Childhood Educators. She has held a variety of roles in the education field for more than 16 years. Carla is a certified Wonder-Based educator and brings a sense of wonder and passion into every aspect of her business, from hosting The Everything ECE Podcast, to workshop development, to digital course creation as well as running a full-time online tutoring business. Carla loves to share actionable and inspiring ideas with fellow educators both in the classroom and administrative roles to help support professional practices in Early Childhood Education.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Child Growth and Development; Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Learning Environments; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Meetings that Matter

Staff meetings are an absolute necessity in any business but in the world of child care, it is especially crucial to the team development, development of children and the child care business itself. With child care staff so often being on shifts, staff meetings are the perfect opportunity for staff to connect, collaborate and feel inspired. However, most staff meetings are dull, uninspiring and in many cases, could have been an email. In Meetings that Matter we will look at the 4 stages needed to prepare for and run a successful and inspiring staff meeting that your staff actually want to attend.

Educator | Entrepreneur | Digital Course Creator | Founder

CEO of Kangarootime

Scott Wayman

Scott Wayman is the Founder and CEO of Kangarootime, the leading software for childcare centers and preschools. In 2015, as a young parent-guardian, Scott was inspired to found Kangarootime when he discovered that many of the groundbreaking technologies being used in health systems and physician offices could greatly benefit childcare owners and leaders in the early education industry. He designed Kangarootime to bring the same efficiencies to childcare and to give childcare professionals the tools to scale their classrooms, automate their businesses and better communicate with the families they serve. Scott has a passion for providing tools, technologies, and resources to better the childcare industry.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Operational Efficiency; Operations Management; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Finding Your Why

Over the past few years, we’ve seen the childcare industry struggle. Through the trials and tribulations, it’s difficult to understand why we continue to do what we do. Scott will walk attendees through how to find their why and reignite their passion for childcare while looking forward to the future of the industry.

Lynn Wenger

For over 25 years Lynn has been assisting business leaders in creating repeatable best practice processes and automated systems in order to improve operational efficiencies – all that tie to the bottom line profit. She firmly believes the use of technology dramatically assists leadership teams to optimize systems, proactively manage and measure what works well, and to pivot quickly once they have identified areas for improvement or replication across staff. Lynn brings her expertise to Early Childhood Education to help leadership digitize and analyze their paper-based systems surrounding quality best practices and compliance. In her role at 1Place Childcare, the 2019/20 survey of ECE Leadership reveals 52% have SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) daily/weekly/monthly checklists on a clipboard without formal documentation, 21% do not document “because they know what they are doing,” and the remainder store their completed checklists in a binder. How is it that 52% is acceptable? Let’s improve! Lynn has a heart for children of all ages in her roles serving as VP Operations at 1Place Childcare, also as an advocate and former board member of the Pregnancy Center of the Upper Valley, and as co-founder of Youth on Main serving middle school students.

Topic: Crisis Avoidance - Data, Compliance and Your Bottom Line

Avoid a Compliance Crisis! Compliance isn’t always thought of as having a direct impact on the bottom line….UNTIL….. Routine audits are missed, tell-tale data is overlooked, or maintenance tasks fall through the cracks creating liabilities leading to Child injury Licensing Citations Failed Health and Safety Inspection Poor review by staff or family Then – compliance is top of mind – Why wait for a “when” to create a crisis? What if there was a better way to proactively manage compliance and best practice to ensure what you inspect matches what you expect? Hint – it has to do with data to fuel best practice which leads to proactive compliance management. “Having robust back-end processes in place gives directors that all-important peace of mind and freedom from getting bogged down. If you do not have a repeatable and consistent sequence, you will miss something every time,” says Beth Cannon. Come learn how to ensure you are proactively managing best best practice and compliance to serve your bottom line.

VP North American Operations

CEO & Founder

Chanie Wilschanski

Chanie Wilschanski, Host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, is an Early Childhood Leadership Coach, CEO, and Founder of Schools of Excellence. Chanie has worked with hundreds of EC Directors and School Owners who are working to build a School of Excellence with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, and collaborative culture. Chanie began her journey over a decade ago, teaching toddlers at the acclaimed Preschool of the Arts in New York City for 8 years until she continued her path into high studies and earned her Masters in EC and Special Education. In 2015, she started training teachers and school leaders on the HOW part of creating excellence in their schools. Now a wife and mother of 4, her hands are full and she understands what it takes to lead a large center and have a full-time job at home, and it breaks my heart when I see so many dedicated school leaders sacrificing all of their time with their family and all of their self-care (what self-care?) to a school that feels like it’s constantly getting away from them.

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Human Resource Leadership; Operational Efficiency; Professional Development and Leadership

Topic: Maximize the Roles & Responsibilities of a High-Performing Team and grow your school AND enjoy freedom as the School Leader

There ARE school leaders who effectively delegate, and as a result…enjoy managing high-performing teams without stress and have highly engaged team members You'll learn The secret, simple method to help you overcome the common challenges that arise when delegating to other team members An exact blueprint on how to design your day so you have healthy boundaries & a smooth-running school, even when you're not present Step-by-step methods to filter through distraction & keep you, the owner, focused on the high priority work

Brandy Woods-Smith

Brandy Woods-Smith is a charismatic and passionate educator, entrepreneur, speaker, and consultant. She is known as a thought leader, change agent, community developer and to many, she is hailed the Millionaire Midwife. Ms. Woods-Smith attended Jarvis Christian College in East Texas. She finished her Master in Education Administration in 2005. After serving the public school system for 13 years, Woods opened Imagine Me Academy in 2013 and now has multiple locations. In her quest to help other aspiring entrepreneurs achieve success, she founded Powerhouses United and Childcare Millionaires, business incubators designed to give education, resources and teach financial literacy to entrepreneurs. Believe BIG! Expect BIG! Do BIG! is the mantra she lives by. Woods says, “Although BIG is not the most eloquent word, it gets the vision across clearly! With belief in my heart, the work of my hands, and the words in my mouth. I will accomplish what I am commissioned to do: Motivate! Educate! Produce!

Generally Recognized ECE Core Competencies – Business Structure; Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Organization; Operations Management

Topic: 12 Proven Ways to Improve Your Childcare Business in 100 Days or Less!

Childcare is big business with a big community and economic impact. Creating a clear path to success is a vital role for all owners and directors. In this session, you will explore 12 Ways to focus your team, cast vision, and reach your center's goals with ease in 100 Days of Less.

Childcare Millionaires Association, Founder Imagine Me Academy, CEO

Master Trainer, Consultant, Children's Book Author, Online Show Host

Albert Wright

Albert Wright is a Master Trainer, children’s book author, and host of the weekly web show, “Two minutes with Albert”. He has over 20 years in the child care industry and had the privilege of being chosen as Trainer of the Year twice for the state of Texas, and is a much sought after Master Trainer who has presented on platforms such as conferences for the National Association of Education for Young Children, National Afterschool Association, and many more. He consults with Businesses, Schools, Churches, and Nonprofits to strengthen the relationships between the children, educators, administrators, and parents. Albert holds a BS in Child Development and earned his Masters of Education in Early Childhood Education while traveling as a Keynote and Featured Speaker. Albert has trained all over the United States, specifically working in and around Texas with Workforce Solutions and many of the AEYC affiliates. Albert believes that it is important to be both informative and entertaining while training because if people are entertained, they are more likely to retain the information. Albert seeks to train with the perfect balance of laughter and learning, which has turned Wright One Training clients into true fans of his work.

Topic: So we've talked about Race...What's Next?

Attending talks and conferences promoting diversity and inclusion is a good first step, but you have to realize this is a lifelong journey. This training will address how to listen while people of color talk about everyday racism and white privilege, and what to do after you have that knowledge. It is imperative that we learn how to sit in the well with others, what to do to provide further education, and what not to do.