Biography

COVID-19 has crystallized how leadership at critical times in history can shape the outcome for generations to come.  And as I sat preparing to provide testimony before the House Committee on Appropriations in support of a $50 billion relief package to the childcare industry, a thought popped into my head, “If I ever get the chance to compile and publish all of my writings and thoughts about early childhood, it should be titled “From the Supply Closet to the Halls of Congress.” 

You see, fifteen years ago, when I switched career paths to become the director of Hope For New Haven, I did it in response to Christ’s call to use my gifts to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace.  Soon after I assumed my position, I was led to a supply closet which I was told would double as my office.  In the solitude of that supply closet, I found myself daily depleted by the challenges that come with leading an organization straddled with $80K in debt, a monthly $10K deficit, high staff turnover, and the incredible difficulties associated with operating a childcare center. 

Within ten years I grew Hope into a 9,000 sq ft facility serving close to 100 children each year, up from the 30 children we were licensed for when I first started this role.  I eliminated the $80K debt and virtually eliminated the monthly deficit.  Building upon my commitment that no one should have to relive my experience of being without a system of support, I established CERCLE, an informal network of providers with whom I freely shared resources and stories of triumphs and pain.  It was in that process that I found that while the challenges of managing a childcare program are universal, like most things in America, the experience of doing it while Black presents a distinctive challenge. 

Creating CERCLE ensured that the work I did to build Hope did not remain within our walls; it provided me an avenue to strengthen the support system for providers of color, to ensure that all children, especially vulnerable children of color, are cared for by loving, caring, trained and well compensated adults who share their background and experiences.  I set about this work by building and advocating for new policies and systems and challenging local and state officials to invest in CT’s ECE system.  I relied on my expertise as a storyteller to share more about my time spent in the supply closet, those late nights pouring over unworkable budgets, the evening and weekends cheering on providers who felt like giving up, the tightrope of supporting staff while balancing unfunded mandates and regulations, and the infinite patience, love and grace needed to support parents struggling to find their own place of balance. 

These stories were instrumental in advancing legislation, which included the creation of CT’s statewide notification system for childcare programs during an emergency, relief in regulations to allow family childcare providers to use substitutes to attend school, and the reorganization of the School Readiness Councils to provide for greater access to decision making by families and community members.  It has been this work that has allowed me to share several platforms with Commissioner Beth Bye, Commissioner for the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, Connecticut Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Rosa DeLauro, and most recently, my appointment by Senate President Martin Looney as the voice for private providers to CT’s Task Force on Issues Relating to Early Childhood Workforce Development Needs. I presume it is my unapologetic candor and passion that caused Representative DeLauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, to extend the invitation to me to testify before Congress, and for me to eventually be selected as one of three ECE providers to meet Vice President Harris when she visited CT, two of the greatest honors of my life. 

As I look ahead at the work before our sector to rebuild, I believe that NAEYC is uniquely poised to shape this new ECE landscape, and if selected to serve on the board, I want the culmination of all my experiences and years of being a servant to the providers, children and families of CT to help inform that work.  My heart is full with the love that I have for this field.  Every day I awake with a singular focus: how do I make this industry better for my colleagues, of all races, creed, and class, and for the children they pour into every day? 

This work that began in a supply closet, with an organization in great need, has allowed me to respond to Christ’s call to care for the poor, seek justice for the oppressed and “...suffer the little children to come”.  My hope is that my service on the NAEYC Governing Board will allow me to extend that advocacy beyond the borders of Connecticut so I can fully stand in the incredible place of privilege of being an ant’s lunch. Yes, an ant’s lunch: that which sustains the least among us. 

For the candidate's personal statement click here: https://youtu.be/kQr6vvGnIjo