We enthusiastically announce the addition of four new members to our Steering Committee representing varying businesses and organizations that seek to improve the lives of our community’s children.
MaryBeth Bush is a professional family childcare provider in Warren. In 1997 she founded Mary’s Little Lambs Childcare & Preschool, a growing and successful 3-Star, high-quality family childcare provider. In 2012 MaryBeth became the first family childcare provider to be nationally accredited through the National Association for Family Child Care. She is also a founding executive board member and the current treasurer and secretary for the HAPPY Homes Ohio Association, Ohio’s family childcare networking organization.
Rhonda Childs recently became the Director of Early Childhood for Upper Arlington Schools where she also serves as the Director of Burbank Early Childhood School. She has over 10 years of experience working with pre-K and kindergarten students in the classroom, working extensively with diverse populations of students including different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds as well as students with special needs. Rhonda previously served as a Department Coordinator at Columbus City Schools in the Department of Early Childhood Education.
Laura DiCola is the Early Childhood Education Strategy Leader for the Summit Education Initiative (SEI), a nonprofit organization located in Akron that works “cradle to career” to enhance the educational experiences of individuals and their families. After spending more than 20 years finding creative solutions to complex business problems as an attorney in the private sector, she left law to pursue her passion for education and community-based work. Laura’s work at SEI focuses on the early childhood strategy, including early care, kindergarten readiness and third grade reading.
Katie Kelly serves as the Director of PRE4CLE, a plan to ensure all 3- and 4-year-old children in Cleveland have access to a high-quality preschool. She previously worked for Groundwork Ohio from its inception in 2004 until 2014. During that time Katie served as Campaign Director and Executive Director of the organization for a combined seven years. Under her leadership, Groundwork became a leading advocate for high-quality early care and education in Ohio. Katie also served concurrently for seven years as a Public Policy Fellow at The Center for Community Solutions.