Racine Bridges is a dedicated professional with a passion for early childhood education. She holds the position of Early Childhood Education Coordinator for the Child Care Resource and Referral at the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe; Racine brings a deep understanding of child development and social dynamics to her role.

Tessa Holloway is the owner of Kidz Karousel Early Learning Centers. The center has 7 locations across 4 parishes. She has been in the field of ECC for over 16 years. Tessa strives to grow her platform to be able to advocate more for the children of Louisiana. She is well versed in effective childcare center policy and procedure. Tessa sits on various boards as her goal is to help Louisiana become the model state people look at to learn more about providing safe, best-practice early childhood care, from the children to the parents to all of the stakeholders.

Megan Garretson is tenacious and committed in her mission as a parent, educator, and leader--regardless of the scale or difficulty of the challenges. She is the visionary and owner of Young Scholars Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with over 13 years of experience in the field. You will find Megan at any opportunity to advocate for the children of Louisiana.

Amanda Colon has worked in education for the last 15 years. In the Ascension Parish school system, she taught in various primary grades in the inclusion classrooms.  Amanda also served as the School Building Level Committee Facilitator, which allowed her to support teachers and children who needed additional support, interventions, or screening for evaluation of special educational services. During this role, she found a passion for supporting families and connecting families to resources that would assist their children throughout their journey in the educational process.

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Kristi Givens, a veteran educator and social worker of over thirty years, is the executive director and owner of Kids of Excellence, two nationally accredited high-quality early learning centers located in New Orleans, LA. Seeing a need for more quality centers in her community, made it her mission to directly impact her community by providing access to affordable high-quality programming.​ Kristi holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New Orleans and Master's and Bachelor's degree in Social Work, specializing in children and families from Southern University in New Orleans.

Jema LeFevre is a lifelong learner and educator. She obtained an associates degree in Early Childhood Education (2002), a Bachelor's degree in Child and Family Studies (2005), and Master Degrees in both Teaching and Learning with Technology (2018) and Educational Leadership (2020) and is certified to teach Early Childhood, fifth grade. She is currently an Early Childhood Resource Coordinator in Lafayette Parish, with eighteen years of experience working in the field. Jema supports Early Childhood Educators in a variety of ways including classroom management, TS Gold, CLASS, ASQ and curriculum. Jema also co-teaches an Early Childhood Ancillary Certificate program. 

Desiree Collins is a dedicated advocate for early childhood development. With a diverse background in direct care, program administration, and training, she empowers communities through strong partnerships and evidence-based practices. Her passion drives a positive impact on young children and families.

One of Northwestern State’s avid supporters, Faith has been a part of the demon family for 29 years. As a three-year-old, she started her NSU journey at the Marie Shaw Dunn Child Development Center and then graduated in 2017 and again in 2019 with a bachelor's and master’s in early childhood. During her studies in her master’s degree program, she worked as a reading interventionist at a low-performing school in Natchitoches Parish with the challenge of bridging the gap for children in kindergarten. Faith now leads the NSU Marie Shaw Dunn Child Development Center as the director and four-year-old teacher and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Adult Learning and Development to better serve her university, community, and state.

My name is Kristen Nobles. I recently joined LAAEYC, as I have been a member of CCAL for 4 years. I am a LELA graduate of the 3rd cohort, and I have obtained my masters in Psychology from the University of Monroe and doctorate in Special Education from NOVA Southeastern in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I have been working for Sprinkles Early Learning since 2019, but I have over 20 years experience in working with children. Working in Louisiana in the field of education has opened my eyes to so many areas that need help. Children are not receiving adequate preparatory services for school readiness and our childcare centers are struggling to provide these quality services, as our funding and enrollment continues to decrease.