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.

Dr. Michelle DeMeulenaere first began her career working with young children in 1988, and across the past 32 years has amassed a variety of professional and educational experiences. Michelle obtained her Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from the University of Northern Iowa, master’s degree from Northwestern Louisiana State University, and doctorate from Louisiana State University.  Michelle has been an elementary school teacher, preschool teacher, and center director.  Michelle was employed by the Louisiana Department of Education for several years in which she held positions in Early Childhood Licensing, Certification, and Early Childhood Support Manager. ​

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.

Leah has enjoyed a profession in early childhood education for over 30 years. She has worked in a variety of capacities: k-3rd grade educator, early interventionist, and school social worker. Leah recognizes the immense value that early education plays in the wellbeing of our society. She has dedicated her career to supporting young children and their families. She is honored to serve on the board of LAAEYC to advocate for young children. Leah and her husband raised 2 daughters who are now early childhood educators. They are the proud grandparents of 2 young granddaughters. 

Melissa Johnson serves as an early childhood administrator for a non-profit supporting children and families in Louisiana and is a doctoral student in the LSU Early Childhood Education program. In previous roles she has been an Early Childhood Ancillary Certificate instructor, early childhood coach and Pre-K teacher. She currently serves as the LAAEYC Greater New Orleans Region Member-at-Large and looks forward to learning more about the great work that you are doing to impact the lives of children and families in our state. 

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. 

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.

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Dr. Michelle Fazio Brunson serves as the Director of Graduate Programs in Early Childhood Education at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. She currently holds the Melba Steeg Endowed Professorship at NSU and focuses her work on helping young children living in poverty. Partnering with her husband, the Chief Public Defender for Natchitoches Parish, she engages her undergraduate and graduate Early Childhood Education candidates in experiential learning and service learning projects to remap the Cradle to Prison Pipeline to the Cradle to College Pipeline in Louisiana. Her research interests include the Language Experience Approach, the Project Approach, and Reggio Emilia schools.  

Nancy P. Alexander is Director of Northwestern State University Child and Family Network in Shreveport, Louisiana. Nancy’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from Centenary College and a master’s from Northwestern State University. She has completed additional graduate work from Northwestern, Louisiana Tech, and Louisiana State University.

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