MY BACKGROUND
I am an educator, but first and foremost, I am an advocate for young children and the Early Childhood profession.
My personal background includes degrees in English, Elementary Education, and Early Childhood Education. I have taught Kindergarten, first, and second grades, as well as teaching for 15 years in a NAEYC accredited preschool. I have also served as a parent educator with the national Parents as Teachers program. I spent several years teaching dual-credit Early Childhood CDA courses to juniors and seniors in a large, metropolitan high school in Indianapolis.
I received a certificate of commendation from the Southern Poverty Law Center for my creative use of the Starting Small : Teaching Children Tolerance curriculum in my College classes. I am also a member of the Indianapolis chapter of Every Child Matters advocacy group. I was awarded the NISOD Teaching Excellence Award by the University of Texas and was recently nominated by the Academy of Education Arts and Science for a Bammy Award as Professor of the Year, and named "Educator to Watch" by the same organization.
As professor of Early Childhood Education at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, I have taught courses for degree-seeking students, as well as teaching classes to those pursuing a CDA. I have been designated a Master Teacher by the College.
In addition, I develop and teach CDA courses for Child Care Aware, provide Train the Trainer workshops, and present each year at national Early Childhood conferences across the country, on various Early Childhood topics. I am the CDA course developer for the state of South Dakota. I am also a mentor to young college women starting out in education, through the Pass the Torch for Women Foundation.
I am a featured blogger for EdWords, on the BAM Radio Network, a nationally syndicated web-based station for educators. and a contributing author for Hamilton County Family and Indy's Child magazines.
I am also certified CDA Professional Development Specialist for the Council for Professional Recognition, as well as a CDA Alumni Network Ambassador for the Midwest states. In addition, I serve as a certified, CDA Council Gold Standard Training Specialist. In this role, I assess the CDA courses provided by training agencies, colleges, and universities across the country and, if they meet specific quality content, teaching, and business practices criteria, the entity will be designated as Gold Standard. As a CDA educator, Ambassador, PD Specialist, and Gold Standard Specialist, I am in a unique position to understand the CDA process on many different levels.
For the past 22 years, I have been providing support to CDA candidates, both on this website, through workshops, and at my College. During that time, I have seen an ever-increasing number of CDA candidates requesting help. I realized there was a real need for a CDA manual that would provide step-by-step, individual help through the CDA process. So, in partnership with Redleaf Press, The CDA Prep Guide was born, now in its 4th edition!
MY GOAL
I want your pursuit of a CDA Credential to be rewarding and successful. Whether someone has graciously led you to this website or you have come upon it purely by chance, I'm glad you're here. I hope you find the help and information to be a comforting respite from the stress and confusion that you may be experiencing. Please contact me if you have any questions!
I am an educator, but first and foremost, I am an advocate for young children and the Early Childhood profession.
My personal background includes degrees in English, Elementary Education, and Early Childhood Education. I have taught Kindergarten, first, and second grades, as well as teaching for 15 years in a NAEYC accredited preschool. I have also served as a parent educator with the national Parents as Teachers program. I spent several years teaching dual-credit Early Childhood CDA courses to juniors and seniors in a large, metropolitan high school in Indianapolis.
I received a certificate of commendation from the Southern Poverty Law Center for my creative use of the Starting Small : Teaching Children Tolerance curriculum in my College classes. I am also a member of the Indianapolis chapter of Every Child Matters advocacy group. I was awarded the NISOD Teaching Excellence Award by the University of Texas and was recently nominated by the Academy of Education Arts and Science for a Bammy Award as Professor of the Year, and named "Educator to Watch" by the same organization.
As professor of Early Childhood Education at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, I have taught courses for degree-seeking students, as well as teaching classes to those pursuing a CDA. I have been designated a Master Teacher by the College.
In addition, I develop and teach CDA courses for Child Care Aware, provide Train the Trainer workshops, and present each year at national Early Childhood conferences across the country, on various Early Childhood topics. I am the CDA course developer for the state of South Dakota. I am also a mentor to young college women starting out in education, through the Pass the Torch for Women Foundation.
I am a featured blogger for EdWords, on the BAM Radio Network, a nationally syndicated web-based station for educators. and a contributing author for Hamilton County Family and Indy's Child magazines.
I am also certified CDA Professional Development Specialist for the Council for Professional Recognition, as well as a CDA Alumni Network Ambassador for the Midwest states. In addition, I serve as a certified, CDA Council Gold Standard Training Specialist. In this role, I assess the CDA courses provided by training agencies, colleges, and universities across the country and, if they meet specific quality content, teaching, and business practices criteria, the entity will be designated as Gold Standard. As a CDA educator, Ambassador, PD Specialist, and Gold Standard Specialist, I am in a unique position to understand the CDA process on many different levels.
For the past 22 years, I have been providing support to CDA candidates, both on this website, through workshops, and at my College. During that time, I have seen an ever-increasing number of CDA candidates requesting help. I realized there was a real need for a CDA manual that would provide step-by-step, individual help through the CDA process. So, in partnership with Redleaf Press, The CDA Prep Guide was born, now in its 4th edition!
MY GOAL
I want your pursuit of a CDA Credential to be rewarding and successful. Whether someone has graciously led you to this website or you have come upon it purely by chance, I'm glad you're here. I hope you find the help and information to be a comforting respite from the stress and confusion that you may be experiencing. Please contact me if you have any questions!
