Mentors and Presenters

Mentors

Mentors play an important role in the Center’s Taking Charge of Change initiative supporting participants as they develop and implement a program improvement plan at their respective sites. Current mentors are:

Rochelle Golliday has worked in the field of early childhood for over eleven years. She is the co-owner of Cuddle Care, Inc., with sites in Riverdale, IL and Chicago. Rochelle is an adjunct faculty member at Chicago State University, and has worked as an independent consultant for the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership. She is a certified Program Administration Scale (PAS) assessor. Ms. Golliday also serves on the advisory board for the South Suburban Resource and Referral Agency, Good Shepherd, and the Professional Development Committee for the Preschool Owners Association (PSO). She holds a master's degree in adult education from National-Louis University.

Etheal Gore is Education Manager for the Ada S. McKinley Child Care Centers. Ms. Gore has worked with the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership both as a mentor for Taking Charge of Change and as an accreditation facilitator for the Chicago Accreditation Partnership (CAP). Etheal is an NAEYC validator, CDA advisor, and adjunct faculty member at National-Louis University. She was presented the Caring for Our Children Award in 2001 from the Blackman-Reese Foundation. Etheal is also known as "Frenchie the Clown."

Adrienne Hamilton is the Program Manager for the Easter Seals Gilchrist-Marchman Center, a dually NAEYC/CARF accredited child development center serving children in Chicago. The center includes more than 25% children with developmental disabilities in its Head Start, Preschool for All, and school-age programs. Ms. Hamilton received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Chicago State University. She has worked in the field of early childhood and HIV-respite care for 17 years. Adrienne volunteers on the African-American Leadership Council, for the Chicago Foundation for Women, and is a domestic violence, crisis line worker. She also volunteers locally and abroad in South Africa for two organizations that serve children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Kathy Hardy has worked in the field of early childhood for over 15 years, holding positions as preschool teacher, director, mentor, college instructor, and trainer, specializing in documentation of children’s work and the creative arts. Currently, Ms. Hardy is director of Winnetka Community Nursery School, an NAEYC-accredited program. She serves on the Board of the Winnetka Alliance and is a Professional Development Advisor for the Illinois Director Credential (IDC). Kathy holds a master's degree in early childhood administration from National-Louis University.

Delores Malone has a master's degree from Loyola University Chicago in conjunction with Erikson Institute, specializing in child development. In her 26 plus years of working in early childhood education, Delores has taught preschool-age children and was a site director of an infant-toddler program. Delores conducts workshops for both early childhood educators and parents on a variety of topics. She was recently featured as one of five families in a video titled Grandparenting: Enriching Lives. Delores is currently an adjunct faculty member for Oakton Community College and an early childhood consultant.

Joleen Patton is Program Director for Blessing Hospital's Lauretta M. Eno Child Care Center in Qunicy, IL. In this role she manages an accredited, employer-supported child care center licensed for 286 children. In addition to her role as Director, Ms. Patton is adjunct faculty at Hannibal LaGrange College where she teaches course in early childhood administration and multicultural study of child and family. She is also an Illinois trainer for the Creative Curriculum for Preschool and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R). Joleen is past president of the National Child Care in Health Care and a board member for PACT for West Central Illinois Head Start. Her early career included work as a Head Start teacher, home visitor, and education coordinator. Joleen holds a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University and a master's degree from National-Louis University.

Presenters

The Center utilizes the expertise of guest keynote speakers, workshop facilitators, and institute instructors for its many initiatives. The following are a list of consultant presenters we have worked with over the past few years.

• Kay Albrecht, Innovations in Early Childhood Education, Houston, TX
• Arshia Ali-Khan, YWCA Lake County, Waukegan, IL
• M. Parker Anderson, The Anderson Advantage Group, Washington, DC
• Bill Ayers, University of Illinois, Chicago
• Sue Baldwin, INSIGHTS Training and Consulting, Stillwater, MN
• Lynson Moore Beaulieu, Shott Foundation, Cambridge, MA
• Marc Bermann, Skokie, IL
• Karla Berra, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Lisle, IL
• Mary Ellen Bleeden, Consultant, DesPlaines, IL
• Barbara Bowman, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL
• Mark Branagh, Branagh Information Systems, Orinda, CA
• Michael Brandwein, Consultant, Lincolnshire, IL
• Holly Elissa Bruno, Bruno Donaturo Consulting, Boston, MA
• Kathy Buckley, Consultant, Glendale, CA
• Eileen Canafax, Consultant, Skokie, IL
• Margie Carter, Harvest Resources, Seattle, WA
• Debby Cryer, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
• Jerlean Daniel, NAEYC, Washington, DC
• Carol Brunson Day, Consultant, Silver Springs, MD
• Diane Trister Dodge, Teaching Strategies, Inc., Washington, DC
• Chip Donohue, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
• Lisa Downey, Independent Consultant, Chicago, IL
• Joyce Dudley, Dudley Hamilton Associates, New York, NY
• Sandra Duncan, Consultant, Charlotte, NC
• Dawn Ellis, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Buffalo Grove, IL
• Stephanie Feeney, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
• Nancy Freeman, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
• Lois Gamble, National Assoc of Child Care Professionals, Austin, TX
• Eleanor Gardner, Consultant, Lakeland, FL
• Elizabeth Gardner, Women's Business Development Center, Chicago, IL
• Azieb Gebreheiiwet, Eyes on the Future Child Care, Chicago, IL
• Stacie Goffin, Goffin Strategy Group, Washington, D.C
• Ed Greene, Consultant, Princeton, NJ
• Cornelia Grumman, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
• Adrienne Hamilton, Easter Seals Head Start, Chicago, IL
• Marsha Hawley, Chicago, IL
• Judy Harris Helm, Best Practices, Brimfield, IL
• Luis Hernandez, Region IV Head Start, Miami, FL
• Dan Hodgins, Mott Community College, Flint, MI
• Marsha Howard, Consultant, Redwood City, CA
• Judy Jablon, Consultant, South Orange, NJ
• Leonard Johnson, Consultant, Chicago, IL
• Kristie Kauerz, Early Learning Commission of the States, Denver, CO
• Kendra Kett, Early Discoveries Abbott Center, North Chicago, IL
• Agnes Kovacs, Elgin Area Child Care Initiative, Elgin, IL
• Crystal Kuykendall, Consultant, Potomac, MD
• Valerie Dawkins, Krajec, Consultant, West Salem, IL
• Rosita Lopez Marcano, Northern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
• Kathy McKeon, Early Childhood Leadership Institute, Washington, DC
• Anne Mitchell, Early Childhood Policy Research, Climax, NY
• Bonnie and Roger Neugebauer, Exchange World Forum, Redmond, WA
• Kerri Nolan, consultant, Braidwood, IL
• Stacy Olszewski, Consultant, Chicago, IL
• Joleen Patton, Blessing Hospital, Quincy, IL
• Keith Pentz, Consultant, Sarasota, FL
• Donna Rafanello, Consultant, Long Beach, CA
• Cathy Riley, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
• John Roope, Chaddock, Quincy, IL
• Jennifer Rosinia, Kid Link Unlimited, Lansing, IL
• Barbara Sawyer, NAFCC, Arvada, CO
• Diana Schaack, Qualistar Early Learning, Denver, CO
• Sandra Schaefer, Consultant, Chicago, IL
• Angela Sears, Consultant, Chicago, IL
• Holly Seplocha, William Paterson University, Westfield, NJ
• Robert Siegel, Easter Seals National Headquarters, Chicago, IL
• Jackie Smizer, Community Mennonite Early Learning, Markham, IL
• Phil Sparks, Communications Consortium Media Center, Washington, DC
• Karen Stephens, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
• Vicki Stoecklin, White Hutchinson, Kansas City, MO
• Cynthia Stringfellow, Midwest Learning Center, Chicago, IL
• Lori Conn Stulz, Consultant, Evergreen Park, IL
• Donna Thompson, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
• Mary Pat Varga, Varga and Associates, Chicago, IL
• Latrice Walker, Pre-Fit, Chicago, IL
• Margie Wallen, Ounce of Prevention, Chicago, IL
• Cass Wolfe, Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Chicago, IL
• Tanya Woods, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago, IL