Eager To Learn Instructors!

Sierra Asamoa-Tutu is a Program Coordinator and Trainer for Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  She has a BA in Global and Intercultural Studies, and has been working with families and communities since 2003. Her special interest is working with Native American communities or indigenous populations overseas.  At MOFAS, her main duties are to provide trainings on FASD for professionals and to provide support to families affected by FASD.   One of the programs Sierra facilitates is the "Hand in Hand Series" for caregivers, a five-week topical series on life with FASD.  This class was recently modified for online delivery and is the only one of its kind in the United States.  Because of her experience working with both families and professionals, Sierra has unique insight into the challenges of understanding FASD and how to better serve those living with this invisible disability.

Sue Baldwin is the owner of INSIGHTS Training & Consulting in Stillwater, MN. She has been working in the field of administration since 1967, in the field of early care and education since 1977, and training in both fields since 1983. Sue is nationally recognized as a keynote presenter at conferences. She was on the original task force with Wheelock College to develop a national credential for early childhood directors. She has been an adjunct faculty member at St. Paul College since 1996, teaching directors who are going through the credentialing process. Sue will be working with Eager-to-Learn participants who are earning their Administrators' Certificate. Sue is an author, and when asked about the topics she writes about and presents, she categorizes them into "personal and professional growth."  She believes that students and conference participants should be able to have questions and concerns answered with respect and efficiency. She is a Minnesota certified trainer and in 2007 was named "Trainer of the Year."

Michelle Barnea is excited to be joining the online teaching teaching team from the east coast. She lives in New Jersey and has been in the field of early childhood education for more than 20 years. She began her career as a pediatric nurse and then returned to school to earn a master's degree in Infant and Parent Development. Michelle was director of the first Medical Day Care Center in New Jersey before directing a large corporate child care center. Michelle has also held positions on several statewide councils including New Jersey Child Development Associate Advisory Council, the executive board of New Jersey's Coalition for Infant Toddler Educators, and New Jersey's Child Care Advisory Council. She is also the chair of New Jersey's Online Learning Sub-Committee professional development program. She has been an independent early childhood consultant for the past 10 years.

Holly Beckius is a licensed registered dietitian specializing in weight management and child nutrition. She coordinates a weight management program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Fargo, ND.  Prior to that, she worked as a nutrition coordinator for Clay Wilkin Head Start, as a nutrition educator providing trainings for home child care providers and as a food service director for a child care center. Holly enjoys the opportunity to affect the wellness of children and families in a different way by educating the most influential people in their lives. She believes that learning not only involves the exchange of information but the opportunity to facilitate learning, raise awareness, think creatively, encourage best practice, and promote positive change.

Chris Bentley is the director of The Fraser Institute, a Twin Cities nonprofit organization dedicated to serving persons with special needs. At Fraser, Chris has been an Early Childhood Special Education teacher for infants and toddlers, the center director and now provides program, product and training development. She also works with The Center for Inclusive Child Care, a grant funded technical assistance and training project. She primarily trains in special needs leadership areas. Her goals in educating are to provide scaffolding to past learning experiences and open students' eyes to new concepts and possibilities. Chris sees learning as an incredible experience.

Sharon Bergen
With more than 25 years of professional work, Sharon has wide experience in early care and education settings. She has a master's degree in early childhood education and is completing her doctorate in education with a specialization in training and performance improvement. Sharon's work experience includes for-profit and not-for-profit settings ranging from teaching in a classroom to managing a large, nationwide training department. Currently Sharon is involved in a variety of consulting and training development projects in addition to working as associate director for Training and Resources for the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Sharon is author of "Best Practices for Training Early Childhood Professionals" published in 2009 by Redleaf Press.

Judy Bissen is an Early Childhood Family Education teacher in Minnesota as well as an adjunct faculty member at a technical college in Wisconsin. She received her Masters Degree in Professional Development at the University of Wisconsin â€" La Crosse. She has over twenty years of experience working with children and their families in a variety of child care settings as well as in parent education. She believes that it is important for us to recognize our personal strengths as well as the strengths of the students we teach. It is through our strengths that we can learn how to overcome challenging situations and grow in all areas.

Dawn Braa has a master's degree in Early Childhood Education and has worked in infant, toddler and intermediate rooms in various child care centers, along with being a lead preschool teacher. She is a local child development instructor and also an early childhood trainer for Dakota County Licensing, Dakota County Family Child Care Association and Child Care Resource & Referral. She believes that teaching is a relationship between teachers and students: Teachers have duties to their students, and students have duties to their teachers. She strives to provide a creative and innovative online classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Her goal is to motivate students to be successful in studying and in applying their knowledge to their personal and professional lives.

Trish Brokman owns Knowledge Partners Training and Consulting in St. Paul. She has 20 years experience providing training and technical assistance as an early childhood consultant and supporting teachers through ongoing professional development as a coach and mentor. In addition she is an adjunct instructor within the Minnesota Colleges and Universities System, specializing in child development and curriculum-related courses. She has 13 years experience facilitating Child Development Associate Credential training for Head Start, as well as experience supporting the NAEYC accreditation process. She has a bachelor's degree in child development from Iowa State University, a master's degree in education from Hamline University, endorsement and certification as a trainer in the High Scope Curriculum and a certificate in leadership from St. Catherine's University. She believes that teaching and learning is an ongoing partnership between the learner and the instructor.

Katy Chase is the executive director of the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association. She received her bachelor of science from Bemidji State University and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota. She believes in what she teaches and inspires students to challenge themselves in learning. Learners need time to work with the information and implement the learning in their programs. After implementation a student needs to have class time again to discuss what worked and what didn't. Only series classes allow for this. She hopes that her students will find much worth implementing in their work and are successful in doing it. Katy thinks grades are important only to assess what was learned. What is important is if the learner receives new knowledge and/or is encouraged to really use it. She uses student evaluations to improve the transference of knowledge. She assists students by being available to them whenever and in whatever media possible.

Cindy Croft is the director of the Center for Inclusive Child Care at Concordia University. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Concordia University and Minneapolis Community & Technical College. She received her master of arts in education with early childhood emphasis from Concordia University. She is the author of "The Six Keys: Strategies for Promoting Children's Mental Health in Early Childhood Programs" and co-author of "Children and Challenging Behavior: Making Inclusion Work." She believes that adults learn through a variety of instructional methods, which are incorporated into her courses. Learners engage in activities, share reactions and apply insights to determine how the experiences can be used in actual situations.

Sally Dannenberg is an Early Childhood Special Education Lead Teacher in Minnesota. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Nursing with certification in Early Childhood Education, Parent Education and Early Childhood Special Education as well as a Masters Degree in Education from University of Wisconsin Stout. She has worked with children and their parents in a variety of settings including Early Childhood Family Education and Early Childhood Special Education. She believes that each person has a very special learning style and we can use that knowledge and their past experiences to build a solid base for future learning.

Ann Dillard owns K.I.P. Consulting Services Ann has worked in school-age care for many years developing programs such as parent involvement, special events, before and after school care, and cross cultural competency. Her training concentration is in the areas of cultural diversity, poverty and classism, parent involvement and team building. Ann's goal is to empower adult learners and have the opportunity to establish new relationships. She sees impacting children and families in the community as the most important aspect of teaching: With knowledge as power, the possibilities are endless.

Hope Doerner is a child development instructor at Minneapolis Community & Technical College and a master trainer through the Minnesota Center for Professional Development. She is certified in many state curricula and has developed several statewide trainings that are used with the Parent Aware Rating Tool. She believes that children are empowered to when educators understand and foster development at the appropriate level for each individual child. She facilitates learning through course materials, but even more so through the interaction among colleagues in the classroom.

Nancy Dougherty is the community specialist for the Child Care Resource & Referral programs of Anoka and Washington counties. She has a master of arts in education, school age care emphasis from Concordia University. Nancy has written and published many trainings including: Effective Practices in School Age Care and Power Camp. She has over 20 years of experience working in all types of child care. She believes that to help learners expand their understanding, mastery and application of the subject it is important to understand and value their perspective. This approach encourages critical thinking and the desire to continue learning because all knowledge and experience is validated. She believes in the concept of lifelong learning as a "way of life," and applies this philosophy when working with all populations—children through adults.

Kari Fletcher is the southern Minnesota regional resource coordinator for the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and leads the Foster Care and Adoption Initiative with the organization. Kari and her husband were foster parents for 16 years. They adopted two of their foster children, who have both been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Kari's passion is raising awareness about FASD and she strives to support and encourage learners in their desire to explore the spectrum of disorders that can result when alcohol is used during pregnancy. Many who take this course are parents and caregivers of children with FASD, some are teachers or child care professionals, and all add their own unique experiences to a learning environment that is enriched by their many voices. She assists learners as they discover how they might help children with FASD move from "struggle" toward "success."

Karen A. Foster-Jorgensen is a consultant, trainer and author specializing in management and organizational development for early childhood businesses. She founded and directed two child care centers serving 200 families, served 12 years as a validator for National Association for the Education of Young Children Accreditation, leads not for profit boards, is a frequent trainer/workshop facilitator at business conferences and has written "Financial Management for the Childcare Executive Officer (CEO)". Karen holds a bachelor of science in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from the University of Minnesota and has completed coursework for a master of business administration. After teaching in public and Montessori schools, Karen enjoyed a 10-year management career as an executive director in the YMCA. Combining education and management, Karen owned child care and retail businesses prior to consulting full time for 18 years as co-owner, with her husband Rolf, of Management Results, Inc. Karen designs and facilitates online management courses for Eager-to-Learn and its early childhood directors virtual networking group, Directors Online. Whether consulting, training or developing new programs, Karen is a strong believer in the consultative process—helping others discover and develop their own gifts and talents through meaningful questions, creative thinking and innovative solutions.

Barbara Francis lives in the wine country of northern California. She has been working with children for over 19 years in a variety of areas. She worked at Head Start as a lead teacher, and directed a child care center. She has owned her own music and movement program called "Wee Play," worked with special needs children and is currently an instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College. Working with children is one of her greatest joys.

Claudia Freund has been involved in education for over 30 years. Her classroom experience has been with preschool through third graders, in a variety of settings: elementary school, Head Start, nursery school and child care centers. She also has experience working with adults who care for young children. She has worked for the University of Minnesota as a child development associate (CDA) field advisor, as an adjunct instructor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College and at Hennepin Technical Colleges as well as for The Child Care Resource and Referral system. Claudia is well respected for her knowledge and support of students pursuing their CDA.

Bev Herr  has owned and operated Kinder Crossing Child Development Center for 40 years and has been an early childhood trainer for 25 years, as well as a consultant and mentor. Bev has a degree in early childhood education and extensive training in inclusion/special needs. Bev taught child development and behavioral science in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System for 10 years. She believes that all students have the potential to learn and develop new foundations of knowledge with each academic experience they encounter. Her goal as an instructor is to provide guidance and to support students, while encouraging them to reach their full potential through meaningful learning experiences.

Carrie Johnson has 15 years of early childhood and school age experience through parenthood, home visiting, volunteering, training and consulting. She advocates for school readiness, special needs, educational funding, teen mentoring, parent involvement, community building and empowering others. She has been doing relationship-based professional development training and coaching for the past five years. She has also worked for the University of Minnesota Center for Early Education and Development on various research projects and coached for the Minneapolis Early Reading First Program. Carrie finds it rewarding to help those working directly with children and teens to set goals to shape learning environments, curriculum implementation and modification and overall informed teaching practices.

Nancy Kaczrowski teaches online and face-to-face classes at Inver Hills Community College and online classes for ETL, she is a master coach for the Minnesota Reading Corps, and works as an independent consultant and trainer. She has served in a wide variety of professional and leadership roles: Early Reading First, and Family School Literacy Program Coordinator; Council on Quality Education coordinator, Early Childhood and Family Education and School Readiness educator and coordinator. She received her master's in education with early childhood emphasis from Mankato State University and is currently a doctoral student at Hamline University. She believes that learning and teaching occurs when we engage with the rich diversity of others, embrace challenging opportunities, envision a world of global citizens, empower children and parents, and experience best practices and cutting edge knowledge.

Joshua Koepp has 17 years of professional experience serving children, youth and families in School Age Care programs, YMCA family camps and faith communities, and 10 years of experience as a trainer. He is a certified parent coach and an adjunct professor at Concordia University. He is a Minnesota School Age Care Alliance certified trainer and has achieved the master trainer level with the Minnesota Center for Professional Development. Joshua has a bachelor's degree in school age care, a master's in education (school age child development emphasis) and is working on his master's in psychology. Mastery and professionalism are his personal goals as well as his goals for students in his Eager-to-Learn classes. Caring for children requires a constant commitment to observation and reflection and the application of research and theory to practice. It demands self-evaluation, a willingness to try new ideas and an openness to change and growth. As caring professionals grow in these areas, they are more fulfilled in their lives and work, and they facilitate positive development for the children they serve. Joshua uses case studies, hands-on application, exploration of theory and research, personal reflection, group discussion, critical thinking, and collegial relationships. He feels that he grows and learns with each course as well.

Micki Lechner-Riehle is employed by Resources for Child Caring in St. Paul.  She has a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology and Social Welfare from UW Madison and has experience in early intervention/Birth to Three. Micki was a Licensed Family Child Care Provider in Dakota County for 12 years before taking a position at RCC. When she's not helping providers to improve the quality of their child care, Micki can be found outdoors in the company of family and companion animals.

Tammy Oveson
Tammy Oveson has been a licensed family child care provider in central Minnesota for over 20 years. She has a bachelor of arts degree in child development from Concordia University and is currently a student in Concordia's Master of Arts program with an emphasis on early childhood education. She is on the executive board of the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association, holds a current child development associate credential, and is a National Association for Family Child Care accredited provider. Tammy's passion is promoting professionalism in child care. She feels that providers can never get enough training for the very important job they do. As a long time Eager-to-Learn student herself, she is excited to be an instructor.

Colleen M. Pachel is an independent early childhood and school-age trainer and holds an Early Childhood & School Age Trainer's Association credential. She has been active in some aspect of early childhood care and education since 1980. Colleen teaches both face to face and online through Eager-to-Learn. She is an inclusion/behavior consultant and has been a mentor to both child care professionals and other trainers. She embraces the diversity of the world and teaches from the standpoint that everyone has knowledge and wisdom to share. Each day that people put one foot in front of the other allows them to walk an educational path and learn from each other. The classroom is for teaching and the learners are the students as well as the instructor.

Kelly Painter is a training and curriculum specialist with military child and youth development programs. She holds a bachelor of science in Child Development and Family Science from North Dakota State University. Her philosophy is simply to be a guide to a student's learning. She sees herself as the bridge between learner and knowledge by helping connect the learner to information. Her hope is that she rejuvenates a love of learning, imparts new information and inspires them to go beyond the classroom/online environment to make a difference in their practice. The teaching methods that have been most successful for her are personal stories and video clips. She finds that by adding personal stories into the learning environment the learner knows that she is a person first, with struggles and questions just like her students. It helps to make a stronger bond between teacher and learner when the class is able to talk about where they are and where they want to go. Video clips add a heightened sense of emotion to a topic. Pictures and music bring content to life for the learner. She assesses a student's understanding through their participation and enthusiasm for what they are learning. When they ask for more resources or relay ideas on what they plan to change in their practice, she knows they were actively engaged and are ready to apply what they learned.

Angèle Passe has more than 25 years of experience in education, as a teacher, administrator and consultant. Her practice specializes in two areas: early childhood education (early literacy, second language learning, and transition to kindergarten) and organization development (training and coaching, program development and evaluation). She is the author of "Is Everybody Ready for Kindergarten?" and "My Kindergarten Book/Mi Libro del Kinder". Angèle has her master's degree As a master trainer certified by the Minnesota Center for Professional Development, she enjoys teaching for Eager-to-Learn in English and in Spanish.

Debra Pierce is associate professor of Early Childhood Education at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. Ivy Tech is one of the nation's largest singly-accredited statewide community college systems, with more than 125,000 students enrolled annually. Her professional background has always involved children. First she was a primary grades teacher in the Chicago Public School system and then a teacher of 3- and 4-year-olds in a National Association for the Education of Young Children accredited preschool for 15 years. She has also taught English and English Composition courses at the high school and college levels. Debra is a CDA advisor, as well as a registered CDA council representative, and a certified parent educator for the national Parents as Teachers program. She has spent the last 10 years dedicated to the success of those pursuing the CDA credential and is the author of "The CDA Prep Guide: The Complete Review Manual for the Child Development Associate Credential" (Redleaf Press).

Brian Siverson-Hall has worked in the field of school-age care since 1991. He is currently the executive director of the Minnesota School Age Care Alliance and the Minnesota Association for the Education of Young Children. He worked for the school-age care program of Wayzata Public Schools for 12 years prior to taking his current position in April of 2004. He has also been teaching an Introduction to Counseling Course for Concordia University of St. Paul since 1998 and Professional Relations for the Minnesota Colleges and Universities System since 2001. Brian believes learning is a combination of education (i.e., receiving new information), previous work and life experience, and implementing what is learned. Without implementation we are unable to complete the learning process. He hopes to provide new information to students and facilitate dialogue, which stretches thinking and causes implementation to take place.

Dianne Small is a University of California at Davis trainer/consultant. She has an associate in arts degree in Early Childhood Education and a bachelor or arts degree in Child Development. As a child development specialist she believes that her purpose is to help build enthusiasm of those in the child care field for their work and in their education. Her goals include improving her skills to fit trainings to learners' needs and to help them transfer their learning into their personal and professional goals. One way that she accomplishes this is to develop meaningful trainings (courses) that are customized for each participant's skill level and incorporate their knowledge and experience. The online environment is a unique way to establish relationships with others in the field without boundaries. She feels honored to be able to share her knowledge and experience with others across the county and in turn, learn from their experiences as well.

Kristi L. Smythe has been involved with the care and education of young children as long as she can remember. When she was in fourth grade she decided that when she grew up she was going to attend Moorhead State University and become a teacher, which is exactly what she did. She also earned her kindergarten, early childhood and coaching certificates. She opened and ran a child care center for seven years after which she accepted a position teaching at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Wadena, MN as an early childhood and paraprofessional instructor. She is also a contracted trainer for the Public Broadcasting System's Ready to Learn programs, the Building Excellence and Success Trainings. As an Eager-to-Learn instructor, she will share, encourage, lead and challenge her students. In return she expects students to be able to articulate what they have learned in a professional manner.

Darci Stanford has a Master of Science degree specializing in Human Development, Child and Family Studies with a minor in Counseling from South Dakota State University . She has spent the last three years teaching Child Development at a community college.  Prior to that she was Family Life Educator at a Sanford Health in Sioux Falls providing classes and technical assistance to parents and childcare providers.  In addition to adult education, she has experience as an Infant/Toddler Program and School-Age Program Coordinator, Family Counselor, Early Childhood Education Assistant, and Preschool Teacher. She believes the responsibility of an instructor is to develop and present lessons to the students that challenge them to engage with the material so that they indeed make new connections and develop new conceptual frameworks. 

Amy Timm has 25 years experience in early childhood education. She began in the profession as an early childhood teacher, and has been in administration as a center director since 1997. Amy obtained her master's degree in parent and family education from the University of Minnesota. She is certified as a master trainer with the Minnesota Center for Professional Development and is a licensed parent educator. Amy is a contracted trainer with the Minnesota Child Care Resource & Referral Network and has extensive experience training early childhood professionals, presenting workshops for organizations, and for yearly conferences. Amy also teaches parenting workshops and seminars in single-class and series formats. Amy has designed and presented early childhood training programs covering many topics and has a depth of practical experience that can be used as a resource for others' learning. She believes learning should be fun!

Dawn Van Hees has been offering trainings through the Child Care Resource & Referral for the past 11 years. During that time she has also offered many online courses through Eager-to-Learn. Her daytime hours are spent working with Head Start in central Minnesota and her night time hours are spent with her boys.

Kim Woehl has been an instructor/trainer since 1996 and has worked directly with children since 1993. She holds a trainers credential through ECSATA and is registered with the Minnesota Center for Professional Development. She teaches several state programs as well as a variety of other child-related topics. She focuses on challenging behaviors, observation/documentation and environmental adaptations. She encourages everyone to set personal goals and then reach to obtain them. Eager-to-Learn provides the avenue to meet her own personal goal of helping children and empowering caregivers and believes it will help caregivers meet their own personal goals.

Roz Zuest owns A Zuest for Learning, LLC which provides training, consulting and CDA Advisor services for early childhood professionals.  Since 1995 Roz has played a variety of roles in the Twin Cities metro area and currently serves as the Director of Mount Olivet Child Learning Center.  Particular areas of passion include program development & enrichment, promoting professionalism and empowering center directors as innovative leaders in the field.  Roz is an alumni of Concordia University-St. Paul where she received a Bachelor of Arts in both Early Childhood Education and Psychology with an emphasis in ECFE.  Roz's approach to learning can best be described by her favorite quote from Roger Lewin; "Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve".

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