The Child Care Business Podcast

In this podcast, Jacob Stewart, director of state government relations at the Early Care and Education Consortium, describes what individual states are doing to combat staffing shortages in child care.

Massachusetts, for example, launched a general, statewide workforce bonus for which child care providers are eligible to receive $4,000 per new employee hired and retained for 60 days. 

Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania...

Chanie Wilschanski is known as the "school culture doctor" because she can diagnose the root cause of the struggle in a child care center in less that 10 minutes. 

She's an early childhood leadership coach and the CEO of Schools of Excellence, and in this podcast she discusses what she sees in those 10 minutes and much more.

" You need to understand where you're spending your time," Chanie says.  "And then...

Laura Delgado is the vice president of curriculum and professional development at Learning Beyond Paper, a leader in providing 100% digital curriculum. Laura is a former early learning teacher, center director and owner. She has a master’s degree in leadership in education and more than 25 years of experience in early childhood learning.

 In this podcast, she discusses why curriculum is so important for young learners, particularly ...

We are live from the 2022 National Shared Services Technical Conference presented by Opportunities Exchange in Austin, Texas!

In this podcast, we talk with Lisa Polk about leadership. She has 20 years’ experience as an early education teacher, director and owner. She works with Georgia Alliance for Quality Child Care and is an instructor for CDA credential and director training in addition to being an adjunct professor at Chattahooc...

We are live from the 2022 National Shared Services Technical Conference presented by Opportunities Exchange in Austin, Texas!

In this podcast, we talk with Gary Romano. Gary is the president and CEO of Civitas Strategies, LLC, where he works with nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs. He’s also an author and has published two books. One is “Small But Mighty,” which helps entrepreneurs launch and grow nonprofit consultancies, and the o...

Karla Houghtalin is the program manager in early childhood business management at Southwest Human Development in Phoenix. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education, curriculum and instruction from Arizona State University. 

In this podcast, she shares what’s happening with shared services, a topic that is incredibly relevant in the child care industry today.

Karla describes the genesis of the business initiative that b...

Monique Reynolds is the vice president of business support services with Quality Care for Children in Atlanta. She has worked in leadership roles in the child care industry for more than 25 years and has an extensive knowledge of child care business management and early education.

Monique previously owned and operated successful multi-site programs and her passion is helping child care business owners become successful and sustainab...

Carla Ward is an early childhood educator who founded Early Learning Foundations in 2008. She is a certified Wonder-based educator with a background in behavior management and she believes learning goes beyond the classroom. She also hosts her own podcast, “The Everything ECE Podcast.”

 She was born in South Africa and now lives in Ontario, Canada, and has been fascinated by the way people learn for as long as she can remember.

In th...

In this episode, we talk with Storm Webb, executive director of the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation organization, and with Cindy Lehnhoff, director of the National Child Care Association. 

 These women have been on the front lines of seeing how daycares are dealing with challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and are closely monitoring the Build Back Better plan being debated by Congress.

In our discussion, we talk ...

 Prerna Richards is the founder and CEO of Together We Grow, an early childhood organization providing professional development, coaching and consulting for parents, teachers and administrators. She’s a coach and early childhood educational consultant. 

 Her desire to make a difference in the lives of children has shaped her life and her career. When she came to the United States, she had a degree in interior design. But when her da...

Nannette Ray was born at the height of the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi. Her mom was a single parent who worked several jobs and died when Nanette was in the ninth grade, which instilled in her the desire to make her mother proud. 

She went on to earn her MBA, own two Kids ‘R’ Kids learning academies and to found and become president of TNR Advisors & Management Consultants, which helps many child care centers with finan...

Louise Stoney has been in the child care field for well over 35 years and dedicates her work to helping providers put the systems in place to tap into and manage the funds available to them. In this episode, she discusses:

This episode is pure joy as we get to talk with Emma Tempest, an internationally-known play coach who helps early childhood professionals incorporate play into their programming in a meaningful and often transformational way.

In this uplifting chat, Emma shares:

André Amoor is one of the most traveled of any of the guests we’ve had on the show. In this episode, he tells us about his incredible teaching adventures overseas, including in war zones in the Middle East. His extensive experience running international schools and navigating cultural/political challenges has given him a strong foundation in helping shape extended learning opportunities for the Denver Public School District. 

In our...

Mike Hook joins us for this episode of the Child Care Business Podcast. As the VP of Sales for ChildcareCRM, Mike sees first-hand the issues child care owners/directors encounter when connecting with parents and building their enrollments. And he has a lot of great tips on how to tackle those issues. 

In our discussion, Mike covers a variety of strategies and tips, including: 

In this episode, we chat with Paula Polito, owner of Beary Cherry Tree in New Orleans. From humble beginnings 45 years ago to a four-building, 16-classroom operation, Beary Cherry Tree is a thriving business that boasts a four-star rating, low turnover and low ratios. However, the journey hasn’t been an easy one. From navigating the loss of her house and severe building damage during Hurricane Katrina to a once-in-a-lifetime pandem...

Child care is full of inspiring stories, and LaFarris Risby is no exception. A mother at just 15 and married to an abusive husband, LaFarris knew she needed to make a change. In this episode, you’ll hear LaFarris’ amazing story about how, with just $50 to her name and two children, she left her abuser, went back to school and started an in-home child care business – a business that grew to be the largest African American child care...

In this episode, we talk with Kathy Ligon, a titan in the child care space. She’s someone who has not only taken the child care real estate industry by storm, but also has become a sought-after resource and source of inspiration for child care business owners and operators looking to think more strategically and grow their operations.

At the helm of HINGE Brokers for more than 17 years, Kathy has amassed a wealth of knowledge that a...