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Sharon Bell began her teaching career as Program coordinator for Boy & Girls Club in the valley of Moon, California. She was also a kindergarten aid at the Yosemite Elementary School in Yosemite National Park. When her own children were young, she founded a local Montessori School in the Roanoke Valley. She worked briefly as an instructional assistant at Virginia Tech Child Development Center before finding her dream job as a preschool teacher at Community School in Roanoke, VA. She’s been at Community School since 2011.
Amanda Christian’s passion for children was ignited when she began her own personal adventure of having children over 22 years ago. Starting out with programs such as Head Start and Boys and Girls Club lead the way to many adventures and amazing experiences, placing the stepping stones toward her current field of work. Amanda is a Licensed Professional Counselor who is currently the Director of Therapeutic Day Treatment and an Early Intervention Specialist for Family Preservation Services. Amanda completed her Residency for licensure while at Family Preservation Services, her Masters of Science in Counseling at Longwood University, Bachelors of Science in Human Services at Old Dominion University and her Associates of Arts and Sciences from Patrick Henry Community College.
Margaret Fey is Team Lead for AmeriCorps at New College Institute, where she works to build awareness and capacity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). She taught elementary school in Henry County for ten years before joining AmeriCorps as a service member. She has a Master of Education degree from Averett University, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and anthropology from the College of William and Mary.
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Dr. Michael S. Hubler earned his doctorate of education degree from Regent University in Social and Emotional Learning of Young Children. He has earned many prestigious awards in providing educational and service programs to youth, including: organization of the year, outstanding minority education facility for the state of Florida, Citizen of the Year for Brevard County (twice), Special U.S. Congressional Recognition Award, and Executive Director of the Central Florida Humanitarian Organization of the Year; and has published over 45 books as the Vice President of Time to Sign in charge of research, training, and curriculum development.
Mrs. Lillian I. Hubler is the Founder and President of Time to Sign, Inc. The foremost sign language trainer of young children’s educators, with having trained more than 75,000 educators nationwide. She is a dynamic presenter whose presentations are educational best practices, engaging, and fun. Lillian brings sign language into life for visual learning, social and emotional readiness, and classroom & behavior management best practices. |
Talitha Kirby is from Danville Virginia. She holds an Associate’s Degree in Social Services with Specialization in Early Childhood from New River Community College, a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education form Averett University, and will obtain a Master’s in Teaching and Learning: Early Childhood Education from Liberty University this May. She has over 8 years’ experience in Early Childhood, starting as an intern to teacher assistant, teacher, and then director. She currently works as the Virginia Quality Technical Assistance Specialist Southside for Smart Beginnings Greater Roanoke.
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Leanne Martin currently works as a Therapeutic Day Treatment Counselor for a local community based mental health agency. Part-time, she works for the psychiatric unit at Martinsville Memorial Hospital as an Emergency Response Team Counselor. Leanne completed her Master’s of Science at Radford University in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Bachelors of Science in Psychology at Ferrum College, and Associates of Arts and Sciences from Patrick Henry Community College. Leanne is currently working on her Master’s of Science in Counseling at Liberty University with intent to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. Leanne has a 5 year old Airedale Terrier named Xena Warrior Princess and loves DIY projects, trivia, and salsa dancing!
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Jessica McAllister works as an educator at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. She holds a Master’s of Science in Geography from Utah State University and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Humanities, Science, and the Environment from Virginia Tech. She has spent much of her academic and professional career developing and presenting environmental education programs with a focus on human-environmental interactions. She enjoys developing and presenting natural history and STEM related programs to audiences of all ages.
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Katlyn Oldham is currently teaching her tenth year of preschool at Community School, located in Roanoke, VA. She has an Associates of Applied Science, specializing in Early Childhood Development. Katlyn finished her student teaching in a lower elementary classroom at Community School and was hired the next summer in 2007. She has experience teaching 3-6 year-olds while figuring out the world through the eyes of her own two-year-old son.
Eric-Gene J. Shrewsbury has been teaching since 1998. He earned his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Tech, and has been working on promoting a holistic approach to teaching by introducing neuroscience in the classroom since 2012. He currently volunteers in Roanoke City to offer mindfulness meditation instruction to elementary school teachers and counselors.
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Becky Tickle is an Infant and Toddler Specialist with the Virginia Infant and Toddler Specialist Network and Smart Beginnings Danville Pittsylvania. She has been mentoring Infant and Toddler programs, Family Day Homes, and training child care providers since November 2014. Previously, Becky taught Pre-K at a child care program in Wake Forest, NC. Becky has a BS in Early Childhood Education from Mount Olive University in Mount Olive, NC. She and her husband currently reside in Chatham, VA.
Becki Williams Vasquez has been an educator for over thirteen years working with various age levels and disciplines though always keeping creativity at the center. She is a graduate of Martinsville High School and the College of William and Mary. Currently she works at Piedmont Arts as the Education Coordinator and lives in Martinsville with her husband and two children. |