Courtney Alexander
Work Email: CAlexander@mdcinc.org
Biography
Courtney A. Alexander is passionate about supporting the development of children, families, and communities. As the program director for educational equity, she leads a team that identifies, amplifies, and connects home-based childcare providers, family, friends, and neighbors who provide childcare, home-based childcare networks, organizations, and coalitions toward a future where communities can thrive in an environment characterized by equitable and adequate opportunities for success.
Daphne Alsiyao
Work Email: daphne@smartstart.org
Biography
Daphne Alsiyao serves as the Family Support Manager at the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC) where she supports Local Smart Start Partnerships that implement family support activities in their communities. As a family leader herself, Daphne believes we can build a stronger early childhood system when family engagement and leadership is the foundation. She views centering and amplifying family voices in early childhood as a powerful systems-change strategy and strives to help all partners understand its power in addressing existing disparities within systems. Outside of work, Daphne stays deeply connected to the early childhood space by stealing sweet snuggles from her three little ones.
Greg Borom
Work Email: gregb@wncearlychildhood.org
Biography
Greg Borom works as the Director of Advocacy for Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County, coordinating public policy advocacy in partnership with volunteers, staff, and partner organizations. He has 30 years of experience in nonprofits, faith-based organizations, community organizing, and policy advocacy. Greg believes that nonprofits bring an important voice to policy decisions when they take time to build advocacy capacity based on their values. Besides being passionate about expanding opportunities for children’s health, education, and well-being through public policy, Greg also searches for inspiration in music, nature, and friendships.
Cassandra Brooks
Work Email: thelittlebelievers@gmail.com
Biography
Mrs. Cassandra Brooks is the owner and operator of Little Believer’s Academy Inc. (LBA). She operates two five-star childcare centers dedicated to quality childcare. Mrs. Brooks is married with four children, including a set of twins! She is a member of Upper Room Church of God in Christ and helps in many areas. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and serves the community through various volunteer opportunities. She currently serves on the advisory committee for Wake County Smart Start. She currently serves on the board for the Partnership for Children of Johnston County. She is also a Inaugural Member Mentor for the NCAEYC. She currently serves on the board for the North Carolina Partnership for Children. In the past she served in management at International Business Machines (IBM). Mrs. Brooks has M.Ed. from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She also holds a B.S. in Business Management from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Erin Carson
Work Email: erin@domesticworkers.org
CounterPart Consulting, LLC
Biography
Kathleen Crabbs
Work Email: kathleen@counterpartconsulting.co
KATHLEEN E. CRABBS is a leadership and equity educator and coach and a partner in organizational and cultural systems change. She collaborates with people and groups to clearly hear themselves and each other and create strategies to partner and move through the world with clarity of purpose and commitment to justice. She partners with individuals and systems to bring an explicit equity lens to their work, hone communication and leadership skills, develop strategy and implementation plans, confront decision-making and disagreement, and hold themselves accountable to their plans and vision. Kathleen brings her deep listening, discernment, and counseling skills to her work with individuals and the systems in which they live and work. She is a skilled partner in determining vision and direction. Kathleen is Co-Founder and Principal of CounterPart Consulting with Sterling E. Freeman and an Associate with OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Inc., both North Carolina-based national consulting practices. Through these entities, she and her colleagues partner with individuals and systems to integrate an explicit racial equity and adaptive change lens to their work and planning. Kathleen served as Lead Faculty and Coach with the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations for 17 years, where she co-designed and facilitated a two-year cohort leadership program and provided one-on-one coaching to adults on developing leadership that is increasingly authentic, mindful, and responsible. Through this work, she has coached over 80 adults, whose diversity spans all lines of identity, discipline, and sector, in individual engagements spanning from 3 months to two years. Prior to coming to North Carolina, Kathleen began her career with the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, where she worked for 8 years designing and delivering programs in collaboration with NTL members and staff. Kathleen holds a BA in English from Randolph-Macon College and an MA in English, with a concentration in teaching writing and literature, from George Mason University. She is currently a candidate for a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from North Carolina Central University. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with her partner, Craig, and their children, Eliza, Annie and Henry.
Sterling Freeman
Work Email: sterling@counterpartconsulting.co
STERLING E. FREEMAN is a leadership coach, organizational and cultural change agent, facilitator, counselor, and public speaker. All his work is grounded in an equity lens and motivated by a desire to create spaces where Black and Brown people have full freedom to thrive so that all people can thrive. His worldview and the foundation of his social and cultural critique are heavily influenced by Womanist thought. Having been in Christian ministry since 1996, Sterling also brings a pastoral orientation to this work and is inclined toward deep listening, holding empathy, and meeting people where they are. Sterling has worked with leaders whose diversity spans all lines of identity and across multiple sectors in the nonprofit world. Along with Kathleen Crabbs, Sterling is a Co-Founder and Principal with CounterPart Consulting, LLC and Associate with OpenSource Leadership Strategies. Through both entities, he and his colleagues work with client-partners to help them apply an explicit racial equity lens to their work. Sterling is a founder of BREATHE: A Whole Black Experience, which makes space for Black people to freely discuss their racialized experiences, grapple with the impact of those experiences, and affirm themselves and one another. He is also the founder of The Wisdom & The Work podcast, which focuses on the topic of racial justice. Sterling serves on the board of the African American Heritage House at Chautauqua Institution in New York, the vision of which is to contribute to a more vibrant Chautauqua community and enrich the Chautauqua (CHQ) community through the inclusion of African American history, culture, and the contributions of African American intellectuals. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Sterling lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife, Michelle. They have an adult daughter, Joia.
Devonya Govan-Hunt
Work Email: dgovan.hunt@bcdi-charlotte.org
Biography
Devonya is a child development specialist serving as President of the Black Child Development Institute-Charlotte. BCDI is at the forefront of engaging leaders, policymakers, professionals, and parents around critical and timely issues that directly impact Black children and their families. A guiding principle of BCDI is to build community-informed policies designed to benefit Black and Brown families and children. Family engagement is a cornerstone of their efforts and will continue as a centrality in their efforts to foster healthy children.
The Link Group
Website: The Link Group
Biography
Laura B
Logan Harris
Work Email: logan@ncbudget.org
Biography
Logan Harris is Senior Policy Analyst at the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center (BTC), a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that documents economic conditions in North Carolina and partners with organizations and communities across the state to advocate for policy making that builds racial equity and end poverty. Logan analyzes social and economic data to create accessible data products for BTC’s partners and the public and conducts issue-specific research on topics including income supports, early childhood education, and digital inclusion.
Marta Hester
Work Email: mhester@smartstart.org
Biography
Marta T. Hester is the Director of Public Policy at the NC Partnership for Children (NCPC). Ms. Hester has over thirty (30) years of experience in discal and statutory public policy analysis, governmental relations and customer service/advocacy efforts. With a Master of Art’s Degree in Public Administration and Political Science, Ms. Hester worked for both former U.S. Senator Terry Sanford and governor Jim Hunt, in addition to, the NC Department of Health and Human Services, NC Division of Child Development and Early Education, NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, and the NC Department of Transportation. Ms. Hester’s areas of expertise include public policy efforts in health and human services but has also specialized in voter registration and emission inspections issues.
Mandy LaCroix
Work Email: amanda.lacroix@gmail.com
Biography
Mandee represents a large childcare center that serves 245 children in Cabarrus County. On a daily basis she oversees the care and education of these children, interacts with their families, and manages 45 teachers and teacher assistants. As a center director she is committed to dismantling the systems created by white supremacy and racism to create a more equitable system for all children including her students from the African American and Latinx communities.
Angela Lewis
Work Email: alewis@smartstart.org
Jovonia Lewis
Work Email: jovonia@epic-nc.org
Biography
Jovonia Lewis is the founder of Empowered Parents In Community (EPiC). EPiC is a non-profit, grassroots, parent-led organization working towards empowering historically marginalized parents to advocate for their children’s educational rights. Jovonia and EPiC are deeply rooted in the community, using an equity perspective in their work and approach to collaborative engagement, and are deeply committed to the success of Black and Brown families.
Alecia Marsh
Work Email: alecia@epic-nc.org
Biography
Alecia is a Program Manager at Empowered Parents in Community (EPiC), a Black-led, community-rooted organization committed to decolonizing education and championing the success of Black children in school and life. With over a decade of experience in education, primarily in Special Education and Early Childhood Intervention, she centers advocacy, education, and empowerment in all that she does. Deeply family-oriented, Alecia brings that same sense of care and connection to my work and relationships. A proud hobby enthusiast, she is always exploring something new, but her love for reading is a lifelong constant.
Beth Messersmith
Work Email: beth@momsrising.org
Biography
Beth Messersmith is NC Senior Director of MomsRising. The organization is a grassroots online and on-the-ground organization of moms and people who love them, working to amplify the voices of parents and ensure their voices are at the table when decisions are made that impact their lives and those of their families. They center racial equity and the needs of those furthest from opportunity. MomsRising has more than 47,000 NC members from all 100 counties and has been an active partner in the NC ECE space for several years.
Karita Pimentel
Personal Email: ladyrttp@gmail.com
Work Email: karita@bcdi-charlotte.org
Biography
Karita Pimentel is a retired military professional with 21 years of distinguished service, known for her leadership in administration, logistics, and crisis management. Post-retirement, she has continued her dedication to service through impactful community work. As a Family Literacy Engagement Specialist with the Black Child Development Institute (BCDI) of the Carolinas and in roles such as Administrative Assistant, Site Coordinator, and Board Member with the Family Childcare Center and Enrichment Foundation, Karita has championed educational initiatives and operational excellence. Balancing her professional life with her roles as a mother and grandmother, she exemplifies resilience, compassion, and a deep commitment to uplifting families and communities.
Vantoinette Savage
Personal Email: vantoinettesavage@gmail.com
Work Email: fccef5@gmail.com
Mavreen Scott
Work Email: Mavreen@epic-nc.org
Biography
I’m the Program Coordinator at EPiC (Empowered Parents in Community), and my advocacy journey began 8 years ago when my son started kindergarten and I joined PAAC (Parents of African American Children). Through that work, I became passionate about helping parents and families advocate for equity in preschool, for both children and providers. That passion led me to my current role, where I support parent coalitions in advocating for their children from preschool through high school. Fun fact: I love karaoke and playing The Legend of Zelda with my family.
Stephanie Shell
Work Email: Stephanie@littlecaptainsacademy.com
Biography
Stephanie Shell, a native of Winston-Salem, NC, is a graduate of Christopher Newport University and Myers University with a background in Human Resources and Business Management. Her 18+ years of professional experience span early childhood education, project management, and curriculum development, with work across 19 U.S. states and internationally in London and Paris. Stephanie has contributed to organizations like the U.S. Department of Defense, Guilford County Schools, and the Maryland State Department of Education. She is the founder of Little Captains Academy, a five-star licensed family childcare home focused on STEAM² learning. A passionate educator and community advocate, Stephanie enjoys cycling, sailing, hiking, and volunteering and is actively involved with several childcare and social impact networks across North Carolina.
Kaylan Sloane
Work Email: ksloane@buildthefoundation.org
Biography
Kaylan is the Finance and Operational Manager at the NC Early Childhood Foundation. She began her focus in supporting children’s early years as a Kindergarten teacher with Americorps, and later taught infants and preschoolers. Originally from NC, she attended Appalachian State University, and Cerro Coso and Foothill Colleges in CA. Kaylan holds degrees in Early Childhood Development and Accounting, as well as a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University.
Stephanie Smith
Work Email: stephaniesmith@domesticworkers.org
Biography
Stephanie Smith is an early childhood educator owning a home base child care prgram. She strongly believes that early childhood education and quality care are the building blocks for the academic and physical development of children and acknowledges the importance of not only children but their teachers and caregivers. This motivated her to organize with the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). As an organizer, Stephanie raises awareness for fair wages, enhanced benefits and equal rights for domestic care workers. She has served four terms as a Commissioner of the Durham Workers Rights Commission, working with Durham citizens and city counselors to increase minimum wage in NC and hold employers accountable for employee discrimination and unfairness on the job. Her most recent accomplishment is being awarded the NC Early Educators Coalition’s 2023 Child Care Heroes Award for Community Leadership. She is also wife and mother of five, two sons, a daughter and 2 fur babies, all known as her “Special Ks”. She loves playing Uno, board games and traveling with her children. During her free time, Stephanie enjoys music, coloring, reading and writing.
Joy Spencer
Work Email: joy@equitybeforebirth.com
Biography
Joy Spencer is a proud mother and lifelong advocate committed to achieving equity and authentic community engagement. She is driven by passion and knows firsthand the life-saving impact of community-led services and supports. She is involved with several organizations, commissions and coalitions that empower communities through direct service, education and advocacy. Joy is a Black Parent Researcher, Goodmon Fellow and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Psychology. Joy is the Executive Director of Equity Before Birth (EBB), a Black maternal health charity organization working to eliminate disparities and improve birth outcomes by promoting financial security. Equity Before Birth’s unique model paves the way for centering community engagement and collaboration.
Theresa Stacker
Work Email: theresa@buildthefoundation.org
Biography
Theresa Stacker is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation and serves on multiple CandL teams. As the former Senior Early Childhood Policy Advisor for the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education, Theresa brings a great deal of child care policy experience to the CandL Coalition. Theresa is a native North Carolinian, and has over 20 years of experience advising on child care policy, supporting the child care workforce, and navigating NC’s child care system as a parent.
Shanda Sumpter
Work Email: shandatsumpter@gmail.com
Biography
Shanda brings her perspectives as a successful small business owner and early childhood professional. Shanda is a native of Sumter, South Carolina, where she still owns two child care centers. She manages NC Child’s Long Term ECE Campaign to make early education and child care accessible, affordable, and equitable to every family with young children in North Carolina. The campaign serves as a part of NC Child’s advocacy to ensure that every child in North Carolina has the opportunity to thrive, whatever their race, ethnicity, or place of birth.
Cyndi Williams Hills
Work Email: cindy@coechildcareandacademy.com
Biography
I am an educator: My belief is that every child should have an opportunity to receive the best education possible starting from an early age. I have spent the last thirty years educating others from full-time second grade substitute teacher at Rosa L. Parks Elementary, an Adjacent Professor at Alamance Community College (Early Childhood), and a Childcare Director/Owner. For the past five years I have been Co-owner/Director of Center of Excellence Child Care and Academy in Hillsborough, NC. When I am not serving others I spend my time making candles, reading, and creating lifelong memories with my grandchildren. I have always wanted my life journey to be an inspiration to the next generation.my free time (very rare these days), I love to garden, hike, camp, and travel. I love to enjoy the live music and the restaurants here in the Asheville area.