Amanda is a mom, a home visitor, and a doula from Salem. On top of navigating the journey of raising her own young children, Amanda has committed herself and her career to helping other parents have access to high quality maternal and early childhood health and preventative services. Through the ECE Leader Fellowship, Amanda has
Gabby has been working in early childhood for over 10 years across four different states. She and her husband welcomed their first child in 2019 and recently discovered they would be welcoming their second child in October of 2025! We are so lucky to have Gabby as part of our fellowship and we can not
Carly Walton is the owner and director of Peapod Learning Center, a licensed nature preschool located in Springfield that has been open since 2008. Prior to this role, she ran a family childcare home and a licensed farm preschool. With a background in elementary education, Carly taught kindergarten for five years, in addition to serving
Alecia is a mom from St. Louis who has always been a passionate advocate for children and other parents. As the co-founder and CEO of an organization that provides peer support to families on education-related challenges like Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and school suspensions, Alecia is well-versed in the ways early childhood policies shape the
Paula is a passionate child care provider and advocate from Holts Summit, MO with a childcare center in Jefferson City. She has over 13 years of experience in early care and education, and she looks forward to using her voice and experience to advocate for streamlined processes for providers to become licensed and access subsidy
Alexis is a mom from Kansas City who joined our ECE Leader Fellowship to broaden her understanding of early childhood advocacy. Alexis sees investing in early childhood care and education and supporting policies that focus on the quality of services as a critical component to addressing issues that greatly impact a person’s life and improving
Carrie is a child care provider in Lathrop, Missouri. She has been in the child care field for over 29 years. She works tirelessly to serve the families of Lathrop while focusing on quality care and a strong foundation for early learning. We are blessed to have Carrie as one of our NW Provider Fellows
Jessica is a mom from Oregon, MO who became involved in Kids Win Missouri’s ECE Leader Fellowship because she wanted to make a difference in her community and shed light on the importance of advocacy in rural Missouri. Jessica recognizes how crucial it is for families in smaller communities to have access to the same
Kellee lives in Marshfield and has two awesome children with her husband of 14 years. She’s worked with children for 20 years and is currently the director of Kids Inn Child Care Center in Springfield. It is her goal to bring light to the needs in early childhood education. Read more about Kellee here! How
Danielle is a mom and advocate from Kirksville. Danielle has firsthand experience trying to navigate our state’s childcare system and has built community with other moms dealing with similar issues. She recognizes her powerful voice as a parent who is currently raising a young family in the state and plans to use it to build
