I am Kathy Carman, and I live with my husband in Stanwood, WA. We have three adult daughters, five grandchildren, three dogs and two goats. I attended Western Washington University where I played collegiate volleyball and in 1985, earned a BA in Family and Community Services with an emphasis in Child Development and Preschool Education and minored in Psychology. In 1994, I
became a licensed daycare home and then in 1998, opened my Arlington location, Smokey Point Daycare and Early Learning Center. After beginning our Early Achiever journey in 2017, we expanded to include ECEAP in 2019. I have a fundamental belief that children of all backgrounds and ability levels are entitled
to the same opportunities for participation, acceptance and belonging. Because I strongly believe that Early Learning is critical to our society as a whole, I am now pursuing opportunities to increase educational equity, and help overcome small
business obstacles in order to help stabilize the Early Learning industry.

Nicole works with early learning providers, educators and the business community to address access and affordability for families and businesses to high quality early learning.
Nicole has worked in early learning for 19 years as a teacher and Executive Director/owner of a preschool in Spokane, focusing on the impact high quality early learning has on the future success of children in our communities.

Nicole is currently serving on Spokane based Greater Spokane Incorporated’s board of trustees and participates in coalitions and committees across the state to inform early learning policy. She will also be joining the Association of Washington Business board in the fall of 2019.
Nicole holds undergraduate degrees in both communication and children’s studies from Eastern Washington University and is currently obtaining her MBA from Gonzaga University. She and her husband live in Spokane with their two sons.

My name is Julie Schroath, and I am the owner of Creative Kids Learning Center in Kitsap County. In 2000 I began working towards the transition from Family Child Care Provider to center owner. After obtaining a small business loan and leasing a building, Creative Kids opened July 2001, licensed for 49 children. From the beginning, our center had a partnership with Head Start, and is now rated with Early Achievers. In 2016 my focus started to broaden to interest in advocacy work, due to the passing of Initiative 1433 and then learning about expansive changes coming to our industry. A meeting in Seattle sparked the creation of the Washington Childcare Centers Association (WCCA). I'm involved in committee work on Equivalency discussions for Professional Development standards, a committee member on the Workforce Council, a Co-Chair of the Licensed Center Advisory Subcommittee (LCAS).

My name is Ginger Still I am the Co-Owner and Executive Director of Kid’s World Childcare, LLC. I started my childcare career in 1989 as a licensed In-home Provider where I mentored 5 new in-home startups. In July of 2002 I opened my first Center with my business partner, today we operate multi-sites in Tri-Cities, WA. In addition to taking on a leadership role in our local community, we stay actively involved in current State childcare issues. Our primary focus is to ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed in a healthy, safe and nurturing environment.

Hey! My name is Gordon Smith III, I am a Graphic Designer from Spokane Washington. I received my BA in Visual Communication Design and my certificate in User Experience Design from Eastern Washington University. I have been working in the child care world in some way or another since 2015. Prior to earning my degree I was a preschool teacher, school age summer-program staff, and later program supervisor at Parkview Early Learning Center in Spokane. When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my two daughters and wife. We enjoy going to movies, playing at parks, and going on road trips whenever we get the chance.