CDA Renewal - Home Visitor, Part C

Nicole Steward
MSW, RYT

Nicole Steward is a social worker and registered yoga teacher (RYT) with a focus on community engagement, public education, foster youth advocacy, and trauma-informed yoga.  With more than a decade of social work practice in non-profits and K-12 education, Nicole has noticed the need for radical self-care to discharge toxic stress we absorb through our work. This awareness drives her to study trauma as well as the ways yoga and mindfulness affect our brains and bodies, keeping us engaged and renewed. Nicole teaches yoga, mindfulness, and offers self-care workshops and retreats. Nicole believes self-care is a way of being we must adopt if we are to sustain ourselves as service providers, educators and human beings.

Amy Schlessman
BS, MPT, DPT, DHS

Dr. Amy Schlessman has a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Physical Therapy degree, a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, and a Doctor of Health Science degree. Amy has taught as an assistant professor and an adjunct professor at Mount Saint Joseph University. She has also taught as an adjunct professor at Sinclair Community College, Miami University, and the University of Cincinnati. Amy is currently an assistant professor in the physical therapy program at the University of Findlay while she continues to work as a school-based physical therapist. She has practiced physical therapy for sixteen years primarily in the school-based setting, promoting physical activity embedded into academics, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the use of technology in therapy, while closely working with educators, administrators, therapists, and parents. Amy has conducted numerous presentations for teachers, parents, and therapists on a variety of topics. 

Stacy Brown
BA

Stacy Brown received her Bachelor of Arts degree in US History and Education from the University of California at Riverside in 1996. She has completed Master's degree coursework in Curriculum and Instruction and Maternal and Child Health. She has worked in the early childhood field for 25 years. In addition to working for private preschools and Head Start, she was a Kindergarten Teacher in California for six years. She has worked for the Family Support Hawaii Early Head Start program for the past 13 years. For the past eight years, she has served as the Program Director.

Ronald Mah
MA, PhD LMFT

Ronald Mah is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist.  He is the author of Difficult Behavior in Early Childhood (2006), The One-Minute Temper Tantrum Solution (2008), and Getting Beyond Bullying and Exclusion, PreK-5, Empowering Children in Inclusive Classrooms (2009), Corwin Press and twenty e-books on therapy and couple therapy available at www.Smashwords.com. He has also authored DVDs on child development and behavior. Ronald has worked in community mental health programs, severe emotional disturbance school programs, vocational and welfare-to-work programs, Head Start programs, supervised a high school mental health clinic, supervised therapists, and worked in private practice psychotherapy. Additional experiences include 16 years in ECE, owner of a childcare center, elementary & secondary teaching credentials, college instructor, and a member of the Board of Directors of the California Kindergarten Association.  Ronald also previously served on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists.

Quniana Futrell
BS, MEd, EdS

Quniana Futrell, known as “Author Q,” is an advocate for change!  An international speaker, professor, author, and philanthropist, she works with key groups critical to rebuilding families and helping others change their story.  

Keeping momentum as a change-agent for families, Author Q released her first children’s book, Our Moms, in November 2015. Our Moms is a conversation-starter for parents, professionals, or service providers who live or work with children of incarcerated parents. Later in 2016, Author Q was a part of a book anthology and film called, No More Chains.  Quniana has been recognized by both international and local media outlets for her work. She has been invited to the Wells of Hope Ministries in Kampala, Uganda to share her knowledge with children, parents, and teachers.  This proven Children’s Champion's motto is, Change the Family, Change the World.

Stephanie Goloway
EdD

Dr. Stephanie Goloway is a lifelong advocate for the power of imagination, play, and storytelling. She is a professor emeritus of early education and child development at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to that, she taught in childcare, elementary school, and special education settings. She has been the director of both a college lab preschool and an early intervention center and has worked as a children's librarian and professional storyteller. Stephanie holds an EdD in Early Childhood from Walden University, where she researched how fairytales, storytelling, and Vivian Paley's pedagogy could impact both resilience and emergent literacy in young children, especially those living with substance use disorders and other forms of trauma. She is the author of an upcoming Redleaf Press book about using fairytales to nurture children's resilience in the early childhood classroom.