CDA Renewal - Infant and Toddler, Part B

Christy Jones-Hudson
MA IMH-E®

Christy Jones-Hudson, director of children and family services for Goodwill Easterseals of the Gulf Coast, provides monitoring and oversight to early childhood education programs. She is the owner of a small consulting company, Multicoachural Consulting, LLC which provides training and technical services to programs with a focus on serving children with special needs. Her writing has been published in national platforms such as Exchange Magazine and Motherly. She is the creator of the Game Faces Preschool Membership for High Performers opening September 2020.

Lauren Starnes
PhD, EdD

VP of Early Childhood Education Research and Development, Primrose School Franchising Company

Carrie Fruin
EdS

Carrie Fruin is the former Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Reflection Sciences, a company focused specifically on Executive Function and its development in children from birth to grade 12. She is currently a science instructor in a top district in Minnesota and continues to present STEM instructional practices at conferences across the country. Carrie has developed close to 50 online courses for teachers including trauma, best practices for remote education, and instructional coaching and mentoring. She has her EdS is in Transformational Leadership with a focus on instructional technology. Her ultimate goal is to ensure the equitable education of all children through teaching, lecturing, and publishing.

Tonya R. Hayes
MEd Speech-Language Pathology Assistant

Tonya Hayes is a speech-language pathology assistant at Sprout Pediatrics. She holds a Master of Education degree from the University of South Carolina as well as a Bachelor's degree in Speech Correction from Columbia College. She has served children in the public schools for over ten years, led the Parent Education and Family Literacy program, and served as an early interventionist with the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind. She has a niche serving children and families of late talkers as well as those on the Autism Spectrum. Tonya and her husband enjoy travel, mentoring newlyweds at their church, and enjoying their adult sons and daughter-in-law.

Charlotte Hendricks
PhD

Julie Nicholson
PhD

Julie Nicholson is Professor of Practice in the School of Education at Mills College where she has been a faculty member since 2005 and directed several innovative programs including the Leadership Program in Early Childhood, a Joint MBA/MA Educational Leadership Program, and the Center for Play Research. She is Co-Founder of the Center for Equity in Early Childhood Education. She has published over 30 peer-revised journal articles and is the lead author of 12 books, all addressing issues of social justice and equity in early childhood.

Crystal McClendon-Gourdine
PhD

Crystal Gourdine, Ph.D. is a wife, mother, community leader, and consultant lending over 25 years experience in early childhood, K-12, and post-secondary education to partnerships within non-profit, district, and university-based early childhood programs.

Her expertise includes early childhood administration, race equity, and professional adult learning and support. She specializes as a Race Equity coach, trainer, and facilitator; customizing learning environments for early childhood programs, tailoring a quality redesign to meet federal, state, and local policies, and collaborating with community stakeholders to disrupt systemic inequities.

Formerly a public school educator, college instructor, and family child care owner, she also consults with state and local organizations offering program assessment, reflective practice and mentorship, and coaching and training on early childhood quality improvement measures using a Race Equity lens. 

Crystal holds both doctorate and master degrees in Human Development/Educational Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park; a master's degree in Leadership in Early Childhood Education from Mills College; and a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Spelman College.

Jess Bernal
MA LMFT

Jess Bernal is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Early Childhood Education Consultant who specializes in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology.  Jess has over 16 years of experience working with children who have been exposed to trauma, children who have severe behavioral challenges, and children with disabilities.

Julie Kurtz
MS

Julie Kurtz is an author, national speaker, and expert consulting and training on trauma and resilience. She promotes the concept of optimal brain integration to maximize the human growth potential. Julie is the Founder and CEO for the Center for Optimal Brain Integration.

She is a co-author of: 

• Trauma-Informed Practices for Early Childhood Educators: Relationship-Based Approaches that Support Healing and Build Resilience in Young Children.
• Culturally Responsive Self-Care Practices for Early Childhood Educators (Spring 2020).

Julie Kurtz is the creator of the phone/tablet Application (APP) Trigger Stop: Sensory and Emotional Check-in designed specifically for children ages 3-8 years to promote sensory and emotional literacy and to support self-regulation.

In 2011, she was named as one of the most 100 Influential Woman of Silicon Valley, CA by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.