The Council team is growing and changing

It’s been a few minutes since we’ve provided a staff update, so we would like to take this opportunity to introduce newer staff and some role changes among existing staff.

Outside of their commitment to early childhood, one thing we’ve discovered that many of our new staff have in common is their love of dogs!

Another exciting fact: we now have TEN staff members who are bilingual in Spanish and English!

Welcome Brittany Montesdeoca-Plaza! Brittany joined us in December of 2021. Her background includes teaching preschool, tutoring elementary school children, and most recently, as a director at La Petite Academy. Brittany is a Bilingual Quality Navigator and is excited to help guide those wearing directors’ shoes through the quality rating process. She is a Colorado native and loves spending time with her husband, their daughter Mila, and two pups Nala and Rin. Some of her hobbies are hiking, crocheting, baking, decorating cakes, and photography. We can attest to her cake decorating talent, as she demonstrated mad skills in the gingerbread house contest at our holiday party last December!

Jessica Arnold also joined us in December as our Data Systems Support Associate. After spending 11 years in the medical research field and becoming a mom of two young boys, she chose to pivot and focus on her new passion for early childhood. Jessica is working diligently behind the scenes in resolving your ecConnect support tickets. Originally from Rifle, Colorado, she loves spending time outdoors with her husband James and sons Spencer and Shane and their border collie, Chase.

Miriam Oliva Salgado started with the Council in January as a Bilingual Early Childhood Quality Coach. Miriam loves helping children & their families with social emotional solutions and has experience as a lead preschool teacher. Miriam has a Child Development Associate Director Certificate from the Community College of Aurora and is continuing her education in early childhood. She was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Denver. In her free time, she loves hiking with her dog Duke, painting, learning, cooking, reading, and traveling with her two daughters.

America Flores worked in early childhood education for 9 years as a bilingual paraprofessional for Denver Public Schools before becoming the newest Bilingual Quality Navigator to join the Council! America enjoys working with children and being a part of their growth. She is a strong believer in early childhood education and sees it as foundational for long term academic success. She is also a mother and has enjoyed every part that motherhood has had to offer. In her free time, America enjoys crafting, watching movies, and spending time with her family. America is also originally from Los Angeles but has lived in Denver for most of her life.

Alexis Rodriquez-Hefty joined us in May as our Bilingual Training Coordination Manager. She will take the lead on managing our Career Pathways/Professional Development training offerings to the community. Alexis has a background as a preschool teacher, center director, Spanish-language tutor, dolphin trainer (yes, you read that right – dolphins!), and is set to earn a bachelor’s degree in Digital Marketing later this year from Metropolitan State University. Originally from Cancún, Mexico, she is happily settled in Colorado, where she enjoys snowboarding, mountain biking, and going to music shows. She enjoys sharing her culture and language and educating whoever is willing to learn about them.

Long time Bilingual Quality Navigator Grisel Garcia made a change in February to begin working exclusively with family child care homes as a Bilingual Family Child Care Home Quality Navigator. Still a part of the navigation team, she is creating a blueprint to make this new community opportunity a success.

Chinazo Dumas continues to assist with the DPP achievement awards program and is now engaged in the newly funded Child Care Resources and Referral program as Program Coordinator. We are so happy to welcome Chinazo back to the navigation team full time as she returns from parental leave!

We are super excited to have all this amazing talent with unique and diverse interests on our team!