National Leaders Shaping Leaders

“LSL has had a profound impact on both my personal and professional growth. I was able to recognize the strengths I had within myself. I was able to expand my family by connecting with an amazing cohort and grow my professional network. I will make sure to share and empower other educators in my community.”

“LSL I am happy! In my community, I was a natural leader. LSL gave me more tools to overcome obstacles and advocate in my community, among California educators, and in Sacramento, the capital city where I come from. Here, I have been educated and empowered with all the information provided every Saturday. LSL has been a wonderful experience for my personal and professional development. LSL strengthened my leadership skills and empowered me to continue being an agent of positive change in my community. Many thanks to Deziree and my super mentor Yvonne Cottage and all her staff!”

“We can all do it; the most important thing is to take the first step. We have a leader within us.”

“Let us raise our voices and not give up, continue learning and be an inspiration to our peers so that we can continue to grow together.”

“LSL has taught me that if something isn’t feeling right to speak out. We all need and have a voice. So it is important that you stay true to your values while also balancing working with others.”

“LSL has affected me by giving me the chance to see the opportunities in front of me and encouraging me to grow personally and professionally as a leader and an educator. Through this process I’ve found my voice and learned to capitalize on my strengths. I’ve treasured this experience and look forward to what the future will bring.”

“For me, it was a great blessing to be part of this group with such talented people and to be able to learn. And to have more knowledge so that I can be a blessing to other providers in my state and especially to the Latino community.”

“I learned that we are a community and we should work together for the same common cause. The children, and why they are important. I will always advocate for the children and their families and their needs and welfare.”

“One of the best experiences that LSL has taught me are the great skills for both my personal leadership and the direction of my childcare business. It provided me with a deeper understanding of what it means to lead with purpose, clarity, and confidence within the early childhood education field and how to lead by lifting others.”

“LSL has given space for self awareness and personal accountability. LSL has helped me to be open and speak out and take ownership of action and outcomes. I commit to continuous growth in learning and improving skills. Thank you! Building a food program that will support providers in WA state and eventually nationwide.”

“This was a wonderful experience for me because I learned so much from my classmates and teachers. It made me feel more confident and realize that I can do anything I set my mind to and be an inspiration to many people.”

“I am infinitely grateful for all this intensive training, full of resources, challenges, and valuable information, to empower a project in our profession in our community. It will impact Northern California, our CCPU union, my professional development, the NAFCC, and the community of educators/providers across the country. We have received seeds that will bear fruit!”

“LSL started as a journey of self discovery. I learned a lot about myself through this process. I have learned to be proud of myself and the work that I do. I have learned to speak up for myself and to stand up even if I am scared. My hope is to continue being brave and share with my community the beauty and importance of Family Child Care.”

“We are all here to learn, not to judge, and everything you do with love will be blessed. Always share what you have learned and opportunities with others. Always offer support.”

“This program challenged me on my purpose, embraced my strengths, and grew in areas that I did not fully experience before. Most importantly, I will lead with integrity, humility and passion showing others that leadership in Family Child Care starts with heart and passion.”

“LSL was transformative personally to help rediscover my voice, confidence and capacity for growth. Professionally, it deepened my leadership skills, strengthened my vision and expanded my network with passionate changemakers. I’m bringing this renewed clarity and courage back to my community to elevate others, mentor with purpose and advocate for systems that truly support family child care.”

“LSL has helped me see that childcare doesn’t end with me but we, as childcare providers, are everywhere. Our time is not just personal, but valued.”

“LSL has had a tremendous impact on my whole life in so many ways. Through this program, I’ve had to learn to become a better person. A stronger leader and a better leader. I’ve been invited to more “Tables” and have participated in more talks and discussions. There is so much more, but personally, my daughter and granddaughter are so proud of me because they’ve seen me sacrifice, plan, grow, pivot, expand, and so much more. Thank you LSL leadership, for providing this opportunity for me to rise to the challenge. Thank you also, for being a unified presence of support. I will take LSL & NAFCC into the community to represent this organization and to potentially impact it. I will also increase the # of accredited programs in my state through my mentoring programs AND I will help to impact the rate of the HBCCP in my state. I will also grow and expand our state network. THank you so, so much for all that you do.”

“LSL has reassured me that I am going in the right direction and to keep pushing forward. I feel the program has empowered me!! I will use the skills to share with other providers in my community, to help them use their voices to “speak truth to power”.”

“LSL had a wonderful impact as I was taking my last classes to get my Bachelor’s in Human Development with specialization in Child Development and became part of the Union Peer Mentor Program. All three related and reinforce lessons, which help me continue reflecting and seeing ways to continue helping other FCC educators. It helps me to continue to be very motivated to help, support others.”

“I am a stronger, more confident individual having completed this program. Thank you, NAFCC! LSL has been a gift to me. I have experienced “time” to have deep personal growth. The professional training and year-long program has offered the opportunity to complete a project I started on 7 years ago.–We took it on as our capstone project–Evergreen Track and Serve Washington.”

“LSL has brought into focus the need for leadership and how to determine what my leadership style is, what I could work on, and what my strengths are. I’ve learned how to position myself as an expert in my field and how to present my ideas, thoughts, and vision with clarity and conviction.”