Kelly Ault, Kids Are Priority One Coalition Parent Organizer
Mama Says

Kelly Ault spent a decade as founder and director of Businesses for the Northern Forest, a program of the Appalachian Mountain Club and Northern Forest Alliance that brought together 1,500 businesses around land conservation advocacy, sustainable forestry education and local economy projects. She received a Masters Degree in Environmental Policy at the State University of New York and holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Administration and Political Science from Indiana University. Kelly serves on the Board of the parent network, Mama Says. She is a graduate of the Snelling Center for Government's Vermont Leadership Institute and has completed an organizer training with the Midwest Academy.

Kim Friedman, Kids Are Priority One Organizing Director
Windham Child Care Association Public Engagement Coordinator

Kim oversees Kids Are Priority One's leadership development and community organizing work. She has dedicated the past two decades to early childhood advocacy, community organizing, social action research and public engagement work in Connecticut and Vermont. She has been Public Engagement Coordinator at Windham Child Care Association since 1999. Kim is an experienced facilitator, workshop presenter, researcher and author. She spearheaded the Child Care Needs Assessment by the Windham Regional Commission (2002). The Early Care and Education Advocacy Leadership Training she developed for Windham County parents and early childhood activists grew into a formal curriculum that has been marketed nationwide in association with the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA). She serves on Vermont's Early Childhood Steering Committee and its Public Engagement Coordinating Committee. The Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC) awarded Kim its Community Service Award in 2001. Kim has a Master of Arts in Third World Development from Antioch University, a Bachelor of Arts in French from Vassar College, and Senior Organizer Training from Midwest Academy.

John Majonen, Kids Are Priority One Webmaster
NewsBank Web Software Developer

John designed and maintains Kids Are Priority One's website (www.kidsarepriorityone.org). He works as a Web Software Developer at NewsBank in Chester, Vermont. His duties there include the development and management of the web-based e-commerce system, which allows customers to purchase archived content from hundreds of newspaper titles. John has been designing and developing for the web since 1995. He has a Master of Science in Internet Engineering from Marlboro College.

Barbara Postman, Kids Are Priority One Legislative Director
Voices for Vermont's Children Policy Coordinator

Barbara Postman oversees the education of legislators and assists with policy development for Kids Are Priority One. She has been Policy Coordinator at the Voices for Vermont's Children since 2001. She has also worked in affordable housing and non-profit consulting and served in the Vermont legislature, where she chaired a legislative study committee on livable income. Barbara has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Ohio State University.

Ellen Pratt, Kids Are Priority One Business Liaison
Windham Child Care Association Business Liaison

Ellen is currently managing Kids Are Priority One's Champions for Children project, which is aimed at identifying and cultivating "non-traditional" spokespeople for the needs of young children. Ellen has been employed as Business Liaison at Windham Child Care Association since 2001. Her work with Kids Are Priority One also includes working with employers to help them meet the child care needs of their employees and with economic developers, planners and policymakers to link state and local economic development planning with child care planning at the state and local levels. She oversaw the research and writing of The Economic Impact of Vermont's Child Care Industry, a report published in June 2002 (the second such statewide report in the nation). She has a Master of Arts in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Pennsylvania State University.

Melissa Riegel-Garrett, Kids Are Priority One Media Coordinator
Executive Director, Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children

As Media Coordinator, Melissa oversees the coalition's communications activities. She is also the Executive Director of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC). VAEYC recently became the fourth organization to provide staff to Kids Are Priority One. Melissa was a NAEYC Accreditation Consultant during 2001-2002 and was employed as Program Coordinator at The Children's Space in Waterbury, Vermont. Melissa has worked as an early childhood educator for 15 years, serving as a child care center teacher, program coordinator and director. Melissa received her Master of Science in Early Childhood Leadership from the Bank Street College of Education and her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Development from the University of Vermont.

Sue Ryan, Kids Are Priority One E-network Coordinator
Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program Coordinator

Sue manages Kids Are Priority One's e-network and has been involved with the coalition since its inception in 2000. While operating a family child care home for 17 years, Sue worked closely with the State Child Development Division to provide high-quality child care to some of Vermont's most needy families. Six years ago she left that position to work for the Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program. In her current position as Program Coordinator, Sue is responsible for the oversight of 20 apprentice/mentor teams, and she facilitates enrollment of over 280 students per year in tuition-free college courses throughout the state. VAEYC awarded Sue its Community Service Award in 2001. Sue holds a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential and will complete her B.A. from Johnson State College in 2007.

Kay Van Woert, Kids Are Priority One Policy Development Director
Parent to Parent of Vermont Policy Analyst

Kay works with coalition members to develop coalition positions on numerous policy matters for the Kids Are Priority One coalition. Since 2000, she has been employed as a Policy Analyst for Parent to Parent of Vermont. Her primary role there involves gathering and disseminating information on health care systems and financing to families of children with special health care needs, related professionals and policy makers. For the past nine years she has served as the Public Engagement Committee Coordinator for Vermont's Early Childhood Work Group/Building Bright Futures. She is also co-chair of the Individual and Family Support Committee of the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights and a member of the Vermont Medicaid Advisory Board. Kay has a Master of Public Administration and 74 credits toward a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York at Albany, a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Union College and New York State teacher certification from Skidmore College.