We had a chance to hear about our very own Angela's journey. Check out her story of growth with us and get real insight into working at KinderCare!

Ever since junior high/high school, I knew I wanted to be in early childhood- I would babysit, took child development courses, and volunteer.

2004- I walked into an IL center which would end up being my first ECE job (Assistant Infant Teacher) and within the year was Lead Teacher for Discovery Preschool (unfortunately, center is no longer open). I went to pursue my BA in Child Development and seek other opportunities and really find my “fit” within an organization. After many years as an educator in Preschool, PreK, and School Age, I felt confident and ready to support ECE teams in another way. There was an Assistant Director (AD) position posted in Bartlett, IL (301415) and I was officially re-hired on 7/8/13. I first started as the PreK teacher, learning KinderCare curriculum, Quality Foundations! 😉, team dynamics, environment/high quality expectations, etc. This really helped develop my perseverance, time management/organization, and communication skills and really laid the foundation for future years.

I’ve had amazing mentors throughout my time with KinderCare (kudos to my peers and leaders in region 6). I was the AD for about 3 ½ years, at which time, the Center Director was promoted to Quality Business Partner. I was eager and ready to take on a Center Director (CD) role, but it didn’t come without hard work, tough conversations, and A LOT of self-discovery but I was promoted to CD in January 2017. I truly feel my biggest growth personally and professionally was during my time as Center Director; not only did I learn more about my leadership but business acumen, team collaboration/partnership, clear and effective communication, empathy, and adaptability/resilience. I became a parent for the first time in 2020 and feel this really shifted my perspective in the role and how I was supporting families and staff (especially through a pandemic). I was definitely not perfect, but I always strived to show up as supportive, positive, and genuine. Our team grew the center to the highest capacity it had seen and was a level 5 engagement. My child still attends this center as well and I couldn’t imagine my life without this center/village.

I was a part of our focused leadership team of CD’s in our district, and each of us had stretch assignments/developmental opportunities during this time which helped support the larger team. My main focus was with center recruiting and staffing (District Staffing Lead). We hosted hiring events (in person and virtual), conducted initial phone screens, schedule interviews, and hired many staff members (TA’s, Leads, Cooks, AD’s, Drivers, etc) across two districts. While in this position, I was able to partner with the other “DSL’s” as well as an HRBP to provide support and training for peer CD’s as well. Through this DSL work, I started to recognize that I really enjoyed hearing other’s stories, sharing about KinderCare, and the adrenaline of finding a great candidate that meets the needs of the center, staff, and families/children was the most rewarding. Plus, being a part of something on a larger scale impact for the organization, was such an impactful experience. A few months after this realization, there was a Contract Recruiter position that came across my LinkedIn feed. I partnered with my DL at the time, Doria Salamone-Matczak, to discuss my strengths and opportunities, she shared her encouragement as well as sentiment and that’s really what empowered me to reach out and consider another opportunity.

The vulnerability, transparency, and excitement that Melissa Stonerock shared with me about the Field Leadership Recruiting team, position, and her leadership during our initial discussion, I knew this was a perfect fit. Leaving my center staff, families, and kiddos was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make as I truly “grew up” at the center. However, just as in the field, I’ve had amazing mentors/leaders in the NSC and TA teams that have helped support my transition and journey. I’m so grateful to be a part of another team within KinderCare that truly encompasses the organization’s mission and values, and I have already learned so much in the past year and a half. Looking forward to many more years to come!