Child Care Rockstar Radio
Business Strategies, Inspiration, and Ideas From Top Performers in the ECE Industry and Global Business Thought Leaders
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Episode 111
Feeling Alive in Your Work with Vernon Mason
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27 To 7: Fighting For Disruption with Allyx Schiavone
It’s a crucial episode this week as Kris and guest Allyx Schiavone address head-on the challenges we face and the steps we must take to address the biggest issues in childcare. Allyx brings a wealth of expertise as the Executive Director of the Friends Center for Children, boasting a remarkable 30-year career solely dedicated to early learning. Allyx also chairs

New Practices for Emotional Intelligence in ECE with Dr. Donna Housman
Join Kris in an enlightening conversation this week with Dr. Donna Housman, a prominent figure in child emotional development. Dr. Donna discusses the vital role of emotional regulation for both children and educators in bolstering mental health and effective learning. Dr. Donna talks about her work in aiding emotionally challenged youth to integrate neuroscience into the innovative Housman Institute lab

From Transactional To Relational: Making an Impact for Families with Solomon and Michelle Logan
Kris welcomes the husband and wife team, Solomon and Michelle Logan, of Logan’s Treehouse Childcare. Based out of Louisville, Kentucky, they are going on center number three and impacting close to 450 children a day. In the episode, they talk about the beauty of embracing the right timing, learning from mistakes, and their mission to solve problems in their community

How to Create Waves of Positive Change In Your Communities with Robin Harris
Don’t miss this powerful and heartfelt episode, featuring the incredible Miss Robin Harris. Driven by her passion to empower and motivate teachers within the school system, Robin shares invaluable insights on making a lasting impact on students’ lives through effective strategies that surpass standard expectations, promoting constant improvement and excellence. Robin discusses finding her energy and drive in the early

How to Scale Your ECE Business With Clarity and Vision with Rob Rubicco
In this episode, Kris sits down with Rob Rubicco, the entrepreneurial founder of Anna and Jack’s Treehouse, a childcare business with a unique blend of corporate experience and a family feel. Rob shares the incredible journey he and his wife Christina have had, starting with Anna’s Treehouse in a basement and scaling it to multiple locations. With his background in

New Tools and Inspiration for Struggling ECE Owners with Simon Laube
As Kris gets ready to head to New Zealand for the Early Childhood Council Conference, she sits down with Simon, Chief Executive at the Early Childhood Council of New Zealand. Simon brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in policy and advocacy for early learning in New Zealand. He discusses the current challenges facing early childhood education in the country

Built to Sell with Jennifer Conner
Kris welcomes Jennifer Conner, the Director of Coaching at the Child Care Success Company. She first gives an update on her move to Mexico and shares her inspiring story of exiting her business and transitioning to a full-time role as Director of Coaching. Jennifer’s natural talent for building operations manuals and systems, combined with her leadership skills, has allowed her

Becoming A Limitless Version of You with Amir Zoghi
Are you ready to live a Limitless life? This week, Kris extends a warm welcome to Amir Zoghi, one of her mentors and a renowned coach whose impactful WTF talks have influenced thousands, while his transformative events provide a gateway to unlocking a higher, deeper, and more limitless version of oneself. Amir emphasizes the importance of creating space within and

Funding and Advocacy for ECE, Across All 50 States with Cindy Lehnhoff
Kris welcomes a special guest, Miss Cindy Lehnhoff, the director of the National Child Care Association. With over four decades of experience in the industry, including various roles within the learning care group, Cindy is passionate about strengthening and professionalizing the field. Cindy and Kris explore the world of advocacy and how to be our own best advocates. They discuss

The Hiring Success Formula with Ashley Ryan
Ashley Ryan is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Grow Your Center. She shares her super successful hiring formula based on extensive research and her personal experience. She and Kris talk about attracting great candidates, red flags to look for even before hiring someone, how to stand out and show your personality, and great tips for onboarding in an organized

Facing a Global Teacher Shortage: The Story from New Zealand
This week features Sue Kurtovich, all the way from New Zealand. Sue is a specialist in early childhood education (ECE) administration and management with over 30 years of sector experience. She shares her journey into Early Childhood, and how her extensive knowledge of the ECE regulatory environment helps others through her Early Childhood Management Consulting business. Sue talks about challenges

Culture Transformation Starts at the Top with Kaye Boehning
Kris welcomes Kaye Boehning of Tomorrow’s Promise Montessori Schools, located in the small community of Huntsville, Texas. Kaye talks about how she got into the child care industry, learning to delegate and elevate, and what practical steps she took to work on her business and not have to be in the business for every step. Kaye talks with Kris about

Lunch and Learn: Budgeting with Coach Ben Poswalk
In this lunch and learn, Kris welcomes Coach Ben Poswalk from Colorado to answer the first listener question from the amazing child care leader listeners. First up is Tomika Roberston of A Giant’s Playschool, who has a question about budgeting. She is wondering how to get started with budgeting as she transitions her home based preschool to her first brick

Showing Up as a Leader with An Open Heart with Shonali Harrison
Kris welcomes Shonali Harrison, school owner and director of Eden Prairie Montessori in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Shonali talks about her journey from growing up in Sri Lanka to becoming the director of Eden Prairie in 1991, and what she fell in love with about the Montessori school system. Shonali discusses her leadership style and how she stays present and engaged

It’s The Little Things! A Powerful Case Study of School Excellence with Beth Davis
Beth Davis, Owner and Director of Kids for Kids in Miami, Florida, and the first Change the World winner in 2020 joins Kris to discuss team empowerment, employee engagement, and consistency in leadership. During the conversation, they highlight the importance of small gestures of appreciation for employees, as well as the significant impact they can have on overall team morale.

A Harmonious and Playful Approach to Life with Kyle Brown
Get ready to get pumped up this week, as Kris introduces us to her good friend and personal trainer, author, and entrepreneur Kyle Brown. He talks about his journey into the fitness industry and how he got into his current mission of working with heart-centered entrepreneurs on their self-mastery in every way. He and Kris talk about the importance of

Lunch and Learn: The Groundhog Day Economic Outlook
In the first Lunch and Learn mini-episode, Kris dives into some noteworthy and newsworthy economic outlook announcements in our world, and how they can affect the childcare industry. She covers the top three things (plus a bonus) that you must have to survive a more full-bodied recession. Before you get stuck living the same day over and over like Bill

Meet This Year’s Child Care Rockstar Winner: Tassia Araujo-Roper
Kris welcomes the current reigning 2022 Child Care Rockstar Winner, Tassia Araujo-Roper. Tassia takes us through her journey of growing a center from scratch and everything that she has learned over the last three years in the Child Care Success Academy. She talks to Kris about what helped her to get fully staffed, how she went from a home center

Motivating the Masses One Human At A Time with Lisa Nichols
Lisa Nichols brought down the house at the 2022 Child Care Success Summit, and Kris was lucky enough to have her back on as a guest this week. She talks about her journey of becoming, the major influences along the way, and the key pieces that she embodies to elevate into a leader. Lisa and Kris talk about mindset issues,

Part II of My Spiritual Journey: Meet Kirra Sherman
It’s a beautiful episode this week as Kris connects with one of her mentors, Kirra Sherman. They first talk about how life pulls us in different ways emotionally throughout our human journey, and how we can learn to face both the joyful and negative heartbreaking things with courage and an open heart. Kris and Kirra talk about how setting aside

Part I of My Spiritual Journey: The Eckhart Tolle Retreat
In this special solo episode, Kris dives into her recent experience while attending Eckhart Tolle’s “The Depths of Being” retreat, with his amazing wife and teaching partner Kim. Kris dives deep into learning to let go of outcomes and expectations and shares some key learnings and takeaways while embarking on this spiritual journey in the beautiful land of Maui, Hawaii.

Real Talk About ECE Leadership with Ty’Heim Clark
Kris welcomes Mr. Ty’Heim, the Childcare Whisperer, for an insightful and lively talk on building relationships, connecting to your community, and setting a good policy that you continue to follow through on. Ty’Heim talks about his journey into childcare and the impacts on his professional success, the impact of the responsibility of men in child care, and how we can

Making Your Voice Heard: Advocacy in ECE with Ellen Reynolds
Kris first fills us in all about the Child Care Success Summit that just took place last month in Nashville, and what an amazing time that was had by all. She then welcomes Ellen Reynolds, the CEO of the Georgia Child Care Association. Ellen talks about her background in law and love of all things education, and how it got

A Joyful Journey In Child Care with Tamara Jefferson
This week, Kris welcomes Tamara Jefferson, Director of Joyful Tots Childcare and Learning Center in the Detroit area. Tamara talks about finding her vision and executing, now to have three centers that are full and on waitlist, even at the top of market pricing. Tamara talks about the lessons she has learned in expanding, some tangible resources that have helped

Getting Your Powerful Message to the Right Audience with Kim Walsh Phillips
Kris welcomes very special guest Kim Walsh Phillips, founder of the business coaching and education company Powerful Professionals, best-selling author, and MBA-free self-made millionaire. Kim is the behind-the-scenes secret weapon of some of the biggest names in business, including Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank and Dan Kennedy, and went from 32 clients to over 11,000 clients in less than a

A Growth Mindset in Action with Shana del Castillo
Kris is joined this week by the incredible and accomplished Shana del Castillo, owner of a Growing Room Learning Center. Shana has two large locations with about 200 kids at each school and is dedicated to maintaining a high culture and leadership team that is engaged and on fire. Shana shares some tips for success in hiring the right people

Innovation in the Classroom: A New Way to Help Kids Read with Jodi McMaster
Kris welcomes Jodi McMaster, an incredible innovator, teacher, and the force behind Circus Vowels. Jodi talks about how she created Circus Vowels to help kids learn to read in an intuitive and interactive way. She talks about the real-world success she’s seen with the product and gives her advice on how you can add more value to your program, celebrate

Money Is A Reflection of What You Feel You’re Worth with Rachelle Calina
It’s all about money, finances, and recognizing your worth this week, with Rachelle Calina, CPA and Founder of Honest Buck Accounting. Rachelle shares her journey into starting a fantastic early learning accounting and financial metrics firm, and details some financial benchmarks and best practices to be set up for success no matter your size, capacity, or what’s happening in the

Using Mindfulness to Build Resilience with Dr. Kate Lund
This week, Kris welcomes Kate Lund, Psy.D., and author of Bounce: Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive in School, Sports, and Life. Kate shares her unique viewpoint on how to help children build resilience, deal with frustration, and negotiate better when things don’t go their way. Kate shares the Seven Pillars of Resilience that she has identified after 20

Eliminating Isolation In This Crazy World with Maureen “Mo” Thompson
Kris welcomes Maureen “Mo” Thompson, M.Ed., founder of the Rocky Mountain Kids Club, for the first in-person interview. Mo talks with Kris about creating a mobile learning space by outfitting her RV, how we can break barriers between children and adults, and how to help children embrace their weirdness. Mo discusses how reducing isolation might positively impact gun violence and