Mary Watson Avery’s career has focused on work with children birth to 8 years, building nurturing environments in family services and early childhood practitioner professional development. Her special interests include the support of very young children at risk; the development of trauma-sensitive learning environments; effective parent engagement; best practice in coaching across settings; and the mentoring of early childhood trainers.

With substantial experience in developing curriculum, planning professional development, as well as coaching and mentoring groups and individuals, Mary is a well-respected educator across the Commonwealth and the region. In addition to training on a wide variety of topics related to the social-emotional well-being of very young children and their families, Mary is a master trainer in all aspects of Pyramid Model implementation, including Train-the-Trainer, Train-the-Coach, Program-Wide Implementation and the Pyramid Model Family Modules. In addition to her many years as an early childhood educator, Mary has taught at Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Wheelock College. She also served as the Director of Family Connections, a community mental health outreach program targeting parental depression, based at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Mary earned a master's in infant & toddler studies from Wheelock College with additional training in trauma-informed practices at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Mary also earned a BFA in studio art from Manhattanville College.

Fernanda Arrantes has worked in the early childhood field for over 25+ years. Fernanda started as a home-based family childcare provider with the goal of providing an inspiring, cheerful, safe and adaptive environment for each child’s needs. More recently, Fernanda has coached fellow providers in Portuguese to improve their programs, personal skills and business. Fernanda has also been a supplemental instructor for Cape Cod Community College.

As a training specialist, Dr. Jody Figuerido supports fellow team members, focuses on community collaborations, and develops and offers training across the region. She previously served as the director of an early childhood education and care program, taught early childhood college courses, and served as the statewide training coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. Dr. Figuerido also developed the training division of Child Development Education (which would later become The Institute for Education and Professional Development). In this role, she oversaw the development of over seventy-five courses (many translated into multiple languages), received multiple grants, and developed a team of master instructors.

Dr. Figuerido earned a bachelor’s in elementary education from Stonehill College, a master’s in early childhood education and a doctorate in adult learning with a focus on culturally responsive professional development, both from Leslie University. 

Carrie Jiang has over a decade of experience in the early childhood field. She has worked as an infant and toddler teacher, lead teacher, and coach in both center-based schools and family childcare settings. After taking on a role as a family child care coach at a school agency, Carrie developed a strong passion for supporting family child care providers. As an educator, she focuses her research and practice on the birth-to-three age group and advocates for their needs.

Carrie Received a master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Kara Lehane has worked in the field of early childhood as a director since 1999, is an early childhood trainer and was a curriculum coordinator for 2 years. Educators enjoy Kara’s style of teaching – bringing knowledge and joy to her training presentations.

She holds a bachelor's of science in education and social service.

Britta has over a decade of early childhood education experience from both the public and private sectors of education and a background in marketing and management consulting. She believes there is a teachable opportunity in the everyday moments of our lives as long as we stay open to the magic of creativity, possibility, and change. Guided through the lens of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion she knows that the field of early childhood holds the hope for a better world.

Britta has a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and a certificate in early education leadership from Harvard University.

Kelley Smith supports the finance and administrative functions for the Connected Beginnings, Civic Initiative, and Nonprofit Funding & Fiscal Solutions business groups. She also works closely with the central administrative services unit. She brings a wealth of accounting and business administration knowledge from her many years of experience in both the public and private sectors. Her areas of expertise include budgeting, contracts, financial reporting, payroll and human resources.

She received her bachelor’s in accounting from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Shakesha Thompson has a passion for education and has worked in the early childhood field for over 15 years. In that time, she worked as a center director, school-age program administrator, coach, trainer and much more. Ms. Thompson is fluent in Portuguese.

She received her bachelors degree in early education from Fitchburg State University. She earned her master's in educational leadership and management, also from Fitchburg State University. 

Catherine Wakely's expertise includes Salesforce, website administration, and data management. She has also worked as an operations coordinator at Sun Life Financial and an IT support consultant at the University of Maine.

Ms. Wakely earned a bachelor's in animal science from the University of Maine.