Donna McClintock, Chief Operating Officer

 

Ms. McClintock has over 20 years experience in the field of early care and education; and her outstanding strengths are educating teachers, mentoring managers, and providing leadership at the executive level. She is a passionate and caring leader who has devoted her career to providing quality programs and services for children and their families.
 
Donna majored in early childhood education and has taught preschool and been a center director. The majority of her career has been devoted to the operation of  large, accredited child care centers. Her prior leadership experiences include Regional Operations Supervisor and Vice President of Training for two national child care companies. Donna is also a talented trainer and motivating speaker. She has conducted many workshops across the nation and has been invited to present at NAEYC’s Annual Conferences.
 
Donna is involved in contract negotiations, center set-up and management, and ensuring maximum client satisfaction. She brings to the team her many achievements in early childhood practices, one of which includes her consistent record to steer every center that she has led to sustained NAEYC accreditation. She is an expert in center operations and ensures that Children’s Choice leads the field in educator training, program quality, and initiatives crucial to families such as childhood obesity.

 

Dan Lawler, Chief Financial Officer

 

Mr. Lawler has more than 20 years of experience in financial management encompassing accounting, audit, control, treasury, SEC reporting, capital raising, risk management, capital analysis and budgeting functions. Prior to joining Children’s Choice in 2001, Mr. Lawler served as Vice President- Finance of MGM Grand Hotel/Casino for five years.  For the five previous years he served as Controller and Auditor at ITT Sheraton Corporation, both at the corporate level and at individual hotel and casino properties.  Earlier, he was employed as a Senior Auditor at Ernst & Young.

 

Dan is involved in contract negotiations and center budgets. He also oversees the centers’ financial health and ensures that the required financial reports are generated.

 

 

Jack Wallace, Executive Vice President of Business Development & Operations

 

Mr. Wallace began his career soon after college in as the director of a church-based child care center in Knoxville, Tennessee. His achievements include doubling the enrollment of the child care center by expanding into the previously untapped markets in a public housing estate. In 1988, Jack joined the Corporate Child Care (later known as the CorporateFamily Solutions) and became their Regional Vice President of Operations. In this capacity, he was responsible for the development and management oversight of centers for some of the leading companies in the United States, including Ryder, the University of South Florida, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Turner/CNN.

 

In 1998, CorporateFamily Solutions merged with Bright Horizons. Jack left Bright Horizons in 1999 to take the COO position at Child Care Systems, a company providing child care consultation and management to corporations in the southeastern United States. He joined Children’s Choice Learning Centers in 2004 to lead the business development and operations in new markets, bringing over 25 years of experience in the early childhood field.

 

Jack works with clients to develop a contract and a program tailored to meet the needs of the employees and the surrounding community. When the centers open, he does not typically work with the centers in operations. However, with his rich history in and understanding of operations, he offers his expertise at strategic operations and planning meetings.

 

 

Darlene Evans, Vice President of Curriculum Development

 

Ms. Evans joined Children's Choice in February 2002. Her department is responsible for the creation and production of Children's Choice Classics©, our innovative literacy-based curriculum.

Darlene holds a bachelor's degree in English from Texas Wesleyan University. Her early care and education experience include teaching kindergarten and preschool. In addition to her current position, her commitment to program quality led her to serve as master teacher and training coordinator in a lab school setting, as well as a regional program specialist, a validator for NAEYC, and a Child Development Associate (CDA) advisor. 

The Children's Choice Classics© team believes that our teachers are key in our partnership with the families we serve. They are dedicated to developing fun, appropriate curriculum that supports our teachers and their interactions with children, as well as enriches our classroom environments.

 

 

 

Lara Holder, Vice President of Operations

 

With over 19 years of experience working with children and their families, Lara Holder is a veteran in this field. Ms. Holder received a B.S. degree in psychology with a specialty in early childhood. She also holds a Masters of Education degree and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. In her professional career, Lara has worked in a variety of settings including both non-profit and for-profit, as well as corporate sponsored and community centers. She knows the early care and education field inside and out having had experience as a teacher, director, and regional director.

 

Before joining Children’s Choice, Lara had an 11-year tenure with a rapidly growing child care provider in which she was directly involved in the start up and ongoing operations of many new centers. One of her many achievements in this position was the expansion of the franchise from 9 to over 40 centers.

 

Lara is actively involved in every part of the center development including new center design and development. She is responsible for staff and management orientation and training and continues to support the regional director and center management after the center opening.

 

 

Karen Woodford, President of Summa Associates Consulting

 

In June of 2006, Summa Associates became a division of Children’s Choice Learning Centers, Inc. with Ms. Woodford remaining as president. Karen founded Summa Associates more than 25 years ago and is revered as an industry pioneer in the field of corporate-sponsored child care and work-life solutions in both the public and private sectors. Summa’s services include comprehensive needs assessments, the design and management of child care centers, child and elder care referral programs, Close-to-Home™ family child care networks, and customer play centers.

 

Karen holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a master’s from Arizona State University. She was a founding board member of the Alliance for Work Life Progress and has served on local and national boards including the Metro Phoenix Human Resource Association, the Advisory Board for the Office of Parent Development International. Karen is also a national speaker on employer supported child care and other work-life topics and has participated in many training events to share her knowledge and expertise.