{"id":13767,"date":"2024-02-27T13:01:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T18:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=13767"},"modified":"2024-02-27T13:01:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T18:01:26","slug":"imagine-early-hires-first-executive-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/27\/imagine-early-hires-first-executive-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagine Early Hires First Executive Director"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Imagine Early, the early childhood education coalition of Adams and Wells counties, has hired its first executive director.\u00a0 Ashleigh King started in the position on Monday, Feb. 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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King (photo provided)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ashleigh comes to Imagine Early with 5 years of experience in nonprofit work in Wells County. In her position as executive director, she will work to promote Imagine Early\u2019s mission of increasing capacity and quality of early childhood care and education in Adams and Wells counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a proud mom navigating the beautiful chaos of parenthood with a kindergartener keeping me on my toes.  I’ve experienced firsthand the invaluable role that quality childcare plays in supporting families and nurturing young minds,\u201d Ashleigh says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mission is simple \u2014 to amplify the voices of parents, caregivers and employers, advocating for policies and initiatives that prioritize affordable, inclusive, and accessible childcare options,\u201d she adds. \u201cEvery child deserves a safe and nurturing environment to learn, grow, and explore their potential, and I’m dedicated to making that vision a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to have Ashleigh join Imagine Early,\u201d said Colton Bickel, Adams County Economic Development Executive Director who serves as the Imagine Early board president. \u201cThe experience she brings will be utilized to drive transformation and change in our Early Learning environment. We can\u2019t wait to see the benefits this will bring to Adams and Wells counties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashleigh will spend time making connections with local childcare providers, researching and facilitating funding opportunities to expand access to early childhood education, and represent the two counties at the regional and state levels as public officials continue to work to address early childhood needs across the Hoosier state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAshleigh\u2019s work will play a pivotal role in Adams and Wells counties by enhancing the capacity and quality of early childcare and education,\u201d said Chad Kline, Wells County Economic Development Executive Director who serves as the Imagine Early vice president. \u201cThrough Ashleigh\u2019s work, the coalition will ensure that children in the region will receive a strong foundation for their future development and success. By prioritizing early learning initiatives, we are investing in the future of our community and increasing our workforce opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine Early\u2019s initiatives so far have been graciously funded by various sources, including but not limited to the Wells County Commissioners, Adams County Commissioners, Wells County Foundation, Adams County Community Foundation, and Ambassador Enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are beyond excited to welcome another county leader to the Adams and Wells Initiative, Imagine Early! With Imagine Early’s new leader, we are one step closer to ensuring that every child in our region has access to high-quality early childhood education. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of our youngest learners,\u201d says Allie Sutherland, the Northeast Indiana Regional Early Childhood Coalition representative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional board officers include Adams County\u2019s Teri Hogg of Purdue-Fort Wayne, Treasurer; and Wells County\u2019s Julie Meitzler of Bluffton-Harrison MSD, Secretary. Board members include Kyle Sprunger of Sprunger & Sprunger, Candy Campbell of Kings Kingdom, Kalie Neal of Annies Publishing, and Jessica Bricker of Bluffton-Harrison MSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashleigh can be contacted at ashleigh@imagineearly.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine Early, the early childhood education coalition of Adams and Wells counties, has hired its first executive director.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[15,21],"class_list":["post-13767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","tag-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13767\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}