Lilly Irvin-Vitela, Executive Director  - Welcome Lilly Irvin-Vitela, the new Executive Director of Supporting Families Together Association.  Beginning in September 2008,  Ms. Irvin-Vitela comes to Supporting Families Together Association with a proven track record and diverse background in community development. Lilly’s passion for SFTA's mission, communication skills, nonprofit and budget management experience,  fund development experience, knowledge of community development and quality improvement systems change, dispute resolution skills, and track record of working collaboratively with a diverse array of organizations and individuals make her well-positioned to serve as the Executive Director of SFTA.  Most recently she served as Project Manager of the WI Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles through the Department of Family Medicine at UW-Madison.  She also worked as a Training Manager providing technical assistance, training and program evaluation at Health Care Education and Training, a regional nonprofit organization focused on the health of women and adolescents.  She has had extensive experience in the field of dispute resolution and mediation as Executive Director of a nonprofit organization and consultant in her home state of New Mexico.  Her educational background includes a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico.  Please feel free to contact Lilly with questions, comments, or ideas about SFTA’s efforts to support and promote quality care, resources and education to enrich the lives of children, families, and care givers at lilly.irvin-vitela@dpi.wi.gov

Kelly Borchardt, Technical Advisor — Kelly began her childhood career over 20 years ago as an assistant child care teacher while early earning an elementary eduation degree from UW-Stevens Point.  In addition to working for 15 years with child care programs as an advisor/consultant, she spent time as a cook and lead teacher at several child care programs and worked in child care resource and referral.  Along with her technical advisor role, she is currently the Executive Director of Child Care Resource and Referral of Central Wisconsin in Wisconsin Rapids and occasionally teaches for Mid-State Technical College.  Projects that she has been involved with recently include the development of Supporting Families Together Association, the Strengthening Families Initiative and the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards.  She also serves on the WECA Member Advisory Council.  Kelly feels that one of the most effective ways to improve the lives of children and families is to help educate and support the caregivers and teachers who dedicate their lives to this profession.  It's exciting to see the changes in the early childhood field as more focus is put on the importance of high quality early care and education.

Barb Evensen, Technical Advisor, Training and Consulting Services Coordinator  — Barb has an early childhood education degree from UW-Stout, and has done graduate work at Wheelock College and the Merrill-Palmer Institute. She has been with WCCIP for 15 years. She was the Executive Director of a child care program in Ripon for 10 years. She also worked for the Work Place Child Care Clearing House in the Lt. Governor’s office. She has taught various courses at the Technical College and continues to update and improve the training that she has developed. Her areas of expertise include employer-sponsored child care planning and development, infant and toddler programming and environments, the process of art for children and helping teachers focus on literacy. “But my passion is curriculum,” says Barb, “helping people understand how to define their curriculum and making a commitment to using it effectively is a powerful move toward quality improvement.” She also believes in helping teachers learn to advocate for themselves as professionals “because they know best what they need. ”Barb recently became the Training and Consulting Coordinator for WCCIP.  She is committed to making training events for early care and education programs “special events” customized to meet their unique needs. 

Toni Kutner, Technical Advisor  - My name is Toni Kutner and I have been working in the early childhood field for over twenty years. My experiences have been both challenging and rewarding. As a preschool teacher I helped children to build skills and discover their potential as life long learners. I have served as a mentor to child care providers as they implement quality practices into their programs. As an academic instructor I have taught classes in the early childhood bachelor program at UW Milwaukee and Whitewater campuses. I also teach at Carroll University and Waukesha Area Technical Colleges in their early childhood programs as well. As a college supervisor and cooperating teacher I have worked closely with students in the education field to help prepare them for licensure. I have a bachelor of Science degree from Alverno College in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and a Master of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction from UW Milwaukee. When I am not teaching or mentoring prospective child care providers I am spending time with my grandson Thomas, which allows me to keep myself grounded in what is really important, children.