Board or Directors

The daily operation and management of First Environments are the responsibility of the Director, while overall direction is the responsibility of the First Environments Parents Organization Board of Directors. There are five voting members on the Board and annual elections alternate between two and three new members. There are two non-voting members of the Board, a Day Care Liaison from EPA and one from NIEHS.

Board Composition and Contacts

Parent Board
Name Position E-mail Work# Home#
Gary Bird Board President Bird@niehs.nih.gov (919)
541-0214
(919)
942-0867
Michele Luecking - Sunman Secretary micheleluecking@yahoo.com (919)
856-2232
(919)
806-1393
Cherie Saliby-Puszynski Communications Saliby.Cherie@epamail.epa.gov (919)
541-3805
(919)
367-9267
Leah Goldsmith Parent Group Coordinator leah.goldsmith@duke.edu (919)
660-5595
(919)
572-0340
Steve Capozzi Marketing & Community Relations steve.capozzi@verizonbusiness.com (919)
378-3330
(919)
851-9259
Other Contacts
Steve Van Horn EPA Liaison VanHorn.Steve@epamail.epa.gov (919)
541-5446
 
Dona McNeill NIEHS Liaison Mcneill4@niehs.nih.gov (919)
541-0451
 
Beth Lake Executive Director lake.beth@epa.gov (919)
541-1461
(919)
821-7256
Trudi Tuinstra Preschool Director Tuinstra.trudi@epa.gov (919)
541-4781
 
Wendi Boggess Enrollment and Wait List
-Class Assignments
-Health Coordinator
Boggess.wendi@epa.gov (919)
541-4782
 
Kim Graper Office Manager Graper.kim@epa.gov (919)
541-1361
 
Program Coordinators
Terry King   ( Infants )   (919)
541-7990
 
Nicole Pratt ( Toddler )   (919)
541-7852
 
Marsha Daniels ( Middler )   (919)
541-7651  
 
Trudi Tuinstra ( Preschool ) Tuinstra.trudi@epa.gov (919)
541-4781
 
Shelley Berkowitz ( Camps ) Berkowitz.Shelley@epa.gov (919)
541-9766
 

 

Mission Statement  

The mission of the FEELC Parent Board is to work in partnership with the sponsoring agencies and Center staff to provide high quality child care, education and community for the families of First Environments Early Learning Center.

Objectives

By-Laws

FEELC By-laws Download Adobe Reader (68 KB)

Serving on the Board

Consistency and Continuity: the key to a successful FEELC Parent Board:

A high quality child care organization is best served by a strong parent board with good continuity of service over successive years. This can be best achieved through the consistent application of good parent board practices, good communication and the willingness to invest time and energy.

Are you "qualified"?

In many aspects, the roles played by the Executive Director and Parent Board is complimentary. Thus, for service on the board it is neither required nor necessary to have a background in childhood education. Indeed, there must be willingness of board members to set their personal parenting interests aside. At minimum, the parent board seeks volunteers who bring leadership and organizational skills, bags of energy and common sense.

Time Commitment

While service on the board does constitute your 12 annual parent hours, service on the board requires a commitment of time and energy beyond this limit. A term on the board (which runs September to August) requires a two-year commitment, with regular meetings scheduled the 2 nd Tuesday of each month and lasting one hour. Board members must also be prepared to be consulted and respond to requests at any time of the day, week or year.

Interested in serving?

There are five parent board members who are serving in a 2/3 rotation. The election of parent board members is held every year at the May Parent Meeting, with 2 or 3 positions under consideration. Announcements will be made at least one month prior to the May Parent Meeting appealing for parent board candidates, and inviting you to submit a biographical sketch.

Annual Report

FEELC Annual Report Download Adobe Reader (1.7 MB)

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