• Public policy information
• Family Night events
• Statewide issues
• Statistics and demographics
• Grant information
• Community collaborations

Joy is celebrating… her 15th anniversary as Director at AEYC, and excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of AEYC in Southeast Alaska in 2012.  She is also celebrating her 30th anniversary with her husband, who not only brings her coffee in the morning, but has come to the rescue of many AEYC events over the years – “help – we need an extension cord for a presentation in 15 minutes!”  has inspired him to quickly don his superhero cape on many occasions.  Joy has three grown children, all the most generous, caring, and huggable young people, and will also go on for hours about the fun of raising chickens, so be careful not to get her started.

Ever since she was little, Joy’s favorite thing to do was to put on “play clothes,”  grab a book, and head outside to the nearest pond, creek, lake, or stream.  Then she discovered the ocean in Southeast Alaska, and has been known to read while floating along with the tide in her kayak.

Lori Brotherton -Finance Manager
lbrotherton@aeyc-sea.org

Lori can help with questions about:

• Training reimbursements
• Travel grants
• Lost checks

Lori Brotherton has been on staff at AEYC for almost 3 years but has also been involved with the organization for many years as a board member and representative for Southeast to the AEYC board. In her professional life, Lori has worked as an accountant for many of Juneau’s non profit organizations including Catholic Community Service, SERRC, CoastAlaska, & KTOO FM & TV. 

Lori's family includes her husband Walter, an older son Matthew , who lives in Anchorage, and a younger son, Jesse, who is attending Portland State University. She also has two large black cats that are up for adoption -anyone interested?!

Her favorite “play date” is with the wonderful women in her monthly book group.

Nikki Morris -Child Care Food Program Coordinator
nmorris@aeyc-sea.org

Nikki can help providers with questions regarding:

• USDA Childcare Food Program  
  -Guidelines
  -Regulations
  -Provider Responsibilities
  -Nutritional Information
• Fun Nutritional/ Physical Activity home visits
• On site mentoring

Nikki has worked at AEYC for 11 years. She has a Bachelor's degree in liberal arts with an emphasis in visual arts. Her background and work experiences have always found her working with people and art, and her present job blends both nicely. Nikki splits her time at AEYC between supporting providers through the Child Care Food Program and publications projects.

When not busy at AEYC, Nikki spends time with her daughter, works in her ceramics studio, and redecorates her house. Since childhood, Nikki has admired Harold and his purple crayon.

Lauren Brooks -Family Services Coordinator
lbrooks@aeyc-sea.org

Lauren helps providers and parents with questions about:

• Child Care Referrals
• Provider updates
• Alaska In! Program
• Child care trends & statistics
• Especialista Español: llamar para pedir ayuda con cualquiera de nuestros servicios

Lauren is the newest staff member at AEYC but has worked with young children since she first started babysitting at the age of eleven. She was raised in Juneau and has worked at several child care centers around town, as well as with children at the AWARE shelter where she was a Shelter Advocate for several years. She majored in Spanish and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Willamette University. At some point she hopes to go to nursing school.

Lauren’s favorite childhood activities were biking, playing with legos, building forts and reading – all things she still enjoys. She and her boyfriend Ben currently spend a lot of their free time renovating a one-hundred-plus-year-old home they recently bought in downtown Juneau. Other activities Lauren enjoys when not working at AEYC or on her home are traveling, playing roller derby, snowboarding, writing, singing and mucking about outside.

Christa Womack - Early Learning Services Coordinator
cwomack@aeyc-sea.org

Christa can help providers with questions about:

• CDA (Child Development Associate) Advising
• Training
• On Site Technical Assistance
• Lending Library Resources

Christa Womack was born in Columbia, South Carolina but was raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. She moved to Juneau in the fall of 1989 and graduated from Juneau Douglas High School in 1992. She fell in love with Southeast, Alaska and decided to make it her home. Christa is married and has three children and a dog named Pearl. She has been working in the Field of Early Childhood for most of her adult life. Christa received her CDA in 2003, graduated with an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood education in 2007 and is continuing her education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

In her spare time, Christa can be found out hiking on the trails with her camera, berry picking or camping on beaches. Her favorite thing to do is cooking over a campfire in a cast iron skillet while simultaneously watching the humpback whale’s breach. On rainy days, she can be found stomping in mud puddles when no one is looking.

Robin Bergey -Program Associate
info@aeyc-sea.org

Robin works part-time (am) and can help with:

• General information about what is going on with anything at AEYC!
• Referrals to community services
• Provide training support  ie: Signing up for workshops, Training Tracking (Transcripts)
• SEED Registry
• Resources, Forms, Assists with Lending Library process.
• Dolly Parton Imagination Library
• AEYC (anything affiliate, membership status)
• Alaska AEYC State Board of Directors  (main contact for all AK AEYC related information)

Robin joined the AEYC team in November of 2007. Born and raised in Sitka Alaska, Robin now resides with her family in Juneau.  She has worked in varied professional environments including being a licensed family child-care provider, a school district, SOA Communicative Disorders Program, and construction contract management. 

Favorite activities as a child were swinging on swings, making forts in the “pirate woods” and all day bike rides.  Favorite activities as a “grown up” include playing with her family & friends, vacations, and redecorating her house.

Emily Coate -Parents As Teachers (PAT) Coordinator
ecoate@aeyc-sea.org

Emily can help you with the following:

• Juneau's "Parents As Teachers" Program
• ABCD E-Learning Modules
• Preschool Family Nights in the Juneau area
• Parenting classes and support

Emily joined the AEYC team in November of 2007 and is excited to be kicking off the first ever Parents As Teachers program in Juneau. She has a Masters in Education from Loyola University Maryland, a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education from Southern IL University of Carbondale and is a certified birth-3 Montessori Teacher. Experiences in the field include, but are not limited to running an in-home child care, leading an infant room and cultivating a sense of playfulness in all areas of life.

She currently resides in Juneau and enjoys long hikes, chocolate and Fridays. (Especially long hikes on Friday while consuming chocolate).

Meg Butler -Preschool Health Promotion Coordinator
mbutler@aeyc-sea.org

Meg can help you with:

• Monthly Parent Bulletins
• Turf for Tots Program
• Family Night events
• Health Promotion program activity visits
• Other projects as they arise

Meg came to AEYC in September 2011 as an AmeriCorps member through the SAGA Connections program. She recently graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Wildlife Ecology and a minor in Peace and Reconciliation Studies. With her 11 months at AEYC she hopes to provide events which blend health - in all its forms - with positive experiences in and around nature.

Meg was born and raised in Maine and loves the fall foliage dearly. Her Juneau family consists of her wonderful boyfriend, two crazy german shorthaired pointers, and one small gray cat with a big attitude.