I have been working with children and families for more than 30 years. I began as a preschool teacher, became interested in children who were having trouble in the classroom and trained to work with young children with a range of emotional/developmental difficulties. Over the years I have consulted to numerous preschools, Head Start programs and the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Early Childhood Programs. I taught at Pacific Oaks College (developing the Clinical Child Development M.A. Specialization) before starting a private practice in Pasadena, and returned to teach online classes for Pacific Oaks in 2001. The years working in private practice were a huge learning experience for me. The longer I did this work the more I marveled at the variety of unique personalities and the innate goodness in the children I saw. I began to focus more on helping them develop adaptive coping skills and less on trying to figure out what was wrong. What seemed important was that they could function relatively successfully without too much cost to their true selves. It was clear to me that the key to this work was establishing an authentic relationship with children. Working in this way helped me become an ally of parents who so often felt judged (whether they actually were or not) by teachers and professionals they saw. I learned just how powerful an influence parents are on young children’s development and how much today’s often overworked and often stressed parents need our help to be as good as they can be. Teaching at Pacific Oaks honed and refined my awareness of the social and political constraints many children and families experience and of the responsibility we all have to work to correct the inequities. So my love of working with young children and my interest in social and political contexts merge in eceConsults where we can together create a supportive and helping community of people who care about and are committed to enhancing the lives of young children and their families. Our job, I think, as child development professionals, is to help children and their parents cope more successfully, so that with a little help and often a lot of advocacy they can develop to their full potential, despite the constraints imposed by social institutions. Perhaps we need to mentor teachers. Perhaps we need to mentor young parents. Certainly we need to educate ourselves and stick our necks out to help children who need us. And to do this we need a community of support, mentors, a place to talk, and a resource that can meet our individual needs. EceConsults hopes to fill this need. Download Niki's Resume here.

Although my career has included public service for government, non-profit agencies, and currently the corporate world, the idea of doing work that affects social change and ultimately supports my ideals continues to beckon. The opportunity to participate in this project appeals on several levels: First, working with two brilliant, competent women, whose approach to life can provide excellent modeling for anyone who is lucky enough to spend time with them. Second, I do love children and am happy to have a chance to support those who influence them on a daily basis. My career in technology may seem sometimes at odds with the ideals of human growth, but the creative aspects along with my love of making things work, combines nicely to give me great satisfaction. I love learning new skills and since that's not optional in this career, it's a good thing. Technology should be not just a friend but a valuable tool to promote social change. Hopefully this site can provide some important resources to a very significant group of people, with a very challenging job; teaching children. Download Penny's resume here.