Staff Spotlight Archives

Staff Spotlight: Brandon Hanson

Melissa Carter2023-05-10T10:50:31-05:00

"There is a real sense of belonging at EmBe, and we are all working toward one big, shared goal. EmBe has put effort into the little things, making it an enticing place to be part of." We are excited to announce that Brandon Hanson has recently joined our team as the Executive Director of Childcare and School Age Care! Within his role, Brandon oversees six key leaders that are directly working within our childcare and school age care facilities. Brandon’s position invests in our senior leadership, determines operational and financial management of our childcare and school age care sites and [...]

Staff Spotlight: Brandon HansonMelissa Carter2023-05-10T10:50:31-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Melissa Hiatt

Melissa Carter2023-03-20T15:13:38-05:00

“I want to help women tap into the life-giving, life-changing, life-empowering power for them, their families, their organizations, and their communities.” At EmBe, our mission is to empower women and help them discover their strengths, activate their vision, and help meet their personal and professional goals. Putting the pivotal mentors, leadership, and programs in place is what we are excited to bring more emphasis to within the community. We are ecstatic to announce the addition of Melissa Hiatt, Director of Women’s Programming, to the EmBe team! We are certain that Melissa’s experience and new ideas will grow Women’s Programming to [...]

Staff Spotlight: Melissa HiattMelissa Carter2023-03-20T15:13:38-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Sarah Meagher – Director of Curriculum and Licensing

Melissa Carter2022-10-20T13:20:45-05:00

“With an extremely talented and dedicated staff, the biggest challenge will be to learn what best practices already exist and where our programs can be elevated to the highest standard of childcare and early education in the community.” Sarah Meagher believes in the power of quality education to transform the lives of children. But the reality of maintaining EmBe’s high standards of learning requires constant effort from both teachers and administrators. As the new Director of Curriculum and Licensing at EmBe, Sarah has the passion and skills to rise to the challenge of delivering world-class education to the youth of [...]

Staff Spotlight: Sarah Meagher – Director of Curriculum and LicensingMelissa Carter2022-10-20T13:20:45-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Derrick Spader – School Age Care Manager

Melissa Carter2022-08-18T13:17:14-05:00

“My vision for EmBe is for us to be at the front, leading the way and setting the standard of quality childcare and community empowerment.” After 100 years of serving Sioux Falls, EmBe has built a strong workplace culture that inspires employees like Derrick Spader to bring their best every day. Less than one month in his new role as School Age Care Manager, Derrick can already tell EmBe is different. The spirit of his fellow staff members is unlike anything he’s experienced before. “Everyone I have interacted with is passionate about what we do here at EmBe,” says Derrick, [...]

Staff Spotlight: Derrick Spader – School Age Care ManagerMelissa Carter2022-08-18T13:17:14-05:00

Spotlight: EmBe Summer Interns

Melissa Carter2022-06-20T11:27:58-05:00

Spotlighting EmBe’s Summer Interns Summer brings a new crop of interns to our organization, and we wasted no time getting to know them. With so many questions and much less time, we narrowed this Q&A to five questions and let their insightful answers speak for themselves. While we already know how our mission may seed success in their life, we’re also uncovering their desire to sew their seeds into our communities. Without further ado, meet EmBe’s 2022 Summer Interns! Tell us a bit about yourself: Aybree: I am 22 years old, and I recently started working as the interim School [...]

Spotlight: EmBe Summer InternsMelissa Carter2022-06-20T11:27:58-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of Staff

Ngoc Thach2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew - Chief of Staff Just as EmBe can be many things to many people throughout a lifetime, our stakeholders interact with our century-old mission through a variety of programs and roles throughout their EmBe journey. We call it the Circle of Empowerment. Whether participants become donors or volunteers who become team members, everyone we touch finds a way to impact our organization and the individuals we serve positively. While our Chief of Staff is no exception to this rule, Kelly Ballew’s story is exceptional, and we’re finding more than one circle within it. Although Kelly joined our leadership [...]

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of StaffNgoc Thach2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley – SAC Coordinator Harrisburg Liberty

Melissa Carter2022-04-19T15:53:20-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley, SAC Coordinator - Harrisburg Elementary Jamie Farley was looking for a fulfilling job that fit his skills and experience when he discovered a posting for the School Age Care Site (SAC) Coordinator position. “I quickly discovered that EmBe is a great organization to work for,” Jamie said. “You have great benefits and opportunities, but you get to make a daily impact in a child’s life. For some, it’s an influence that they may not have outside of EmBe.” Over four years later, Jamie is the SAC Site Coordinator at Liberty and recently expanded his responsibilities as a [...]

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley – SAC Coordinator Harrisburg LibertyMelissa Carter2022-04-19T15:53:20-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher – Mitchell

Ngoc Thach2022-02-09T20:48:16-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher of Mitchell As EmBe parents, program participants, and staff, you already know that we do things differently at EmBe. Thanks to our nonprofit model, we serve the mission of empowerment in order to enrich lives, and that mission extends to each of the children we serve and their families. And thanks to hundreds of team members like Kayla, our Lead Infant Teacher in Mitchell, EmBe serves more than 800 children each day. This month, we get to know Kayla through her EmBe journey, and learn what has kept her here for nearly three [...]

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher – MitchellNgoc Thach2022-02-09T20:48:16-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Michele Leiferman, Lead Teacher of Nursery One

Ngoc Thach2022-01-03T14:49:58-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Michele Leiferman, Lead Teacher of Nursery One Michele Leiferman has been in the business of childcare for about 30 years. With more than five of those years spent caring for the kids of EmBe, she has worked closely with many kids and families, helping them transition in big and small ways. But whether a child is graduating from bottles to solid food or from her room to another, she knows all changes are big at this stage. And she knows the weight of her role. "When they grow out of my room and go to 2s, they still [...]

Staff Spotlight: Michele Leiferman, Lead Teacher of Nursery OneNgoc Thach2022-01-03T14:49:58-06:00

Staff Highlight: Rebekah Warmbrand, Lead Teacher 5B

Megan Van Holland2021-10-20T09:41:12-05:00

At EmBe, we are proud to serve the community by providing quality educational opportunities to inspire children to be confident, independent thinkers. Without our amazing team of teachers, this wouldn’t be possible. Our teachers help provide a safe and fun environment to facilitate the growth and development of children in our community. Teachers like Rebekah Warmbrand, 5B Lead Teacher at EmBe South, are the heart and soul of our organization. Rebekah’s responsibilities involve caring for a classroom of 4- and 5-year-olds. She also completes lesson plans and prep each week and works closely with her assistant teachers and other staff [...]

Staff Highlight: Rebekah Warmbrand, Lead Teacher 5BMegan Van Holland2021-10-20T09:41:12-05:00