Staff Spotlight

Welcome EmBe’s 2025 Summer Interns

Mikena VanLiere2025-05-30T10:12:29-05:00

Welcome EmBe's 2025 Summer Interns Every year, EmBe welcomes summer interns and enjoys getting to know them and having them as an extension of the team. Get to know our two new interns and read about their fun stories and diverse experiences. While we already know how EmBe can produce rich experiences in their lives, we wanted to delve into how they discovered our organization and what they hope to achieve during their time here. Meet EmBe’s 2025 Summer Interns, Jana and Isaac! Tell us a bit about yourself! Isaac: My name is Isaac Mazariegos, and I was born and [...]

Welcome EmBe’s 2025 Summer InternsMikena VanLiere2025-05-30T10:12:29-05:00

Welcome Ravan Ackerman, Chief Development Officer

Mikena VanLiere2024-12-18T11:53:02-06:00

Welcoming Ravan Ackerman, Our New Chief Development Officer! We are thrilled to introduce Ravan Ackerman as EmBe’s new Chief Development Officer! With 10 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit leadership, Ravan brings a collaborative and easygoing spirit that will strengthen donor relations and blend seamlessly with our team. She shared more about her background, passions, and some fun facts to help us get to know her better. A Sioux Falls Native with a Passion for People Born and raised in Sioux Falls, Ravan attended the University of South Dakota (USD), where she ran track as a sprinter. These days, [...]

Welcome Ravan Ackerman, Chief Development OfficerMikena VanLiere2024-12-18T11:53:02-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Rachel Gross – Executive Assistant

Mikena VanLiere2024-03-15T13:45:46-05:00

Welcoming Rachel Gross: A Vibrant Addition to the EmBe Family We are thrilled to introduce Rachel Gross, our new Executive Assistant to the EmBe leadership team, to the EmBe family! Rachel brings with her a wealth of experience and a vibrant personality that we know will greatly contribute to our team. Rachel shared with us a little more about her background, interests, fun facts, travel experiences, favorites, and more. Background: A Small-Town Girl with Big Dreams Rachel hails from the picturesque town of Huron, South Dakota, where she fondly recalls a childhood filled with camaraderie and community spirit. "I had [...]

Staff Spotlight: Rachel Gross – Executive AssistantMikena VanLiere2024-03-15T13:45:46-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Melissa Hiatt

Mikena VanLiere2023-03-20T15:13:38-05:00

“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 HiattMikena VanLiere2023-03-20T15:13:38-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Sarah Meagher – Director of Curriculum and Licensing

Mikena VanLiere2024-03-15T13:42:53-05:00

“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 LicensingMikena VanLiere2024-03-15T13:42:53-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Derrick Spader – School Age Care Manager

Mikena VanLiere2022-08-18T13:17:14-05:00

“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 ManagerMikena VanLiere2022-08-18T13:17:14-05:00

Spotlight: EmBe Summer Interns

Mikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:27:58-05:00

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 InternsMikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:27:58-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kelly Ballew – Chief of Staff

Mikena VanLiere2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

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 StaffMikena VanLiere2022-05-24T08:39:16-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley – SAC Coordinator Harrisburg Liberty

Mikena VanLiere2022-04-19T15:53:20-05:00

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 LibertyMikena VanLiere2022-04-19T15:53:20-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher – Mitchell

Mikena VanLiere2022-02-09T20:48:16-06:00

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 – MitchellMikena VanLiere2022-02-09T20:48:16-06:00