Wonderspring Early Education

Thank you to Surge Ghosh ✔️ for an amazing 12 years of service on Wonderspring's Board of Directors. Surge joined what was then Montgomery Early Learning Centers Board in 2012, where he was an active and enthusiastic member of the Finance and Governance Committees, as well as serving as Board President from 2019-2023. We're sad to see him go, but deeply grateful for all his hard work and dedication. Best of luck in your future endeavors, Surge!

We are excited to announce that Erica Plummer has joined Wonderspring's Board of Directors. Erica is passionate about using education as a launchpad to facilitate social justice, standing in the tradition of Mary McLeod Bethune and Dr. Dorothy Irene Height. She worked as a primary educator in Baltimore and Saint Louis before joining the team at Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) in 2017. In the past seven years at CLI, she’s supported teachers and students in the School District of Philadelphia as a Literacy Coach and Regional Manager, and most recently she’s supported the organization with living into its anti-racist mission as the Associate Director of DEI Programming and Development. Outside of work, Erica enjoys traveling, reading fiction, writing, and being an aunt to several nieces and nephews. A music lover, Erica rarely misses an opportunity to attend a live show, and she owns a vast collection of new and vintage vinyl records. She also considers herself an environmentalist, and takes pleasure in educating others about climate justice. Please join us in giving Erica a warm Wonderspring welcome!

Riad Attar has joined Wonderspring's Board of Directors after more than 15 years at one of the nation’s largest home health care providers. Native to northeastern Pennsylvania, Riad is a graduate of Villanova University, and started his career at PwC before joining BAYADA Home Health Care. At BAYADA, Riad has served in progressive roles in accounting and finance, and brings extensive experience in technical accounting, reporting, treasury management, financing, and transactions. Today, Riad continues to support BAYADA in a consultative capacity, covering M&A, technical accounting, and a variety of other initiatives. We are thrilled to have Riad on our team! Please join us in welcoming him to Wonderspring.

Wonderspring is excited to welcome Chris Yarnell to our Board of Directors! Chris is the Manager of Enterprise Risk Management at TE Connectivity, headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. His professional background is in corporate risk and security management, risk intelligence, and risk analysis and reporting. He has worked extensively with public and private sector organizations to develop the trainings, tools, and other resources that aim to improve the risk-based decision-making processes across multiple domains that protect people, productivity, and profitability. Chris is an active volunteer, leading inclusion and diversity efforts within TE that include chairing the organization’s LGBTQ+ global employee resource group. Chris holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, as well as a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and German from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Chris also has a personal connection to Wonderspring: his two nieces are enrolled at our Narberth location. He is looking forward to serving other Wonderspring families and getting to know them better through his work on our Board. Please help us give Chris a warm welcome!

Thank you to DiverseForce for connecting us to Erica Plummer ! We are ecstatic to have her join our Board and look forward to sharing the great work we do together.

Wonderspring is pleased to welcome Paul Smith to its Board of Directors.   Paul joins us from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, a mission driven non-profit where he serves as senior executive accountable for strategy, performance, employee engagement, and leadership for large organizations supporting currency operations and facilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.   He will bring to our organization a wealth of experience in corporate financial management, enhancing employee value proposition, operations, and community outreach, and will leverage these experiences as we continue to provide pathways to quality education for all children.   In his work, he is known for a focus on employee value experience and driving employee engagement, leading to gains in productivity, performance, and customer satisfaction. At Wonderspring, he will continue to support and enhance employee programs, provide strategic guidance and oversight for the organization, support facilities operations, help shape the future of our organization and its programs, and represent Wonderspring as an ambassador in the communities we serve.   Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Paul advanced through executive ranks at DuPont focusing on corporate strategy, employee development, corporate facilities management, and financial management. Prior to joining DuPont, Paul was director of real estate, facilities, and space planning at Navient (formerly known as Sallie Mae), where he specialized in facilities operations, staff career development, capital project management, corporate real estate, and financial planning.   A resident of Wilmington, Paul has an MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Delaware and a bachelor of architecture from Howard University School of Architecture and Planning and is heartily looking forward to serving our mission as we continue making a difference in the lives of the children and families in the Philadelphia metropolitan region every day.   Please join us in congratulating Paul on his appointment and in welcoming him to Wonderspring.

This school year has been nothing short of amazing. Despite many challenges we have continued to move forward in our efforts to serve more children by ensuring they have great teachers, are supported by family and community and feel they belong. I’m so honored to lead this work!

As the 2023-24 school year draws to a close, we wanted to share some of our many accomplishments this year and the ways we are meeting our four primary strategic goals: *Preparing more children for lifelong success; *Engaging families and communities; *Recruiting and retaining more qualified teachers; and *Embracing a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment in which all children, staff and families belong. Check out our end of year newsletter here and thanks to all who made this an incredible year.

They say heavy is the head that wears the crown… but this particular crown makes me feel 100lbs lighter. My team surprised me with this word cloud as a birthday gift. I could not have asked for anything better. Knowing I lead a team that feels this way about me is such a blessing. I’m so so grateful! Wonderspring Early Education is truly a great place to work! #ece #leadership #servantleader

Thanks to all the volunteers from PNC whose energy and commitment helped make this powerful event possible.