La Plata County Colorado staff and child care providers in Colorado

The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County is a collaboration of 24 agencies and organizations dedicated to improving the lives of young children and their families. Partners range from governmental agencies to non-profits…child care providers to parents. Monthly Council meetings are held as a forum for sharing ideas, resources, and support. The public is welcome to attend these meetings to learn more about early childhood in La Plata County. Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 1315 Main Ave., Suite 124 (Northpoint Mall) and are posted on our Calendar of Events.

	Tamara Volz, Early Childhood Council Director, tamarav@ecclaplata.org 970-247-5960 x 40 Tamara oversees the activities and programs of the Early Childhood Council, including administrative and fiscal responsibility of state and local initiatives and contracts to support comprehensive early childhood services. Tamara began in 1998 as the EC Council Coordinator. Tamara’s experience includes over 30 years of teaching and administering programs for young children. She has taught Kindergarten & preschool children. Tamara has facilitated numerous workshops for early childhood professionals in the Four Corners area since 1991. She is a certified trainer through the Colorado Office of Professional Development, Expanding Quality in Infant/Toddler Care Training and Touchpoints. She is one of two original EC Council Coordinators in the state that has participated in the Early Childhood Councils Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) since the beginning. Tamara has served on the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children Board from 2000-2003 and as a member of the nominating committee. She has lived in Durango for over 30 years, and is committed to increasing high quality comprehensive early childhood services for children and families.
	Shannon Bassett, Child Care Resource and Referral Coordinator, shannonb@ecclaplata.org 970-247-5960 x 25 Shannon is responsible for child care resource and referral services for parents seeking childcare in Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores, and San Juan Counties. Shannon has held numerous positions in the early childhood field, from teacher’s aide to center director. Currently, Shannon is a licensed family home child care provider in Southwest Colorado. She has a degree in Early Childhood Education as well as 15 years experience in the field. Shannon has several other certifications including; Safety Seat Inspector, Family Child Care Environmental Rating Specialist and Pre-Licensing and Family Child Care Business Trainer. Shannon also has three young children of her own and homeschools.
	Lindsay Sherman, Quality Initiatives Coordinator, lindsays@ecclaplata.org 970-247-5960 x 20 Lindsay is the Quality Initiatives Coordinator for the Early Childhood Council of La Plata County. Formerly the founder and director of a large preschool and childcare center in Durango, Lindsay has worked in the early childhood field in La Plata County for the past 14 years, and currently is part of the Touchpoints, Cradling Literacy, and Expanding Quality in Infant and Toddler care teaching teams. She will be identifying resources for and coordinating Quality Ratings, Environmental Rating Scale assessments, and Quality Improvement Incentives for the Council. Additionally, she will be coordinating the activities of the community based training teams (EQIT, Touchpoints, Cradling Literacy). Lindsay is a member of the ECC LaPlata Steering Committee.
	Angela Atkinson, Data and Evaluation Consultant and Health Integration Coordinator, aatkinson@centurytel.net 970-946-5261, Angela is an independent contractor assisting the Council with research, data, and evaluation systems related to early childhood and Council work. She also assists in developing organizational, communications, and systems building programs designed to facilitate collaboration and effective communications among ECC stakeholders and partners. With a background in research and non-profit management, Angela has a consulting practice dedicated to assisting organizations in the areas of research, strategy, and leadership. As Health Integration Coordinator, Angela manages the activities, objectives and outcomes of the Health Integration Grant from the Colorado Trust for the Early Childhood Council, to increase access to preventive oral & medical health care in La Plata County. Projects include coordinating the CARES program (a sliding scale fee program designed to improve access to health care for income-qualified families); collaborating as a pilot project with SWConnect.org, an online community database; and assisting in the facilitation of the Pediatric Health Care Home Coalition.
	Sara Campano, Administrative Assistant, sarac@ecclaplata.org 970-247-5960 X16, Sara assists the Early Childhood Council Director in the coordination of a variety of local Early Childhood Council of La Plata County programs, projects, and activities related to the statewide comprehensive early childhood systems. She will also be maintaining the ecclaplata.org web site and assisting in the delivery of community trainings through website updates and technical support. Sara has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Library and Information Studies. In addition to raising her two young children, she has experience working with children in both the elementary school and library setting. She is part of the Cradling Literacy Training Team providing workshops for child care providers in early literacy..

Our Staff.

Early Childhood Council Staff