Board of Directors

Theresa Stacker

Theresa Stacker has served on the board since 2018 as the Local Leadership Representative. She currently is the Executive Director for the NC Early Childhood Foundation. Theresa has over 20 years of experience in North Carolina’s early childhood system. She has worked in the military childcare community, provided technical assistance and professional development to the childcare workforce and spent her most recent years in state government advising on early care and education. She holds multiple degrees in education and recently completed an Education Specialists (Ed.S.) degree from Walden University. She is a native of North Carolina’s crystal coast, but for the past few years her family has called Raleigh home. While not at work ensuring kids are on track to lifelong success, she enjoys hiking, listening to music, and baking.

Adam Holland

Adam Holland, PhD has served on the NCAEYC Board of Directors since 2017. He currently serves as the organization’s Treasurer. Dr. Holland is an Implementation Specialist at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His interests include challenging behavior, progressions-based pedagogies, and scaling up evidence-based innovations. Currently, Dr. Holland works on the Impact Center team, assisting the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services with their implementation of initiatives that support the healthy development of young children and families. He also works as co-investigator on the US Department of Education-funded STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMIE) Center, focused on helping practitioners do high-quality STEM work with young children with and without disabilities. Prior to his current job at UNC, Dr. Holland taught first grade, kindergarten, pre-K, and three-year-olds in an inclusive setting. In his spare time, he enjoys napping and forgetting why he walked into a room.

Susan Butler-Staub

Susan Butler-Staub has served on the NCAEYC board of directors since 2015. She currently serves as past president, having also served as the VP of Policy and Advocacy. Susan has taught in many early childhood settings, teaching infants through preschoolers, worked for over a decade in Child Care Resource and Referral, and for over 5 years in the NC Community College System as an Early Childhood Instructor and Program Chair. Susan is specifically interested in supporting the well-being and compensation of the early childhood workforce. She lives in Charlotte with her husband, two children, and many pets.

Lisa Pullis

Lisa Campbell Pullis began her first term on the NCAEYC Board in the Fall of 2017 as the Northwest Regional Representative. She has also served as VP of Public Policy and Advocacy and is currently Co-President. Lisa’s motto is to “Be the person you want to have in your life,” and exemplifies this motto as the Assistant Director of the Iredell County Partnership for Young Children. After 27 years in the field of Early Childhood, Lisa deeply believes that all children should be exposed to equitable learning opportunities to thrive and reach their fullest potential. She also provides professional development and education consultation on justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging across the country. Lisa and her husband, Lee, have two daughters and two sons and recently became grandparents

Jon Williams

Jon Williams is the current VP of Public Policy and Advocacy with NCAEYC. He oversees the NC School Age Initiative and other education grant programs dealing with afterschool and Out-of-School Time. He is passionate about seeing early education professionals succeed and students thrive. Jon is a native to Western North Carolina, and lives in Hendersonville NC with his wife and two amazing children. When he’s not working, Jon loves to watch the Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers.

Dedee Ephraim

Dedee joined NCAEYC Board of Directors in 2016 as the South West Region Representative. She currently serves as Secretary. Dedee currently works for Child Care Resources Inc as the Statewide Technical Assistance & Professional Development Specialist for North Carolina’s CCR&R. She also enjoys her adjunct faculty work with Oakton College in Illinois. Her prior experiences include Head Start and preschool teacher, early childhood consultant, and program director. Dedee is passionate about early childhood compensation, trauma-responsive care in the field and professionalism. NCAEYC allows her the opportunity to engage in the mission of connecting practice, policy, and research. To refuel and refresh, Dedee finds solace in hiking, cooking, and live music with family and friends

Daniel Bates

Daniel has a professional career that began in the foothills of NC in the 1990s, and then expanded to the coast in the mid 2000’s. As a product of family chil care, and a former FFN provider, he has served as a lead teacher, assistant director, director, central office director for school age/early ed programs, & teaches occasionally with higher ed. He has worked with the NC CCR&R since 2010 as a regional specialist and currently as Statewide FCC Project Manager. Prior to his service on the board, he collaborated and presented for NCAEYC with the southeastern chapter. He has a A.A. from SCC, B.S. in ECE from UMO, and a M.Ed. in ELPA in EC from UNCW along with a certification in college teaching & learning. As a dedicated lifelong learner, he finds joy in traveling and immersing himself in both local and global cultures.

Amanda Blakely

Amanda Blakely has served on the Board of NCAEYC since 2021 and is currently the Vice President of Membership. She is the Regional Director of Operations at Childcare Network which includes over 80 locations in North Carolina with over 20 years of experience in the field. Ensuring that every child has a great start in life with high-quality learning environments and experiences is her mission. Amanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a mother of three wonderful children who enjoys spending time with family, reading, and traveling.

Shawna Daniels

Shawna Daniels is an Early Childhood educator and advocate who has over 20 years of experience, working with children ages birth – 12 years old and their families. In the last 10 years, Shawna has been coaching, mentoring, and supporting child care center teachers & staff in a variety of topics related to classroom management, child development, creating/updating family & employee handbooks; and professional development. She has also spent the last several years as an adjunct instructor in the ECE programs at two of North Carolina’s community colleges, teaching a variety of courses related to child development, program management, classroom management; health and safety practices, and behavior guidance. Currently, she is a PhD student at NC State University’s Adult & Lifelong Education (ALE) program with a research focus on the perspectives and self-efficacy of mentor teachers in a local ECE apprenticeship program. Shawna has served on the NCAEYC Board of Directors since 2017 with her most recent terms as Secretary and currently, as Co-President.

Mackenzie Ratledge

Mackenzie Ratledge joined the Board of Directors in April 2021 as the Northwestern Representative. She is currently an Assistant Professor at UNC Greensboro where she also serves as Director of the Child Care Education Program.

Her early work experiences include serving as a preschool teacher, non-profit Child Care Director, and a Licensing Consultant with the NC Division of Child Development & Early Education before coming to UNCG. She holds a M.Ed. in Leadership, Policy, & Advocacy in Early Education from UNC Wilmington and is a committed advocate for improving the quality of Early Education in NC through systemic workforce and policy development.

In her spare time, Mackenzie and her husband stay busy with their two children who are active in youth sports and scouting adventures.