From Classroom Closer to Statewide Advocate: Kelsey’s Evolution in Early Childhood Education

Published October 14, 2025 as a part of the Career Exploration Tool: Stories from the Field series. This series of stories brings to life the many pathways members of Michigan’s early care and education field have taken to achieve their goals, nurture their interests, and achieve success.

After just one year, Kelsey realized where her heart truly belonged. She changed her major to early childhood education and child development, and from that moment on, each practicum, classroom experience, and academic milestone affirmed her decision.

Kelsey’s career began in the classroom as a lead teacher for three-year-olds. From there, she stepped into leadership roles as a center director, and eventually found her way to Michigan AEYC, where she started as a TEACH Early Childhood® Michigan Scholarship Counselor (now known as Program Specialist). With a strong foundation and a growing passion for supporting educators beyond the classroom, Kelsey moved into the director role, overseeing not just the TEACH. program but an expanding portfolio of professional development and workforce support initiatives.

Now the Director of Professional Programs at Michigan AEYC, Kelsey leads a fully remote team of 15. Though based in Lansing, their work spans the entire state, connecting early childhood professionals to training, resources, and opportunities. Much of her time is spent in collaborative spaces—strategizing on program design, troubleshooting barriers, and hosting energizing “brainstorm sessions” where the most innovative ideas often take root.

While she no longer works directly with young children, Kelsey sees the ripple effects of her work every day. From scholarship data to personal stories from educators, she knows the programs she leads have a real, measurable impact—on teachers, on families, and on the children at the heart of it all.

Still, the work isn’t without its challenges. Statewide initiatives can be slow to move, complicated by multiple systems and layers of approval. But Kelsey has learned to stay grounded by thinking creatively, staying persistent, and pushing the work forward one step at a time.

This journey has stretched and strengthened her in unexpected ways. Professionally, she’s developed systems-level thinking and leadership skills, learning how to navigate complex structures and support adult learners with empathy and clarity. Personally, she’s grown through the relationships she’s built in Michigan’s early childhood community—a network of compassionate, driven, and collaborative professionals all working toward the same North Star: better outcomes for children.

Kelsey continues to learn by attending conferences, joining webinars, and staying connected to the broader ECE ecosystem. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in early childhood education, she brings deep experience to the work—but she remains a lifelong learner, always seeking new ways to strengthen the systems that support educators.

Her advice to others is filled with possibility: “Think outside the box. There are so many career opportunities in and adjacent to this field. You may start out in a classroom and end up in policy, intervention, or leadership.”

To Kelsey, early childhood education is essential infrastructure. “It’s one of the most important jobs,” she says. And she hopes every educator knows they’re not alone—that there are resources, networks, and support systems built just for them.

Her journey proves that a part-time role in a preschool classroom can lead to leadership at the highest level. All it takes is passion, persistence, and a belief in the power of early education to change lives.