Experts Database
Catalyst subject matter experts available to speak to media.
- All
- Advocacy
- Camp
- Infant/Toddler
- Multilingual Ed
- Preschool
- School Age
Alison Michel-Hall
Infant/Toddler, Multilingual Ed, Preschool, School Age
Alison Michel-Hall
Sr. Director of Education
Expertise: Infant/Toddler, Multilingual Ed, Preschool, School Age
Alison Michel-Hall has been working in the early childhood education field for over 35 years with over 20 years at Catalyst. She demonstrates a strong commitment to developmentally appropriate practices and has worked in multiple positions over the years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies. She currently holds a Life Children’s Center Supervisory Permit and is a graduate of Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC). She continued her education throughout her career including specialized trainings such as: infant/toddler programming and care, special needs, adoption/foster care, anti-bias education, early language and literacy development, emergent curriculum, preschool programming, HighScope, Reggio Emilia practices, accreditation, school age programming, supervision/management, facilitation methods, Desired Results, Teaching Pyramid, trauma informed care, cultural competency, multi-lingual learners, responsive feedback, and effective coaching/mentoring.
America Angeles
Multilingual Ed
America has been working in the Early Childhood Education field for over 28 years. Coming from a long line of educators, America feels like it is in her blood to be an educator. She has an AA in Early Childhood Education and is working on a BA in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in Trauma.
America was born in Mexico City and came to the United States at the age of 5. Dual language learning is a passion of America’s. She also uses her expertise in translating documents and serving as an interpreter during parent/teacher conferences and/or any parent meetings.
Audrey Wyatt
Advocacy
Audrey currently serves as the Manager of Contract Administration for Catalyst Family Inc. Audrey graduated from the University of Alaska with a Human Services degree and soon moved to Nevada where she became a preschool teacher, and eventually worked up to a Site Supervisor. After relocating to California, Audrey obtained a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from National University in 2015. Audrey has been a part of Catalyst Family since 2012. Audrey is happily married and lives with her two teenagers, as well as a variety of pets.
Cassandra Brumfield
Camp, School Age
Cassandra started with Catalyst Kids as an Associate Teacher in the substitute teacher pool in 2014. In 2015, she began working as a camp counselor at Catalyst Kids – Stone Lake. While working at Stone Lake, Cassandra finished her ECE coursework and received her Site Supervisor permit in 2017. That same year, Cassandra became a manager at Catalyst Camps. After a short break, Cassandra returned as a Site Supervisor at Catalyst Kids Pleasant Grove. She recently upgraded her permit level to Program Director.
Cindy Lipp
Camp, School Age
Cindy Lipp has over 30 years’ experience with childcare, 27 of them with our company. Her passion is school age programming and summer camps. She has contributed to statewide teams, focusing on school age assessments and programming as well as helping launch a nine-week specialty engineering virtual class for upper graders. Her summer camps are fun, creative, and innovative. Summer programs have included day camps as well as week-long trips with older youth that focused on building skills in leadership, teamwork, and independence. Cindy works to create a culture where families, the school, and communities blend seamlessly together to provide the best experience possible for students. Currently, Cindy is the Center Manager of three sites. She has attended Purdue University, Mission College, DeAnza College, and San Jose State. She is currently enrolled at Purdue Global. She has a daughter, son, and a very spoiled dog.
Cynthia Gallardo
Infant/Toddler, Preschool
Prior to joining Catalyst Family Inc., Cynthia held a career in the child development field teaching private preschool, Head Start preschool, and teaching Social-Emotional Skills to children with mild to moderate behavior challenges in K-3rd grade.
In 2007, she joined the Catalyst family as an Assistant Site Supervisor shortly after completing her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Child Development. She finds joy in supporting teachers to create quality experiences for children.
As a Program Quality Manager, Cynthia is trained in Programs for Infant-Toddler Care (PITC), Trauma-Informed Care, and is also a Teaching Pyramid trainer and coach. She has a passion and dedication for high quality equitable programs, which support the children, families, and communities that we serve.
Debbie Phillips
Infant/Toddler
Debbie has been in the Early Childhood field for over 34 years and has spent most of her time in an infant and toddler classroom or center, as well as preschool. Debbie’s passion started early in life when she became the babysitter on her street growing up. Out of high school, Debbie started the Child Care ROP class and was placed at a center to gain experience with toddlers. Fellow teachers helped Debbie identify courses and advance her career in the field. She moved-up from being an assistant teacher to running a center over a span of 10 years. Debbie has been in her position managing Catalyst Kids Trident for over 20 years. She believes in and runs the center from the PITC (Program for Infant Toddler Care) philosophy where all children are respected and valued members of our community.
Franczesca Louise G. Francisco-Ildefonso
School Age
Franczesca Louise G. Francisco-Ildefonso
Assistant Site Supervisor
Expertise: School Age
Franczesca was born in the Philippines and migrated to the United States back in 2009. Six years ago, she started working as an after-school Assistant Teacher with Catalyst Kids. At that time, she was completing her associates degree at a community college to transfer for her undergrad degree. In 2017, she obtained an A.A. degree in Behavioral Science and Child Development from De Anza College. She continued with an undergraduate degree at San Jose State University and received a B.A. degree in Liberal Studies Preparation for Teaching-Multiple Subject after two years. Franczesca knows the ins and outs of teaching and the administrative side of the company.
Heather Slimp
Camp
Heather Slimp is an experienced staff development facilitator and coach, with over 15 years of experience in training professionals working in camp and out of school time programs. Working with children and youth has always been a passion, leading her to earn her B.S. in Psychology from Fresno State. Wanting to blend the joy she found in summer camp programs and research in youth development, she earned her M.S. in Recreation Administration, with an emphasis in Experiential Learning and Adventure Education. She began her role with Catalyst Family Inc. in 2011, developing new camp curriculum, resources, and experiential training opportunities for center leaders and teachers. In her current role as Program Quality Manager, she continues to develop research-based resources, facilitate trainings, and provide coaching to center leaders to promote the highest quality of strength-based, play-based programming for children and youth.
Jaqueline Arenas-Garcia
Camp, School Age
Jaqueline began her career as a Preschool Teacher for the Garden Grove School District. After 2 years with the District, she came across an ad in the Penny Saver advertising Child Development Centers, now known as Catalyst Kids. Jaqueline was hired as a teacher’s assistant in 1999. She soon obtained her teacher permit and was able to work each school year with the same group of children that had started during their kindergarten year through their fifth-grade year. She became a Site Supervisor in 2009 and began running a traditional summer camp for children in grades K-2nd and an Adventure Camp for those in 3rd and up. At one point, she was overseeing 3 sites over summer camp with over 155 children! Jaqueline leads and supports many staff trainings around summer camp. Jacqueline is currently a Center Manager and has started the journey to completing her bachelor’s degree.
Jennifer Escamilla
Advocacy, Multilingual Ed
Jennifer is the Center Manager for the Port Hueneme sites (Fred Williams, Hueneme, and Haycox) and has over 13 years of leadership and supervisor experience. She has worked for the organization for 17+ years and has a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, a master’s degree in Education and currently holds a Program Director Permit. Jennifer is the Co-Chair of the Ventura County Local Planning Council, Camarillo and the current Chair of Public Policy of CAAEYC. Jennifer also supports Dual Language strategies for our agency by collaborating with California State University at Channel Islands University.
Joel Monahan
Camp
Joel is currently a Program Quality Manager in our southern California region. Joel has over 15 years of experience in child development, including running programs at the Boys & Girls Club and recreation-based camp activities in Lake Tahoe. Joel has made a career expanding his expertise and knowledge of afterschool programing in roles as Site Coordinator, Director, Area Director, and Grants/Resource Development. Joel graduated from California State University, Chico with a Recreation Administration degree and continued his schooling with National University where he earned a single subject Teaching Credential. In addition to his career with Catalyst Kids, he has maintained his passion for mentoring children one on one by volunteering with Big Brother Big Sister for the past 3 years. Joel is also a proud husband and father to a feisty one year old boy named Rome, who provides daily experience and opportunity to reflect on his own abilities to effectively problem solve with a toddler.
Lizelle Wulff
Infant/Toddler, Multilingual Ed, Preschool, School Age
Lizelle Wulff
Program Quality Manager
Expertise: Infant/Toddler, Multilingual Ed, Preschool, School Age
Lizelle Wulff has been working for Catalyst Family Inc. as a Program Quality Manager for the past three and a half years. She supports the program quality improvement of the Oxnard/Ventura region. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maryland, she had years of experience as a K-3rd grade classroom teacher and Reading/Math intervention teacher in Maryland, Florida, and California. One of Lizelle’s passions is supporting Multilingual Learners, so she pursued a graduate degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Nova Southeastern University. Lizelle transitioned back into the Early Learning and Care field by being a Site Supervisor for a California school district’s preschool program that had a combination of both Head Start and State Preschool classrooms. During that time, Lizelle completed an Advanced Core Certificate in Early Childhood Education with UCLA Extension. Since joining the agency, Lizelle has also become a Certified Trainer for the Program for Infant-Toddler Care (PITC). She was an instructor for the Dual Language Learner Professional Development Project courses at California State University Channel Islands, which equipped current early educators with the skills needed to support dual language learners in early care programs.
Marcel Sheer
Advocacy
Marcel has worked at Catalyst Family for over 8 years, starting off as a Contracts Manager. When Marcel started with the agency, there were no ongoing quality systems in place to ensure compliance. Marcel piloted and streamlined the ways in which Catalyst Family ensures compliance while supporting the field. Marcel is now the Director of Field Support and Compliance. Marcel holds her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from California State University, Dominguez Hills and Master of Business Administration Human Resource Management degree from the University of Phoenix. She has always known she wanted to help people in a social service capacity. At Catalyst Family Inc., Marcel is able to help families by ensuring that we comply with California Department of Education (CDE) and Community Care Licensing.
Maria Guzman
Camp
Maria is a Site Supervisor at Catalyst Kids Joseph Sims. Maria has her B.A. in Liberal Studies and has been working for Before and After school programs for nearly 30 years. She has worked as a teacher facilitating the day-to-day schedule, managed the overall camp operations, and trained staff to work in a camp program.
Rena Fields
Camp, School Age
Rena is currently a Program Quality Manager (PQM) for Catalyst Family Inc. She first started working in the Child Development field when she was in high school as a Science Camp Counselor. After high school, Rena began to work for the same nonprofit first as a Camp Leader, Childcare Teacher, Camp Director, and then as a Camp Coordinator. During her time with the organization, she learned about childcare licensing and got to be part of the American Camp Association Accreditation process. After graduating from California State University, Fresno with a BS in Child Development, Rena applied for a position with Catalyst Family Inc. Rena started as an Assistant Site Supervisor of a School Age program and then transferred to another center and became the Site Supervisor of Santa Teresa’s Preschool and School Age program. During her time at the center, she learned a lot about Catalyst Kids Preschool and School Age programming state compliance (Title 5) and camp. Rena became part of various leadership groups such as the Camp Ninjas and Leadership Ops. Rena soon was given the opportunity to join the Education Department and became a Program Quality Manager. She supports the Bay region with knowing what quality programming is and how to achieve it.
Silvia Contreras
Infant/Toddler
Silvia has worked with children ages 6 weeks to 12 years of age with Catalyst Kids (formerly CDI/CDC) for the past 28 years. She began her career as a Assistant Teacher and has since obtained her Site Supervisor Permit from the California Teachers Credentialing Commission and Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education. Silvia is very passionate in developing teaching staff that engages and builds strong relationships with children and families, celebrating successes and having fun. A cherished part of her day is walking into the infant/toddler and preschool rooms and seeing staff sing and engage with children, the happy faces of both children and staff make her day.
Whitney Lukanc
School Age
Whitney has been working with children newborn through elementary school for over 12 years. She holds a BA in Child and Adolescent Development from San Francisco State University as well as two Associate degrees in Psychology and Liberal Studies. Whitney also has a Child Development Program Director Permit. Over the years, Whitney has had many roles, including camp counselor, assistant teacher, teacher, office assistant, bookkeeper, assistant site supervisor, site supervisor, and center manager.