About the Authors

Dr. Sally Gunyon

Dr. Sally Gunyon earned her Education Doctorate at Portland State University in 2019. She has been working in the field of Early Childhood Care & Education for 15 years, specializing in children age 0-47 months. She is a Lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona, is the Early Childhood Education Coordinator at Umpqua Community College and teaches at Portland State University in the Early Childhood master’s program. Dr. Guyon has spoken at both national and international conferences. Her research interests are in promoting leadership in Early Childhood Care & Education, creating antiracist learning environments, and amplifying the voices of children, families, and educators in creating ECCE policy.

Dr. Tammy Marino

Dr. Tammy Marino earned her Education Doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Northcentral University.  She has her MBA in Organizational and Leadership Development with a focus on training and adult development. She has been working in the field of early care and education for over 30 years; supporting professionals and programs with consulting, coaching, and training.  Dr. Marino is a national and international speaker with a focus on leadership development and presented over 35,000 hours of leadership and development training and coursework. Since 2009 she has been teaching at institutions of higher education in early childhood and elementary education programs. Dr. Marino has been teaching at Southwestern Oregon Community College since 2016 and at Clackamas Community College since 2009.  She is passionate about leadership and professional development and designing and providing learning programs that are culturally and linguistically responsive.

Taya Noland

Taya Noland grew up on the Oregon Coast where she began working in early care and education while still in high school. She received a degree from University of Oregon, and then went on to become an English Teacher, receiving graduate degrees in Creative Writing and English Literature at University of Idaho and Portland State University, and taught writing and literature courses at the college level for more than ten years. During this time, however, she kept circling back to early learning and finding herself teaching preschoolers as well as college students. She eventually decided to combine her two career paths and now works at Southwestern Oregon Community College as the director of Care Connections Child Care Resource and Referral, a program that provides professional development and quality supports to early care and education providers on the south coast of Oregon. She lives with her husband and 10 year old daughter, their two dogs, Tulip and Pepper, and three cats, Thorn, Thistle, and Commander Kitty.

Maidie Rosengarden Ed.D.

Dr. Maidie Rosengarden is from Hudson, Ohio. She holds an undergraduate degree from Kent State University (Kent, Ohio) and Graduate degrees from Belmont University and Trevecca Nazarene University (Nashville, TN). Dr. Rosengarden spent the first part of her career working in the arts, developing a strong interest in collaboration, creativity, and leadership. A passion for arts education and how young children learn led to teaching at the pre-school and K-8 grade levels. Dr. Rosengarden went on to earn a Doctorate in Education with a focus on collaboration in the classroom. Since 2004 she has been teaching at institutions of higher education in early childhood and elementary education programs. Dr. Rosengarden has been teaching at Southwestern Oregon Community College since 2014 and lives in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Dedication: To Sally, Sarah, Tammy, and Taya: Thank you.

About the Illustrator
Sarah Greer

For the last 10 years, Sarah has been working with fortune 100 companies undergoing large scale transformations in the face of numerous disruptions. Utilizing large scale illustrated frameworks, Sarah helps support the groups by designing meeting flows and putting them in the appropriate environments to help ensure success during the team’s time together. Sarah also creates visuals with clients that support strategy, messaging, and collaborative discussions.

Sarah and her husband own and live on their 100 plus acre horse farm in Middlefield Ohio, where they are raising their three children.