Libsyn Directory

Ep. 196 - What Does ECE Stand For? Empathy-Courage-Excellence with The Sisters (M. Mercedes & Maria Consuela)

Release Date: 03/13/2025

Ep. 217 - Not Your Typical Childcare Center with LaVonda Paul

Child Care Rockstar Radio

This week, Kris welcomes LaVonda Paul, a trailblazing early childhood leader and fourth-generation entrepreneur, for an inspiring conversation about legacy, leadership, and the power of showing up. As the owner of Small Impressions Child Development Center in Taylors, South Carolina, LaVonda has spent 19 years building a community-first program. In the episode, LaVonda talks with Kris about how she’s cultivated deep trust with families, built a rock-solid team culture, and gone all-in on advocacy, helping shape policy while showing up for children, parents, and educators alike. She opens...

Ep. 216 - What “Trust the Process” Really Means with Kris Murray

Child Care Rockstar Radio

It’s solo episode time! Kris shares insights from her new book, The Antidote to Fear, and outlines three practical ways to trust yourself and the process. She talks about embracing fear and self-doubt, including her “yoga mat” moment that changed her career direction. Kris discusses manifestation as a giving process and highlights the importance of creating quiet spaces for intuition and growth. She also gives an update on her recent women’s retreat in Maui. Key Takeaways: [2:22] Kris explains the concept of “trust the process” from the Success Academy’s guiding...

Ep. 215 - How Disney's Service Values Can WOW Your Customer with Vance Morris

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris welcomes Vance Morris, former security guard turned Disney leader and successful entrepreneur, for a trip to the happiest place on earth — great customer service! Vance helps business owners get, serve, and keep clients for life through creating experiences and response-required marketing. He shares real-world strategies to delight customers, build community buzz, and drive word-of-mouth referrals. In this episode, Vance breaks down Disney’s hiring and training magic and the “why” behind it, how it transforms the customer experience, the role of linertainment, and how...

Ep. 214 - Fixing a Broken Culture with Intentional Leadership with Ashanti Ordone

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris welcomes Ashanti Ordone, the Founder and CEO of Gifted & Talented Academy, and the 2025/26 Child Care Rock Star Award winner! They talk about expanding from a home daycare to three locations, transforming her school’s culture, and overcoming challenges in the early childhood education landscape. Ashanti shares her powerful story of building a thriving early learning center, detailing how she developed rock-solid core values and poured into her leadership team, implemented innovative leadership strategies, and turned her school’s culture into a model of excellence. Key...

Ep. 213 - Getting Your Operational “Stuff” Together with Jami Hartmann

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Want to stop the revolving door of teachers and create a rock-solid childcare team? Kris talks with Jami Hartmann from Trainual about how the right systems can transform your center’s operations. They dig into practical strategies for finding great staff, training them effectively, and keeping them motivated. Jami shares some great insights on getting your whole team aligned, creating smooth onboarding, and using technology to make documentation easier. If you’re struggling with staff turnover and want to build a more consistent, high-performing center, this episode is packed with...

Ep. 212 - Leveraging Word of Mouth Marketing for Fast Growth with Josh and Pamela Hernandez

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris welcomes Josh and Pamela Hernandez, owners of Montessori Kids Universe Stone Oak. The duo talks about their path into early childhood education and opening up MKU, tips for starting out with cash flow out of the gate, and enrollment strategies that worked for them. They also chat with Kris about using referral rewards, how they balance family and business, marketing tools that help them build trust and stand out in their community, the need for the industry to collaborate more, and how they keep their staff happy and inspired. Key Takeaways: [5:04] Joshua and Pamela talk...

Ep. 211 - Chasing Cows and Building Dreams Into a 12-Center Empire with Jennifer House and Jenni Grawvunder

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris welcomes “The Jens”, aka Jennifer House (CEO) and Jenni Grawvunder (COO) of Children’s Choice Preschool, to share the remarkable story behind their 12-center child care empire in San Diego County. What started as a nonprofit program with 25 children has grown into a thriving operation serving nearly 1,300 kids across 11 centers (with a 12th on the way) and supported by a team of over 300 staff. From pet chickens to RV-based school openings, the Jens talk about blending practical business strategy with fun, managing both nonprofit and for-profit centers, building culture...

Ep. 210 - When You Love Kids This Much, Success Comes Naturally with Dominique Gill

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris welcomes Dominique Gill, heart-centered leader and owner of Unique Kids Childcare in Nashville and Smyrna, Tennessee, to share her journey to multi-site child care leader. Dominique opens up about starting as a young mother seeking affordable child care, working in exchange for tuition, and eventually moving from home-based care to two thriving centers. Dominique built her program around love, family, and celebrating every child’s uniqueness. She discusses the challenges of opening during the pandemic, shifting into leadership, raising tuition for the first time, and creating a...

Ep. 209 - A Family Affair! Tales of a Multi-Generational ECE Company with Tea Shong and Trina Romanowski

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris sits down with Tea Shong and Trina Romanowski, the powerhouse mother-daughter duo behind a thriving, multi-site early childhood business in Michigan. Winners of the Partnership of the Year Award at the Child Care Success Summit, Tea and Trina share how they scaled from an in-home daycare to three high-quality centers, all rooted in purpose and shared vision. They discuss navigating family dynamics, leading with clarity, embedding nature-based learning, and using creative systems like coaching calls and color-coded lanyards, to keep their team culture strong across every location. Key...

Ep. 208 - Creating Leadership Magic In Her Ruby Slippers with Rachel Supalla

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris is joined by longtime friend, business visionary, and rockstar early childhood leader Rachel Supalla. Rachel is the founder of Vision Tree, a TEDx speaker, and the author of The Playful Leader’s Toolkit, a book packed with wisdom on leading with joy, grounding, and energy. With 10 schools across Montana and Utah, Rachel shares how she’s scaled her business while embracing what she calls “ruby slipper leadership.” They talk about managing energy instead of time, why remote teams need tight leadership structures, and how playfulness is more than just dress-up — it’s a strategy...

More Episodes

Kris welcomes The Sisters, Sister M. Mercedes Diaz and Sister Maria Consuela Garzón of St. Francis Daycare Center in Alton, Illinois, who also just happen to be the winners of the 2024 Child Care Rockstar Contest! In this episode, the sisters share their journey of leading a 45‑year‑old institution, discussing their leap into early childhood education without prior daycare experience, transforming systems post‑COVID, and embracing a “whatever it takes” mindset. Their story reveals the heart, courage, and excellence that define a true ECE rockstar.

Key Takeaways:

[4:31] M. Mercedes and Maria are the winners of our 2024 Child Care Rockstar contest!

[7:28] Their decision to join the Child Care Success Academy marked the start of crucial changes, moving from makeshift sticky-note systems to structured processes.

[8:08] More about St. Francis, located in Alton, Illinois.

[10:21] Fun Fact: One sister reveals her Dominican Republic roots and bilingual background, while the other shares her love for writing letters and a wild adventure running down an active volcano in Nicaragua.

[12:18] How their program has grown and changed since they came in.

[14:06] Having families pick their schedules.

[16:33] Implementing Kangarootime software.

[18:42] Enrollment and getting the word out about St. Francis.

[19:47] Learning what ECE meant — The Sisters have grown a lot!

[21:26] Sharing more about their 38 Mission partners.

[24:37] The Sisters discuss overcoming a “cray cray” work culture by embracing the right mindset, focusing on gradual improvement, professional development, and maintaining a clear goal.

[27:04] Advice to those who may be in a daunting work situation and out of their comfort zone.

[29:25] Taking baby steps toward your core values and getting employees bought in.

[30:38] What made The Sisters want to enter the Child Care Rockstar contest?

[34:40] Kris shares about the first ECE Conference she attended at NAEYC, the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

[37:00] The Sisters define a Child Care Rockstar, and the balance between heart and will.

Quotes:

“All we had to go was up. So we were given that opportunity and the Academy gave us the tools that we needed.” — Sister Mercedes [14:00]
“There’s such a great desire to share freely and it’s a really beautiful experience.” — Sister Mercedes on The Academy [16:08]
“Even though you're scared, know what the goal is. In your mind, see it and keep your eye on it, and don’t be discouraged.” — Sister Mercedes [27:19]
“The core value piece is one of the biggest shifts that you're going to make in their mindset as professional educators, and how you want them to show up too.” -— Kris [30:00]
“I think a Child Care Rockstar is someone who has a huge heart and a courageous heart.” — Sister Maria [37:40]
“A rock star is someone who can see the star, who can see where your goal is, and then take those steps courageously, fall and get up, have arguments and make up and be stronger because of it.” — Sister Mercedes [39:01]

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