Kim Booth is the Professional Development Coordinator for Early Childhood Connections.  Her main responsibilities are coordinating the SDCDA program for Region 1 as well as the Introduction to Child Care and Enrichment classes.

Kim has worked in the early childhood field in a variety of settings for over 20 years and at Early Childhood Connections for the past 10 years.  Kim has an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Central Arizona College.  She is a certified West Ed Trainer in all four PITC modules.  Some of her passions include literacy in the early years, reconnecting children with nature, and supporting young children to develop social skills that help them work and play cooperatively and productively with other children and adults.

To send Kim an email, click here.

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Kathy joined the staff of Early Childhood Connections in 2001.   Her diverse areas of expertise now include being a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician/Instructor, CPR/First Aid instructor, Playground Safety Inspector, website manager, and in-house computer training.

To send Kathy an email, click here.

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Debbie Hilt serves as a Resource Specialist for ECC.  She is responsible for child care referral parent inquires, and the ECC Play and Learn Theme Tub Library.  Debbie delivers and cleans toy tubs for this member only service.  Debbie manages the Reach Out and Read program, delivering books to participating physician offices for children between the ages of six months and five years.  Debbie also handles the ordering of supplies, brochures and general front office duties for Early Childhood Connections.  Chances are when you call ECC and hear a friendly voice on the other end – it’s Debbie!

To send an email to Debbie, click here.

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Deb Kuehn, RN/CNP, MSN is the Child Care Health Consultant for Early Childhood Connections.  She is responsible for providing education on health topics to child care providers as well as consultation by phone and site visits if necessary. Deb also coordinates the Region 1 Child Care Health Consultants who were trained and are available to do site visits and educational sessions as well.  As a part-time employee, Deb is in the office approximately one day per week but may also be reached by email or by leaving a message on her office phone.

Deb is a master's prepared family practice and neonatal nurse practitioner who has spent 27 years working with newborns and children.  During her undergraduate studies she took some classes in child development. Her Bachelor of Arts degrees are in nursing and psychology.

During the last 15 years in Rapid City, Deb has provided many health related classes for daycare providers with topics ranging from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome to Common Infectious Diseases seen in the community and daycares.  She has also been actively involved in the education of student nurses and family nurse practitioner students in Rapid City.

To send an email to Deb, click here.

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Jennifer Nelson joined the staff as the Northern Hills Outreach Coordinator in Sept of 2008. She provides trainings for parents and caregivers including CPR, First Aid, Bright Start Responsive Parenting, Infant Toddler classes, Intro to Child Care and Fit from the Start. Jennifer is also in charge of the Northern Hills Toy Lending Library.

Jennifer owned a Family Child care in Spearfish for 15 years. She received her Child Development Associates in 1998. Some of the training she has completed include; the Center for Early Literacy Training, Red Cross CPR and First Aid instructors training and Child Passenger Safety Technician. She is a member of the Lawrence county Child Protection Team.

To send an email to Jennifer, click here.

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Jan is the Infant/Toddler Coordinator.  She coordinates and teaches the SD Infant/Toddler Entry Level Training Curriculum to providers who care and educate children ages birth to three.  She is also the coordinator/instructor of the Bright Start Responsive Parenting Series to parents of infants and toddlers.  In addition, Jan provides vision and hearing screenings upon request to child care and preschool programs within the region.  Some of her other duties are providing training in CDA, Fit from the Start, Observation and Documentation, Introduction To Child Care, Preschool Block-Literacy, as well as other enrichment topics.

One of her greatest pleasures is working as a mentor teacher and coach with providers in child care settings.  It is not uncommon to see Jan rocking a baby while visiting with a provider in an infant/toddler program.

Jan has an Associate of Arts in General Education from Black Hills State University and the Child Development Associate Credential with a preschool endorsement from the Council for Professional Recognition.

To send an email to Jan, click here.

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