early childhood professional development 
Palm Beach County Trainers' News
New Additions to the PBC EC Registry Staff
Please welcome Julie Golden as Instructional Designer. Julie brings to the Instructional Designer position an extensive background in communications and writing. After a twenty-year career in the broadcasting industry, Julie is now focused on creating curriculum that will help early childhood educators improve their writing and communication skills. As a consultant to the Institute of Excellence in Early Care and Education, Julie designed Successful Communications for the Early Childhood Educator, a professional development course that will debut in October. The focus of the course is to provide practitioners with the knowledge and skills to strengthen their written and oral communication abilities through activities with authentic application in the early childhood classroom. Julie is excited to be teaching this course as a Palm Beach State College adjunct instructor this fall and to be working on instructional design for the implementation of the Florida Early Care and Education Professional Development System under the direction of Dr. Grace Kolbe.
Please welcome Carol Blankenhorn as Instructional Designer. Carol comes to us from Florida State University, where she was Area Coordinator for Internships. Prior to working at FSU , she was a Principal in Palm Beach County Schools. She has taught all grades from kindergarten through eighth grade, including ESOL and Reading. Her MED is is in Educational Leadership and Early Childhood.
Please welcome Wanda Hightower as Administrative Assistant to Dr. Grace Kolbe. Wanda holds an Associate's Degree in Human Services from Central Pennsylvania College. She is attending Palm Beach State College in pursuit of a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Supervision and Management. Wanda has more than fifteen years experience in the fields of education, behavioral healthcare administration and office management.
Career Development in Child Development (CD2)
Career Development in Child Development is a new initiative with the goal of building a seamless approach to training and educating early childhood professionals in Palm Beach County. The CD2 project will provide a continuum for education and career development of the early childhood workforce by working with local high schools, colleges and universities to develop an articulated career pathway for individuals choosing to enter the field of early childhood education. The system will support education opportunities for early childhood professionals from the high school level to the doctoral level within the existing educational system.
CD2 is an initiative of the Toppel Family Foundation in partnership with Palm Beach Community College, Florida Atlantic University, the School District of Palm Beach County, the Education Commission of Palm Beach County, and the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County.
All organizations and agencies directly involved with, or impacted by, early childhood in Palm Beach County have been, and continue to be, invited to participate and partner.