Educare Boone County Staff:

Educare staff teach seminars, early childhood classes and provide curriculum training and CDA support. All Educare staff have early childhood and/or education degrees. Our early childhood specialists have a combined total of nearly 70 years of teaching experience in early childhood programs.

Kathy Wallace, Program Director for Educare, has worked in the early childhood field for over 30 years. She has a Master’s degree in early childhood from the University of Missouri. Experience includes working for the University of Illinois at Children’s Research Center lab as a toddler room teacher and over 20 years operating a home-based preschool.  Kathy was a certified Parent Educator for 5 years and has worked for Educare since it’s beginning in 1995.  Her area of special interest is Home Visiting.

Jo Ann Dennings is the Research Specialist for Educare and has a background in both art and graphic design as well as a bachelor’s degree in Education. She has worked with Educare for over 11 years. Jo Ann taught at Columbia College before coming to Educare in 1996.  Her 24 year teaching career involved many communities due to frequent family transfers. At Educare, she is responsible for data collection, graphic arts and marketing responsibilities, and grant writing and reporting. Jo Ann coordinates the Reusables program, an award winning Recycle for Education project, and serves on the board of the Missouri Recycling Association as well as on the University of Missouri-Columbia Recycling Committee and Sustainability Committee.

Angie Wendt is an Early Childhood Specialist for the Educare program.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Arizona State University and has worked in the early childhood field for over 18 years.  Her background includes teaching preschool for the Air Force, being a licensed military family childcare program and many years of family childcare.  Angie has worked for Educare since 1999.  Angie is also a certified Red Cross trainer as well as adjunct faculty for Moberly Area Community College.

Janice Lundquist is an Early Childhood Specialist for the Educare program. She has a bachelor's degree from Southwest Missouri State University in Elementary Education. Janice served the Central Missouri Counties' Head Start program for eight years as a Family Development Advisor in the Home Visitation program, and then as an Education/Disabilities Specialist. Janice has completed Emotional Beginnings Site Coordinator Training, High Scope Lead Teacher Training, and Touchpoints Individual Level Training. Janice is a certified Devereux Local Mentor (DECA), PITC/WestEd Trainer, Beginning Together Trainer, and BabyTALK Trainer/Teacher. Janice serves on the Central Missouri AEYC board.

Jan Frost is an Early Childhood Specialist for the Educare program. She received her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri. Jan has been active in NAEYC, Missouri AEYC and Central Missouri AEYC, serving as both President and Vice-President. Before joining Educare, Jan served as the director of the Child Development Center of Columbia, Inc., a private not-for-profit preschool, which has been in the Columbia community for over 30 years. Jan is a certified High/Scope Trainer with an endorsement in the High/Scope Preschool Educational Approach.