Mai Thanh Dovinh has been a child care provider in Seattle, Washington for the last 10 years. Mai and her husband James run their family child care business as a team. Mai and James have five children of their own, but still continue to pursue child care as a career because of the joys and challenges it brings. Mai came to the US from Vietnam at 14 with a motivation to succeed. Mai graduated with her AAS Degree in Early Childhood Education from North Seattle Community College in 2003 with honors. Mai has been a Washington Scholar since 2001. She has a passion to work with children and families and to provide them with the best possible learning environment. Mai has been involved with community based trainings, Early Childhood Education conferences, and acts as a mentor to other minority childcare providers. Mai’s continued motivation to achieve her educational goals and contribute to the general quality of child care is an inspiration to all.

Tamra Dschaak runs a family child care business in Spokane, Washington. Tamra became a licensed child care provider eleven and a half years ago and her business has grown to accommodate a combination of full day and before and after school children that keeps her business busy year round. Today, her program is truly a family-run business. Tamra’s husband Jeff helps to support the business as does their son Timothy and daughter Alyssa. With help from the Washington Scholars program, Tamra is currently working towards an Associates of Applied Science degree in early childhood education with a one year certificate in special education. Timothy is also a Washington Scholar. Tamra has participated in many family child care groups and associations, and her goal is to act as a positive mentor and role model for other family providers in her area.

Christy Hawley has been a licensed family home child care provider in Skagit County for more than fifteen years and currently resides in Burlington, Washington. Christy exhibits incredible patience with all ages of children from preschool to toddlers to school-age. Christy is one of the few in-home programs fortunate to have a covered play area, and her home is on a farm so the children in her care get the unique daily experience of being around farm animals. Christy is involved in the Early Childhood Education program at Skagit Valley College both to continue her education and to borrow resources in order to meet the ever-evolving early learning needs of the children in her care. Christy provides flexibility in meeting parent’s needs and is able to maintain an established foundation for the children to thrive and grow. Christy is a strong advocate for quality children’s programs, care and education in Washington. She maintains good relationships with the schools and local community in Skagit County.

KCTS 9, supported by A Place of Our Own and Los Ninos en Su Casa, has identified seven exemplary home-based child care providers in our community providing care for children ages birth to five years.

All winners received a certificate, a $150 honorarium, and a selection of children's books and resources for their home child care. In conjunction with the awards, KCTS 9 proudly hosted a special networking and professional development event to honor and celebrate our community’s child care providers, and to provide them with additional support and training.

Nicole Chaudry
Nicole Chaudry immigrated to the United States from Germany, where she attended law school and later pursued work in child care. Now in West Seattle, Nicole earned her Child Development Associate and is currently pursuing her AA degree in Early Childhood Development.

Nicole’s program, EuropaKids Bilingual Learning Center, received nominations from six different families of children in her care. Each acknowledged the success of her multicultural program where children quickly become fluent in German language and culture, and well as learn math, reading, social and personal skills.

In addition to providing gymnastics and music classes for nine children, she recently incorporated a Spanish curriculum as well.

Her three-year-old family business gets the support of her husband, Benjamin; together, they consider it an extension of their own new family and wish there could be a Parent Award for the parents in their program.

Linda Brehmer and Lee Wolfe
Linda Brehmer and Lee Wolfe are a mother-daughter team who run a mixed-age program called Little People’s Place (LPP) in Seattle. Together they provide a safe and nurturing learning environment by teaching children patience and kindness through play and instruction. Their notable preschool program engages children in extraordinary art projects modeled after Lee’s and Linda’s own love for creativity, as seen in their much praised hand-painted murals adorning the facility.

Linda is an active advocate and union member; she is a mentor for child care providers and often delivers trainings to other family child care providers.

Linda and Lee honor special milestones in children’s lives with special experiences, such as graduation parties for students moving on to kindergarten—complete with a photo album documenting each child’s growth through their years at LPP.

Linda and Lee believe in extension activities, and have taken trips to Seattle Children’s Theatre, Woodland Park Zoo, farms and puppet shows, as well as an annual camping trip in a yurt village.

Barbara Bussa
Barbara Bussa has been a childcare provider for young children in her Tacoma home daycare My Other House since 1994. The three separate families that wrote to nominate her agree that Barbara provides a secure and caring learning environment for the children’s mental, physical and emotional development.

Jena Inghram
Jena Inghram has been a child care provider for over 14 years and currently resides in West Seattle, where she maintains Tiny Tribe, her home-based childcare business comprising four staff members caring for 19 children in infant, toddler and preschool groups.

Jena is a member of Puget Sound Association of the Education of Young Children (PSAEYC) and has a BA in Human Services with an emphasis on the young child and social work.

Jena received nominations from four different parents who described her as a caregiver who responds to children’s needs using positive discipline strategies and empathy. Children are engaged in a multi-age classroom where they mentor each other and spend time with siblings, as well as pairing off for age-appropriate lessons ranging from numbers to neighborhood demographics and from the human body to the solar system.

Additionally, children are a part of the community and often take field trips to the library, pet store and karate lessons, as well as board the public bus for bigger trips, like the Seattle Aquarium.

Marylynn Murphy
Marylynn Murphy of has been providing child care out of her home for 50 years. Recently retired, her Loving Start Daycare program fostered generations of families who consider her extended family. Her approach to working with families long-term includes hosting large scale Open Houses twice a year, where over 100 relatives attend and show support for their children’s growth and learning under Marylynn’s care.

Marylynn focuses on each child’s social, emotional, academic and physical development, keeping an eye on individual children’s long-range needs. Loving Start Daycare nurtures children’s social-emotional health by modeling important life skills, and their intellectual growth with challenges from geography to French language.

Marylynn received nominations from three different families who highlighted her strength for communicating and for supporting children’s positive social-emotional development. With nearly an acre of land and an enormous inside facility, children are encouraged in physical fitness, exploring nature trails and planting in the garden.

Bonnie Senter
Bonnie Senter has provided care for young children in her Lynnwood home since 1974. Bonnie earned her Child Development Associate (CDA) from Edmonds Community College, her AA from Shoreline Community College in Early Childhood Education, and her BA from University of Washington in History.

As a special needs and multi-cultural education advocate, Bonnie cares for children with autism and Downs Syndrome, as well as for many children whose care is subsidized by the state.

Bonnie also works with the local school district to coordinate care for children with unique learning styles, and with the Child Care Provider’s Preschool co-op to provide deeper preschool and social experiences for children in her care.

To support success in school and in the community, Bonnie offers a variety of experiences and cultural opportunities, including American sign language, Spanish, and cooking, in the daily routine. She is a mentor in the provider community and shares her insight in her monthly contribution to the South Snohomish Child Care Provider newsletter.

Sherry Smiley
Sherry Smiley operates a successful home-based childcare program called Every Kid Counts Childcare and Learning Academy which is in the late stages of accreditation with the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Every Kid Counts specializes in care for children with severe behavior and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, and Sherry’s long-term goal is to develop her center into a Head Start program.

Children in her care learn Spanish, about nutrition, and even help prepare their own meals. Professionally, Sherry works to serve the child care community on the Puget Sound Association for the Education of Young Children; as the Public Policy chair for the Washington Association for the Education of Young Children; and as an elected leader in the King County Region for the SEIU Local 925, participating on the bargaining team.

Sherry also served on the original steering committee for the White Center Early Learning Initiative, and participates in monthly directors meetings. All this is in addition to providing the highest standard of child care service for every child in her care.