McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY | October 19, 2021

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of new members to the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership’s Advisory Council.

DeCarla Burton, M.Ed.

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DeCarla Burton, M.Ed. is Owner and Director of Jump Smart Learning Academy, a family child care preschool play-based program, providing engaging hands-on activities that promote readiness skills for children entering kindergarten. Mrs. Burton has recently started Sharing Knowledge Consultants, a business that provides innovative trainings for educators on a variety of topics. In addition, she has many years of training experience and conducts workshops for the state of Illinois as an Illinois Training Network trainer and the Helen Miller Service Employees International Union training department. She is also a consultant with the Kohl Children’s Museum offering training to family child care and center-based educators on the Project Approach.

Mrs. Burton is extremely committed to the advocacy work she does on behalf of her network, Supporting Professionals Network Association, an organization she founded in 1998 that has over 120 members and represents approximately 1,000 families throughout Chicago and the suburbs.

Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D.

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Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of Child Care Aware® of America, a national membership-based nonprofit organization working to advance a high-quality, affordable child care system that supports children’s growth, development, and early education. She began her career in early childhood as a teacher in infant, toddler and preschool classrooms, and has since held positions at the local, state, and national level within the nonprofit, corporate, and higher education sectors. Dr. Fraga has a doctoral degree in Family Studies from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma, and a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from the University of Arizona.

Debi Mathias

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Debi Mathias serves as the Director of Early Childhood Education Quality Improvement Systems with the BUILD Initiative, a broad cross-section of partners at the state and national levels focused on the development and implementation of high-quality early learning systems. Previous to her work with the BUILD Initiative, Ms. Mathias was the Director of Early Learning Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Departments of Education and Public Welfare in Pennsylvania from the beginning of the Office in 2005 through 2012. Her responsibilities included design, implementation and accountability for teams responsible for a variety of programs and initiatives including Keystone STARS – QRIS, family support programs, state Pre-K program, State Head Start program and Head Start State Collaboration Office, PA Professional Development system, standards aligned systems, PELICAN data base system, program evaluation and research. Formerly, Ms. Mathias was an early learning Program Director, from 1978 to June 2005, where she began a child care program that grew into a multi-site National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accredited early care and education program serving 800+ children ranging in age from six weeks to 12 years; led a talented staff of 95+ at six early learning and 11 school age sites; and collaborated with Head Start and Early Intervention.

Marica Cox Mitchell

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Marica Cox Mitchell is Senior Director, Early Childhood for the Bainum Family Foundation, where she leads the Foundation’s efforts to build quality, comprehensive early childhood services in the District of Columbia and in other communities throughout the country.

Before joining the Foundation, Ms. Cox Mitchell worked for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), where she most recently served as Deputy Executive Director, Early Learning Systems. In this role, she led a portfolio encompassing public policy and advocacy, accreditations of early learning programs, higher education accreditation and the Power to the Profession initiative. Prior to this, Ms. Cox Mitchell was Senior Director, NAEYC Accreditation for Higher Education Programs. She also worked for the District’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education from 2009 to 2012 — serving as Director, School Preparedness Division and Supervisor, Professional Development Unit. She began her career as a teacher — working in various early learning settings as well as with young children birth through age eight.

Ms. Cox Mitchell holds a master of science in Educational Administration from the University of Scranton as well as a bachelor of arts in Early Childhood Education from the University of the District of Columbia.

Bela Moté

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Bela Moté, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning, is an experienced nonprofit executive and early childhood professional who has spent her career supporting early childhood and youth development at the local, national, and international levels through programs, partnerships, and policy development. She is committed to providing high-quality, deeply impactful programs for children, youth, and families whose communities have seen systemic divestment and historic inequities. Before joining the Carole Robertson Center for Learning in 2018, Ms. Moté held leadership positions at the YMCA of the USA, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, the Ounce of Prevention Fund (now Start Early), Teaching Strategies Gold, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Bela holds a master of education from Erikson Institute. She began her career in early childhood education as a Montessori preschool teacher and considers that experience to be her North Star.

Ms. Moté is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and was appointed in 2021 to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s commission on the opportunity gap for young children. She also serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the Illinois Early Learning Council and participates on many other councils and committees across Chicago and Illinois.

Bela was raised in Chicago and lives in the city she’s always called home with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Our Advisory Council consists of prominent local, state, and national leaders in early childhood care and education or related fields. The Advisory Council works with us to achieve our strategic priorities, and helps advance our commitment to excellence and innovation as we implement our professional development, program evaluation, research, and public awareness initiatives. The Advisory Council advocates for our mission and vision, and provides guidance for our initiatives and strategic direction, as described below.

Mission
We empower leaders and advance the field to promote excellence in early childhood education.

Vision
We envision innovative and responsive early childhood systems with extraordinary leaders who inspire the best start for every child.

Values

  • Advancement – The act of moving forward or growing
  • Equity – Fairness or justice in the way people are treated
  • Excellence – High level of value
  • Impact – To influence or have an effect
  • Integrity – Adherence to moral and ethical principles, including truthfulness

We hope you enjoy reading about our new members. We know they will make excellent additions to our team!

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The Ants Go Marching

By Cara Murdoch • February 16, 2026
In early childhood education and care (ECEC), we know that some of the simplest ideas can carry the biggest lessons—and many of us have been singing “The Ants Go Marching” for years without realizing it might also be a leadership guide. Ants may be tiny, but their colonies run on teamwork, communication, flexibility, and a clear sense of purpose—all things ECEC programs rely on every day. By taking a closer look at how ants work together to support their colony, early childhood leaders can discover practical and familiar ways to strengthen teamwork, value every role, and lead programs where everyone is marching in the same direction for children and families. Ants are busy creatures; they work with a purpose and know their jobs in the colony. Ants exhibit teamwork and collective effort. Ant colonies demonstrate intelligence, division of labor, communication systems, and cooperative behaviors. They can recognize and respond to the colony's needs. They overcome their challenges through trial and error, learning from their experiences, and sometimes even develop innovative strategies. In the ant colony, individual ants work together as a unit, each with a unique role that determines the colony's survival and success. The ant colony functions just like a superorganism, where the actions of each individual ant are a part of the highly efficient system that supports the whole colony. This concept of collective action is closely related to human teamwork! Ants have a lot to teach us, as we work in ECEC. teamwork Just as ants collaborate, relying on their communication and coordination to complete tasks, humans thrive when working together, as each individual brings their own unique skills and perspectives to their “colony.” Ants depend on each other. Each ant has a specialized job, and the colony relies on the cooperation and coordination of all its members to thrive and survive. Each ant’s contribution, no matter how small it may seem, is vital to the success of the colony as a whole, and the strength of the group is built on the cooperation of each individual. Similarly, in ECEC programs, teamwork — working together and helping one another —leads to better results than trying to do everything alone! When we collaborate, we pool our strengths, share our knowledge, and support each other, which can lead to more creative and efficient solutions. Each person in the program brings unique skills and perspectives, filling gaps and helping compensate for one another’s weaknesses. This shared effort allows your program to tackle tasks and achieve goals that would be difficult, if not impossible, for one individual to accomplish on their own... just like in an ant colony! Adapting to face challenges Ants are highly adaptable creatures. Have you ever watched a disrupted colony hurry to move the uncovered eggs to a protected space? They respond quickly to changes or disruptions in their environment. Their ability to quickly assess new situations and adjust their behavior will help the colony continue to function efficiently, even when the unexpected happens. Their adaptability is the key to their survival, allowing them to overcome obstacles and thrive. Early childhood programs also need to adapt to challenges. When unexpected changes occur, each person needs to be flexible and find new ways to contribute to the program's success. Just as ants adjust, programs must reassess their strengths, collaborate, and develop alternative solutions. Adaptability is essential for proper teamwork! honoring individual roles In an ant colony, different ants take on very specific roles. There are worker ants, soldier ants, and the queen ant. Each ant’s role is crucial to the success and survival of the colony, and all roles are interdependent; they work together to achieve common goals. This division of labor that exists in an ant colony can be compared to the different roles and unique talents found in an ECEC program. Just as ants rely on each other to perform specific tasks, each ECEC team member brings their own expertise and skills to the program. In a project or workplace setting, one person may excel at brainstorming creative ideas, another might be skilled at organizing tasks and managing timelines, and someone else may be particularly adept at technical skills or problem-solving. This diversity of roles within a team ensures that every aspect of a project or goal receives focused attention. In center-based programs, there are the director, teachers, kitchen staff, and other roles as needed. The diversity of roles in a program helps to ensure that the program is successful and thrives. clear purpose and goals In an ant colony, survival is the common goal. The colony’s success depends on each member performing its specific role. Their unwavering focus on the survival of the colony is connected to their success. It demonstrates the power of their collective action, driven by a clear and unified goal. ECEC programs thrive when they are aligned around a shared and clear purpose and goals. When program members understand and commit to their common goals, the well-being and growth of children and families, their efforts will become more effective and coordinated. Just as ants bring different strengths to the program, each person brings different strengths to the program. It is alignment around shared goals that enables the program to overcome challenges and succeed. When everyone in the program is clear on the goals and helps work together toward them, the whole program becomes more focused, resilient, and motivated - just as an ant colony becomes stronger when every member is working toward survival! Ants work together harmoniously to achieve their common goals; they set aside individual competition in favor of colony cooperation. Each ant focuses on its specialized task. This spirit of ant cooperation is key to the colony's survival and success, as it enables the colony to accomplish more complex tasks than any single ant could manage alone. ECEC programs can benefit from adopting a similar approach that emphasizes collaboration and shared goals over individual achievement. In an ECEC program, when members support each other and work together, they can leverage each person’s strengths to accomplish more than they could individually. Instead of competing for recognition or resources, each member can focus on the program’s success, fostering a more positive and productive environment. learning from ants Ants have so much to teach ECEC programs when it comes to cooperating and working together as an effective team. Whether it's knowing your own role and abilities, supporting each of your fellow team members, communicating clearly and effectively, being flexible, or avoiding competition, the ant colony is an excellent example of these qualities! Let your ants go marching!!! Ant Life, author unknown I am just an ant, A small life is what I live, But I have dreams for bigger things And so much more to give If only I could grow A foot or two would do I could live a life That others look up to.
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