Her Story
About Eliza
I've been in early childhood education for 11 years, and it's been quite a journey. I originally started as an assistant teacher at a local preschool while pursuing elementary teaching, viewing early childhood education as a stepping stone. But I quickly learned that this was the field I wanted to remain in. I've played every role you can imagine - assistant teacher, teacher, lead teacher, director, administrator, and office manager throughout those 11 years before being promoted to my current position as executive assistant to our executive director. I work at a campus in Santa Monica that has three schools, and my main role is supporting the leadership team and making sure the organization is running smoothly. I'm very much in the background, kind of the quiet peg on the board that people don't always see, but I ensure that our executive director has the capacity to think strategically to really uplift the organization and dream big. I also support our three other campus directors, our board of directors, and other leadership personnel like our program coordinator and business manager. The whole purpose of me going into administration was that I valued supporting not just the students in the classrooms, but also the families, the parents, and my colleagues and other educators. I'm also a single mother, so supporting everybody that is in a child's village is important to me. I've got my hand in a little bit of everything, making sure everything is organized, putting fires out before they start, and that while everyone is focused on everything that contributes to running a school, other important projects moving forward.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Eliza
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would definitely say that I wouldn't be where I'm at without the support of my family and friends. They've been such a foundation, really the roots of my success. Because I'm a single mom, they've stepped in a lot with care for my son, with flexibility. My father takes my son to school so I can be at work on time, and his grandparents on his father's side step up because they're both retired, so they'll pick him up from school or keep him overnight if I'm working late or anything like that. With my own schooling as well, going back to get my master's, they'll also keep him overnight and take him to school the next morning. With my friends, they've been incredibly supportive in my journey, stepping up when I need an ear to listen, encouraging me to push through when I felt like the world was on my shoulders, and giving me the space to let loose. I wouldn't have been able to really achieve where I'm at without being able to dedicate my time and energy into certain areas without their help.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to ignore the noise of everyone around me and to focus on my own journey. It's so easy to look around at other people and compare yourself to what their success and achievements look like. The moment that I accepted that my career and my life was only my own, I was able to build momentum in my career because I wasn't worried about what everyone else was doing.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't lose the passion behind it. We don't enter this field because it pays a lot, because it doesn't. We tend to enter this field because we see value in supporting our youngest learners and how the next generation is going to develop, along with how we can support the families that are involved. That gets lost - the passion gets lost with hardships and stresses. Really finding the space, the type of work environment, that speaks to you and your values can make all the difference between leaving the field and remaining in it for another 30 years. I had searched for a while to find an organization that aligned with everything that I believe holds true. Not every place is for everybody, and that's okay. Find a place where you can settle and see yourself grow into the vision you have for yourself. Don't lose that passion, find your place, because it's out there.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Our field is facing a lot of challenges. Early childhood educators don't get as much recognition as I feel like they deserve. There's a wonderful documentary called Make a Circle that highlights the struggles of our field right now. Fair compensation is always one of the struggles, which leads to teacher burnout and turnover. Funding from our government is another battle we're facing, with budget cuts directly affecting lower income community's accessibility to affordable care.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I strongly value being empathetic and compassionate towards each other in personal and professional experiences. While we are all working and while we're all kind of living our own lives, we're all still very human in shared spaces, and I feel like a lot of people forget that. Holding space for one another, but also keeping an open mind to new experiences and thoughts - that's how organizations and people grow.
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