Board of Directors

2023 information

Election calendar

  • Apr 20 (Thu) – May 18 (Thu) (4 weeks): Nominations accepted (electronic)
  • May 22 (Mon) – June 5 (Mon) (2 weeks): Votes accepted (electronic)
  • Jun 12 (Wed): Announcement

Seats:

  • 6 on the Board
  • 3 on the TAC

What is the Board of Directors (BOD or Board)?

Ames Child Care Center (ACCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which means the entire tuition goes towards improving the center and teacher compensation. There is no “owner” – the center is run by a small number (currently 9) number of volunteer parents/guardians who meet monthly to discuss the center operations with the director, assistant director and two teacher reps.

What is the Tuition Assistance Council (TAC)?

In a typical year, ACCC is able to put funds aside to financially help families who meet eligibility criteria. TAC oversees this process: taking applications, setting criteria, etc. This is an important job to help the center stay diverse and help families in need. There are currently 3 volunteer members of the TAC.

What does a Board member do?

Board Members participate in the board meetings and typically lead at least one of the many committees at ACCC. They provide knowledge and experience to help guide ACCC – when issues arise, they discuss it to the best of their knowledge and solve problems. They may also be tasked with duties that fall outside of the administration of the daycare but are critical to operations, for example we wanted to start accepting donations on the website, a board member at large might be tasked with looking into the various ways this could be implemented and working with the Treasurer to find the best option.

Do I need to know how to run a childcare operation?

No. The center has a very capable director and assistant director who run the day-to-day operations and are knowledgeable about compliance. While the knowledge is not required, while on the Board you are likely to learn much “insider” information about the organizational, financial, etc side of the center. Not only do we not require any prior knowledge about childcare, but in fact we are looking for a set of folks with diverse backgrounds, experiences and opinions to be able to make best decisions for ACCC.

Should I volunteer?

As any current board member will tell you, serving on the Board is both challenging and rewarding! The reasons to volunteer may be:

  • Helping the center to provide best care for the children
  • Making the changes and events that you want to see happen
  • Gaining leadership experience that will be useful in other contexts
  • Being involved with your child’s school and becoming a knowledgeable “insider”
  • Learning about operations of a non-profit / childcare / small business – this is a volunteer position, but the knowledge and experience can be used in other jobs
  • Checking off all your volunteer hours
  • In lieu of a financial donation
  • Feel fancy and important and call yourself Director 😀

How to nominate yourself?

Fill out the form you received by email. Write your bio, rationale for running, why and how you could help ACCC.

Is it ok to nominate yourself, or do I need to get someone else to nominate me?

Please do not hesitate to nominate yourself – this is in fact the most common way to get nominated.

Can you provide an example nomination?

Ela: below is my bio/rationale I submitted in 2022. I was elected so it should not be the worst, but take it for what it is worth. If you’d like more examples, e-mail me and I’ll dig them out. Note that I’m probably the only member with some experience in childcare, which is by no means expected.

Position: Board MemberHello, I’m Ela (pronounced Ella) Krepska, mom of Sophie in the Explorer room. Sophie has been with ACCC since infancy, and is almost 3 years old now. She’s thriving under the play oriented philosophy of the center, and care she’s been receiving from the wonderful teachers at ACCC.

My background is in business and engineering – I have worked nearby at Google for 10 years. I have experience as a manager in product, execution, hiring, communication, negotiation, and in general running projects and teams successfully.

I have recently left Google to start a company that will provide childcare services to big tech, to support working parents and bring about a real impact on gender diversity. For that reason I am getting licensed as an early childcare educator myself, as well as I’m already familiar with how to run a childcare center.

I would love to meaningfully help ACCC, especially right now when it’s going through big changes. I have experience running projects with very large budgets and multi-year strategies. I have a passion to support parents in their careers, which can only be done by caring for the staff’s well-being, and the quality of care for the children.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors.

What is the time commitment?

As a Board Member at large:

  • Regular
    • Monthly meeting for 1h (lunchtime)
    • Special/Committee assignments, which depend on the topic and might be annual or monthly, but on average should not be more than a few hours per month. To be fully transparent, committee time may be unevenly distributed (e.g. bigger effort once per year), but you have the choice to select assignments that fit your schedule.
  • Sometimes
    • Special meeting on a challenging topic (this happens few times per year)
    • Electronic communications about things that come up, updates, questions from teachers/parents. The frequency on average is one per week.

What are the “officers” of the Board of Directors?

Once the Board is completed, it elects “officers” among its members, which are leadership positions that come with added responsibilities:

  • President
  • Vice President (or two)
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer

See below about what each of these officers do.

What does the President do?

The President is the chief executive officer (CEO) of ACCC and, subject to the control of the BOD, supervises and controls all of the business and affairs of the ACCC. The President presides at all meetings of the parents and the BOD for which they are present. They may sign for the ACCC any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments that the Board has authorized to be executed. Unless provided by the BOD, they shall be a member of all the “standing” committees, including the Executive Committee. In addition, they shall have such other powers and duties as may be assigned to them by the Board. To be elected to the position of President, a nominee must have served at least one year on the BOD.

What does the Vice-President do?

Each Vice-President has other responsibilities and performs such duties as may from time to time be assigned to them by the Board or by the President, for example developing a policy and plan of communicating COVID exposure information to the families. If the President is unavailable for any reason, the Vice-President performs all the duties of the President and, when so acting, has all the powers of and is subjected to all the restrictions upon the President. To be elected vice-president, it is preferred that a nominee must have served at least one year on the BOD or have been very active as a committee member.

What does the Secretary do?

The Secretary is responsible for documenting decisions made and business conducted (keeping minutes) at meetings of the Board and parents; sees that all notices are duly given; is the custodian of the corporate records and the seal of the Corporation. In addition, they provide information on the corporate papers to the Board and provide copies of the critical documents to the new Board during orientation. They shall, in general, have such other powers and perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to them by the Board or by the President.

What does the Treasurer do?

The Treasurer has charge, custody of, and is responsible for the funds and securities of the ACCC. They shall keep and maintain, or cause to be kept and maintained, adequate and correct accounts of the properties and business transactions of the ACCC shall ensure that the books be open for inspection at all reasonable times by any member of the Board or staff. Upon request, they shall present to the Board an account of all transactions as Treasurer and the financial condition of the ACCC. They shall, in general, have such other powers and perform such other duties (financial or otherwise) as may from time to time be assigned to them by the Board or by the President.

How can I learn more?

  • Email ela.krepska@ameschildcare.org – Ela is the President of the current Board and is happy to answer any questions.
  • Chat with any of the board members. The photos of the current board members are in the ACCC lobby. They are all volunteers and can share their experiences. The email for the whole board is board@ameschildcare.org.
  • Chat with the Director or Assistant Director. They are not on the Board but are very familiar with how things work. 🙂