Bonnie was born and raised in Creston Iowa. She has always had a big desire to do all she could to make a difference in the lives of children. 

Bonnie spent 25 plus years doing child abuse prevention work. From an early home visitation project to serving eight years on the Prevent Child Abuse Iowa Board and six years on the Iowa Respite and Crisis Care Board, she has always had the goal of bettering the lives of children.

Bonnie dearly loves being a cheerleader for all of her past and present PAT families. She is honored to be welcomed into the family's homes and lives. Bonnie is grateful for the opportunity to make a positive contribution to both the parents and children's day to day experiences. She has always felt that all parents (including myself) want to do the very best job possible of parenting.

Danielle joined The Short Years Partnership as a parent educator in May of 2018, and loves it! She finds it a joy to meet and work with families while helping guide and observe the development of their children. Prior to becoming a parent educator, Danielle taught kindergarten and first grade for 20 years. She graduated from Morningside College with degrees in early childhood and elementary education.

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 In addition to her teaching experience, Danielle learned about children through foster parenting, adopting, and her own children.

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Born and raised in Iowa, Danielle calls Lake Panorama home. In her spare time, she enjoys boating, driving her ’66 Ford Mustang, spending time with family, attending concerts and musicals, cheering for the Iowa State Cyclones, and traveling.

Sami has lived in rural Madison County nearly all her life. She and her husband are blessed to be raising their three sweet and energetic boys close to where she grew up.

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Sami's professional background includes teaching special education and third grade for 6 years. She spent the last 11 years as a stay-at-home mom during which time she was also a substitute teacher and reading tutor.

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Parents  As Teachers benefited Sami's family when her boys were younger and she is now excited to be a PAT educator herself and partner with families on this exciting adventure called “parenting”!

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Sami currently spends much of her time supporting her children's extra-curricular activities and volunteering at school and church. When she has “free” time, she enjoys photography, shopping, and catching up  with family and friends.

Deb is a born and raised Iowa girl. She and her husband have two grown children and she has always loved being around kids. 

In her younger years, Deb spent many hours babysitting and teaching swimming lessons.  During her career, Deb was a Para-Educator in a preschool, a Lead Teacher in a daycare, and most recently, a Nanny. 

Deb joined Parents As Teachers as a Parent Educator in May  2019. She enjoys meeting new families and helping them in any way she can. 

In her free time, Deb enjoys reading, crafting, traveling, spending time with my family, and playing with her dogs.

Ricki joined Parents as Teachers in July of 2020.  Joining Parents as Teachers has been a blessing that has allowed her to continue to fuel herpassion for working with children and families in a new and exciting way. 

Ricki originally began her professional career in corporate America.  Upon having little ones of my own she realized her true passion and desire to work with children and exited the corporate world to open her home to other working parents and their children for the next 12 years. 

Ricki is a long-time resident of Warren County, Iowa, was born and raised in Indianola, and now proudly calls Norwalk home.  She and her husband have been blessed with three amazing children. In their free time, they enjoy cycling, boating, traveling, and spending time with their children and pups. 

Melanie was born in Mexico and raised in a small farming town in Southern Illinois, where her family served a community of migrant workers. It was there that her love for community and families was born. She recognized the huge need for bridging gaps and connecting families to resources and support organizations.

Melanie continued to pursue her passion both professionally and through volunteer work with various outreach organizations working with inner city kids, at-risk youth, foster care families, and summer or after-school programs.

She loves teaching and building relationships and is excited to be a part of PAT, a team that is making such an impactful difference in their community.

In her free time, Melanie loves spending time with family and friends, making music, and going on adventures with her daughter.

Khulud was born and raised in Iraq where she grew up in a large extended family enjoying time with my many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She graduated from the University of Baghdad, Department of Business Administration and then owned a computer office store.

Khulud moved to Iowa in 2009 with her husband and young sons. Since being in the US, Khulud volunteered and worked as a translator for schools, hospitals,  or anyone who needed assistance.

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She finds it a joy working as a Parent Educator, especially the opportunity to serve families by communicating in their language, understanding their needs, supporting them, and helping their children prepare for school.   

During her free time, Khulud enjoys spending time with her family, painting, and the newest member of their family, a British Shorthair kitten. 

Rebecca has known for a long time that she enjoys working with children and their parents and has been fortunate to do so in a number of different settings. She started in multi-age elementary classrooms, taught middle-school science, and most recently worked in a Montessori pre-school. Being part of the Short Years Partnership as a Parent Educator feels like the job for which she's been training all of her career.

Although she grew up in Michigan, Rebecca lived in West Virginia, California, and North Carolina before returning to the Midwest ten years ago—first to Michigan and now to Iowa since 2020. Moving during the pandemic has been strange, but she has enjoyed exploring Iowa and getting to know her new home state. She and her husband have two sons, a dog, and a cat who keep them busy.