The Georgia Early Childhood Education Foundation is administered by a Board compromised of early childhood education professionals from business/industry, post-secondary institutions/secondary institutions, representatives from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, Georgia Department of Education and Georgia FCCLA. Many of these professionals are members of the Georgia Association on Young Children.
Wynn Pollock
Director of Georgia Early Childhood Education Foundation
Wynn Pollock currently serves as the Director of the Georgia Early Childhood Education Foundation. She retired in 2025 after dedicating 31 years to the field of education. For 21 years, she taught at Screven County Elementary School, followed by 10 years as the Early Childhood Education instructor at Screven County High School. During her time there, her ECE program achieved Industry Certification twice. She also served as the FCCLA advisor, supporting student leadership and career development.
Shannon Houk
Early Childhood and Teaching as a Profession Instructor, FCCLA Advisor, Rockdale Career Academy
Shannon Houk is in her 12th year as an Early Childhood Education Instructor at the Rockdale Career Academy. She received her bachelor’s of Family and Consumer Sciences Education from UGA and her Mater’s in Instructional Technology from Troy State University. Currently she is serving at the Rockdale Career Academy in Conyers, GA as one of the Teacher Leader’s for the CTAE program. She is also the Teaching as a Profession Instructor and Intern Coordinator for the ECE and TAP programs. She has been an FCCLA advisor for the last 16 years and is a proud advisor to an award winning FCCLA program. Her passions are teaching young teachers and serving as an advocate for the early childhood education and general teaching profession.
Leslie McKenzie, M. Ed
ECCE Instructor/Advisor
| ECESA Faculty Advisor
| Athens Technical College
Responsibilities include: Plan and implement lessons and labs for various classes in the Early Childhood Education Department. Classes taught include: Creative Activities; Exceptionalities; Social Issues and Family Involvement; Child Growth and Development; Exceptionalities; Paraprofessional Methods and Materials; Paraprofessional Roles and Practices; Health, Safety and Nutrition; Language and Literacy; and Math and Science. Supervise practicum and intern students. Maintain student records. Develop content for new courses in Classroom Strategies for Exceptional Children and Exploring Your Role in the Exceptional Environment. Advisement of ECCE students. Faculty Advisory for student organization.
Jennifer Mundy
Early Childhood Education Instructor, Maxwell High School of Technology
Jennifer Mundy has been an Early Childhood Education instructor at Maxwell High School of Technology in Gwinnett County since 2013. Her students spend half their school day in her class and complete the full ECE pathway in one year. The students also receive hands-on experience in a student run Preschool Lab. Prior to teaching at Maxwell, she taught kindergarten for 11 years at Lawrenceville Elementary. Not only is Jennifer a teacher at Maxwell but she also attended the school. Her ECE program has gone through Industry Certification 3 times and in 2022-2023 her school earned the honor of being the first program to be “Industry Certified with Distinction.” Her passion is to help grow Gwinnett’s teacher pipeline and have her students come back and work in the county where they received their education
Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, Ph. D.
Professor and Head of Educational Psychology, The University of Georgia
Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett is Professor of Educational Psychology with research interests that center on the contexts of early educational intervention, kindergarten retention, economically disadvantaged children's transition to school (particularly the Head Start population), and intervention for children with chronic health problems. She has served as the principal investigator, co-investigator on a number of externally-funded research projects on Head Start, early literacy, and teacher quality. Dr. Neuharth-Pritchett teaches courses in educational research methodology, applied educational measurement, and seminars on psychological issues for young children and families placed at risk.
Vickie Rundbaken
Family and Consumer Sciences Program Specialist, Georgia Department of Education
Vickie Rundbaken is currently serving at the Program Specialist for Family and Consumer Sciences, Culinary and Education Pathways at the State Department of Education. She retired in 2021 after teaching for 30 years in the area of FACS in both middle and high school and also served for seven years as the Georgia FCCLA Executive Director. During her time in Hall County, she taught Early Childhood Education for seven years and received the Early Childhood Education Industry Certification.
Jennifer L. Waters, M.Ed., CPSI
Jennifer L. Waters, M.Ed. is the Child Care Services Technical Assistance Team Manager for the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. She has diverse experience with over 26 years in the early childhood field in Georgia. Her experiences include teaching, administration, technical assistance, inclusion, accreditation, playground safety, assessment of early childhood programs, and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). She also has extensive experience with the Environment Rating Scales, used for Industry Certification, and she’s a longtime GECEF Board Member. Most recently, her focus has been on supporting sustained licensing compliance in early childhood programs through collaboration and the foundational application of best practices. At the heart of her work is a simple but powerful motivation to do what most purposefully supports the needs of children.
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