Christine McCartney

What is your role at UWSWVA and how long have you been a part of the team?

I was hired in October 2021 as a Childhood Success Coordinator/Specialist. I now support the Mixed Delivery Program (MDP) as the Mixed Delivery Specialist.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Interfacing with so many different centers, the directors, the teachers, and the classrooms has been the most rewarding part of my job. Those relationships grow every time I walk through their doors and it feels wonderful to be welcomed and valued.

What does a typical day look like in your position?

There are two typical types of days for a Coordinator. One, is sitting in front of a computer and on the phone coordinating professional development and observations, etc. and the other is visiting centers to deliver professional development and mentor in the classrooms. With MDP, I travel all over our region. Within those descriptions, there really aren’t ‘typical’ days, things are very dynamic.

What is your personal motivation?

As a site director in a NAEYC accredited child care center for 20 years, I can really embrace the UWSWVA goal of providing quality early childhood experiences to each and every child. Each director and teacher is on their own unique journey, and I truly desire to motivate and help enable them to strive to improve along that path.

Favorite event/program at UWSWVA?

Most recently, I really enjoyed the Family Engagement at the Wonder Universe Museum. I did not realize how much I had missed interacting with parents and enjoyed sharing with them the amazing initiatives at UWSWVA. This event really seemed to make an impact and inform parents about what it is that this organization accomplishes.

What are some of your favorite hobbies?

Gardening, cooking, horseback riding, sailing and travel.

What is something that is fun or unique about you?

I am actually half Greek. My dad was an immigrant and as his family followed him to the US, they lived with us, so I was raised with that culture and language. My mother is English and Scottish, and I inherited her blonde hair and blue eyes.

Tell me about your favorite day at work, in your current position, that you’ve ever had.

Leslie Morris and I spent several days in the classrooms at a center that requested side by side CLASS mentoring at every age level. The teachers were so welcoming and appreciative of our time together that we felt very fulfilled and certain that we had made an impact on their teaching.

Do you have a quote or mantra that you always look to that is meaningful to your work here at UWSWVA?

“The best teachers are those that tell you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.”

What was your very first job and how do you use a lesson you learned in that job still today?

My first job was babysitting, and from a very young age I realized that I have to be involved with children to feel complete.