Hi I'm Ana, founder of Early Years Thriving. I am an experienced speaker, workshop facilitator, and educational consultant. In recent years I focused my work on supporting Educators who want to learn to create and facilitate their own professional development (workshops, webinars, courses).
Below you will find a list of Certified Workshop Facilitators. These facilitators graduated from my Workshop Facilitator Training Program - REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Feel free to reach out to them directly if you want to work with them!
Carli Miller
Carli Miller is the manager at a 3-5 child care program. She holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, and a Bachelor's Degree in Child and Youth Care from the University of Victoria. She is passionate about sharing information about early childhood with other educators in the ECE world.
Email: millercarliann@gmail.com
Lobna Ajaini
Lobna Ajaini is an Early Childhood Leader with Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership Degree, and an Early Childhood Education Diploma from Sheridan College. She is a multi-award-winning educator who received the 2022 Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Research Award, the 2019 Sylvia Leal Leadership Award, and the 2016 Davis Campus Commemorative Award. She currently works as a Family Support Facilitator at EarlyON Child/Family Centre and after school Program Director. She is passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). She values lifelong learning and facilitating workshops for educators.
Email: lobnafrench@gmail.com
Rita Tapia
Rita has been an ECE for over 20 years, supporting families by facilitating playgroups and parenting workshops. She is a mother of 4, ages ranging between 3 and 16, and this has given her the opportunity to navigate parenting throughout different changes in pedagogies and parenting best practices. She absolutely enjoys teaching Infant massage and preschool yoga. She has recently embarked in facilitating workshops in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion area.
Email: ritatapia@rogers.com
Chris Yin Ren
Chris is a mother of two and Early Childhood Educator who currently works with children in a licensed group child care setting. Chris has a master of Education from Simon Fraser University and she worked as a Chinese teacher in the Vancouver area for 8 years. Chris successfully completed the Workshop Facilitator Training Program in March 2023 and she facilitated her workshop "Building bridges with newcomer and Chinese immigrant families" with Early Years Thriving.
Email: chrisrenyin@gmail.com
Michelle Milne
Michelle has over 20 years experience as an ECE along with being trained in the Bowen Family Systems Theory, The Principals of Collective Trauma Healing, Roots of Empathy, MAPS & PATHS and Non-violent Crisis Intervention. She is passionate about understanding how emotional well being impacts how people relate to the world around them.
Email: mlynnmilne@gmail.com
Samantha Johnston
Samantha is a mother of two young children, a wife, sister, auntie and friend who loves the outdoors and scary movies. Samantha has been an ECE since 2009 and working in many roles in the care of children, families and educators ever since. Samantha enjoys learning, traveling, concerts, family time, kale smoothies, junk food and staying up late!
Email: sk.johnstone.20@gmail.com
Kayla Papalia
Kayla is an Early Childhood Educator, the host of the ECE honestly podcast and the owner of Blossoming Niños child care program. Kayla has been in the field for over a decade and she uses her voice and platform to advocate for Educators. Kayla presented at two of our Online Summits and shared her tips on how to work with what you've got to improve your Early Childhood spaces.
Email: blossomingninos@gmail.com
Sali Chippett
Sali is the founder of Learning Discoveries, a long time passionate Early Childhood Educator and a Workshop Facilitator. Sali is a graduate of the Workshop Facilitator Training program and In her session, Sali goes over her workshop on Loose parts and she shares about her love of nature based learning.
Email: stchippett@yahoo.ca
Laura Cowan
Laura has a background in performing arts and she is an Early Childhood Educator in BC. Laura has been an ECE for 11 years and she is graduate of the Workshop Facilitator Training program. Laura presented at out Online Summit in June 2024 and she spoke about her experience as a practicum sponsor teacher and the inspiration for her workshop on circle time.
Email: teacherlauraonline@gmail.com
All of the facilitators listed on this page are graduates of our Workshop Facilitator Training Program and have successfully facilitated a live workshop for the Early Years Thriving community.
To learn more about this program or join the waitlist for our next cohort, click here.