Morgan Hart Tolin leads MaineAEYC’s professional learning and career pathways initiatives, including the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship Program and annual Maine Early Childhood Education Conference. Before this role, she served as Professional Learning Director for MaineAEYC and was on the MaineAEYC Board. Morgan worked in early childhood education programs and classrooms for ten years, teaching preschool and PreK in public and private schools here in Maine and in Massachusetts. Most recently Morgan was the Program Director at Beansprouts Early Learning Center in Freeport. Morgan received a bachelors degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Springfield College.

Heather Marden leads MaineAEYC’s public policy and advocacy work, staffing the Leadership in ECE Advocacy & Policy (LEaP) Program and the Right from the Start Coalition. She also supports the organization’s Building Early Childhood Bridges work, helping to foster collaborative relationships between school districts and early care and education programs. Heather worked in early childhood education programs and classrooms for 18 years, in special education services, public school, and private child care. In 2014, she was chosen as a Terry Lynn Lockoff Child Care Teacher of the Year recipient. She joined the Board of MaineAEYC in 2016 and served as Membership Committee Chair, Public Policy Chair, Vice President, and President. Heather has been active in advocacy and policy at the local and national level. She has coordinated policy work and grassroots advocacy campaigns for MaineAEYC and attended Policy Forums in D.C. with NAEYC and Save the Children Action Network.

Tony Major coordinates and implements the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship program for MaineAEYC. This program helps childcare teachers and workers throughout the state further their education in partnership with their employers. Tony has been working with children for over two decades, in a variety of roles including before and after school counselor; elementary, middle, and high school special education ed tech, summer camp program director, Title I interventionist, Reading Recovery teacher, before and after school site director, and Preschool lead teacher. Most recently he was the Child Development Manager for the Bangor Region YMCA. Tony has an AAS and a BS in Early Childhood education from Ashworth College and has done advanced studies with a focus in early literacy at the University of Maine in Orono.