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Marci Chavalas has over twenty years of experience serving staff, children, and families. She began her journey in education after receiving the Ronald McDonald House African American Visionaries and Inspirational Leaders scholarship as well as the African American Educators Scholarship to attend Duke University in 2000.
At Duke, she worked with at-risk elementary students and supervised the tutoring staff in the America Reads program. She also served as a teaching assistant for Educational Psychology and participated in educational, neurological, and developmental psychology research. Along with earning her BA in psychology, Mrs. Chavalas received a minor in cultural anthropology and a certificate in human development . During her experiences she became interested in fostering connectedness between the diverse individuals she served. Mrs. Chavalas’ undergraduate work led to her being selected as a Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fellow in 2004.
After receiving her BA, Mrs. Chavalas continued her studies at Brown University, where she earned a Master of Arts in Teaching. It was there that she developed a passion for teaching outside of the box. She worked in a number of schools, but was fascinated by the unique methods used to reach students with language learning differences.
In 2005 she he brought those innovative ideas to a leading international school where she served as a third grade teacher. In 2006 she followed her passion for sharing the gospel with children to the top Christian school in the area, where she served as a second grade teacher, team leader, instructional coach, and tutor. In 2009, Ms. Chavalas was selected as the Christian Educator of the Year. Throughout the course of her career, Ms. Chavalas has served hundreds of preschool to twelfth grade families. Her greatest joys an educator was watching each of her students grow and develop. From 2015-2020 Ms. Chavalas moved into an administrative role serving teachers and families. She served as Executive Director and later as Senior Director of Professional Development and Parent Relations.
In 2020, Ms. Chavalas joined the staff of a local church, as the Campus Director after serving as a KIDS volunteer since it’s launch. There she has overseen staff, volunteers, strategic initiatives, community outreach, and special events.
She began the Family Advocacy Ministry to support local foster, adoptive, and vulnerable families at her church. She also began a YouTube channel to share the content she created for teachers and families to help them grow.
In 2021, Marci advanced her leadership toolkit by completing an interdisciplinary certificate in School Management & Leadership at Harvard’s School of Education and Business School. She employs the strategies and tools she acquired to help the organizations she serves to be the best they can be. She shares that knowledge as she contributes to campus leadership strategy and school development efforts at her workplace.
Ms. Chavalas is a devoted mom to her two boys, Owen and Kolton, and enjoys playing with her ragdoll cat and Irish Setter. She is a passionate advocate for foster families and is also a foster and adoptive mother. Her foster journey began in 2014 with the addition of twin girls to her home. Since then, she has fostered over 14 children ranging from newborn to eleven years old. While she developed her administrative and educator toolbag, she also grew her trust informed parenting skills as she ministered to children from hard places and watched her little ones heal. She realized a lifelong goal of being an adoptive parent when she adopted her son from foster care in 2022. She is thrilled to provide the encouragement, direction, and resources to assist women and children in maximizing their full, God-given potential.