My name is Toni Stubbs (Mahaney). I recently married so my name is changing. I obtained my Bachelor's in Child Development from Walden University specializing in Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers. I went on to obtain my Master's in Early Childhood Studies, specializing in Public Policy and Advocacy. I am currently in the Doctoral Program for Early Childhood Education.
My educational journey began when I had my own children. I opened a licensed family-child care center. I ran this for two years before being forced to close because the home I was using was being sold. I then went on to volunteer, substitute and eventually work at our local Head Start / Early Head Start Program. By the time my youngest child entered into the Head Start Program I began working for them full-time. I saw how much the programs helped me and my family and wanted to share this experience and pay it forward. My work with Head Start and Early Head Start has primarily been as a Home Visitor. I love this position and enjoy working with families one on one. My time as an Early Head Start Home Visitor has been the most rewarding since the children and families stay with you until the child turns 3. In some cases I have had families since their child was 6 weeks old!
My aspirations for my future in the field of Early Childhood are to continue to work with families and young children and to continue to educate others on the importance of early childhood care and education. Throughout my education I have tried to obtain degrees that will allow me flexibility to not only work in the education field but also one that will allow me to work with families and with Policies that affect families and young children.
The most essential component of my job is building relationships with families. I believe I am very good at building strong relationships with others because I grew up with strong relationships in my life. The picture below is one of me and my two sisters (Rhonda, Heidi, and myself). I have three older siblings, my brother (the oldest), and my two older sisters. As adults we are still very close and currently we all (including my parents) live in the same town. Throughout the years we have not always lived as adults so close but for the last ten years have been fortunate enough to live very close. Our children have grown up together and also have very strong relationships with each other. Family is very important to all of us. My parents have been married for 50 years this year and have always instilled a strong sense of family in us.
To this day my siblings are the ones I turn to when I need someone to talk to or just need a shoulder to cry on. I will be moving about two hours away in a few months and I know that I will make many weekend trips back and that we will continue to stay in touch. Many people have asked me if I will be sad when we leave and I have to say "no" because I know that no matter how far apart we are we will always be close. It is the way we were raised. I know this journey toward my Doctorate will be long and sometimes difficult but I also know that my family will be behind me supporting me the entire way!
