Hi!

My name is Julie Bartkus and my journey within the child care industry began about 25 years ago when I accepted my first position as a toddler teacher. I worked in various child care positions and programs before I entered Corporate America, where I would remain for 8 years.

In 1996, I was finished with corporate life. I really felt a yearning for a profession with deeper meaning … something that I could do where I would really make a profound difference. At the same time, I was also going through some very challenging personal situations that drained me, yet challenged me to make changes happen. I began listening to some fantastic motivational speakers who truly inspired me to get through the difficult situations in my life. I loved what I had learned from them so much that I wanted to impact others in the same way they had impacted me. I felt compelled to speak to anyone and everyone who was willing to listen.

I began speaking to organizations about attitude and communication and eliminating workplace gossip. Child care teachers and leaders somehow found their way to my programs and afterwards shared with me how much the information I was sharing was needed. After hearing this repeatedly, a new mission in my life began.

For over a decade now, I've been presenting customized workshops and retreats to child care programs with the goal of helping staff and leaders to function as a dynamic team. I surveyed thousands of teachers, asking them what they wish their leaders would do more of and what they would do differently. I inquired about why they quit their jobs in child care programs and I asked, "What would boost morale?"

I took what I learned from working onsite with child care teams and started presenting my leadership retreats to share my findings with child care leaders. They were really a huge success. I thought to myself this is what is needed -- this is it!

Then one day, after a leadership retreat, I met Laura. Laura was a child care director who was really struggling with morale and truly wanted support to make constructive change happen in her program. She approached me with tears in her eyes, asking how she could get ongoing support from me. She looked so tired, yet she still had this inner drive to go back to work and do things differently. We agreed to speak further during the week and see how and if I could give her what she was looking for.

I thought about Laura and took her pain home with me, thinking about what kind of ongoing support I could make available for her and other leaders in the child care industry. Then it hit me … What if I could connect motivational speakers, best-selling authors and people with the wisdom and know-how to deal with the challenges that child care leaders face every day, with those child care leaders who wanted support and those leaders who wanted to make constructive changes?

Thus, the Leadership Connection was born. Starting out as a tape-of-the-month membership, we have now evolved to a monthly audio program and membership site. The membership site is a fantastic resource that helps child care leaders overcome their daily challenges and get support on the issues they're facing. I've taken every audio program that I've ever produced and now you can listen to all of them right online. Additionally, we have a forms resource library and a members-only discussion forum.

One of our members, Karen, recently wrote to me and said, "Julie, just like everyone else, I always seem so strapped for time. So I began listening to the leadership CDs … while I was driving. I have approximately 15 minutes to and from work when I listen, as well as when I travel a lot over the summer, and during the three hours it takes to drop off my children. It has been a great way for me to learn without much distraction, except for the safe driving, of course, and keeps my motivation running high. This is the most consistently motivated I have been in a long time. Thanks again."

My mission with the Leadership Connection is to connect you with the support and resources you need to manage, motivate and retain great staff in your child care program.

I hope you enjoy your visit here and will consider becoming a member of our fabulous and wonderfully dedicated community in the near future.

Committed to your success,

Julie Bartkus