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History
The Wyoming Afterschool Alliance was initiated in summer of 2006 under the name the Wyoming Afterschool Network, as it was recognized that a core advocacy focus would be needed to ensure the full potential of out of school time programming throughout Wyoming. In the summer of 2006, Linda Barton, Lights On in Lander, began formally inviting organizations and agencies to attend the initiating meeting to gauge the interest in creating a Network. During the second meeting in September 06 the attending partners agreed that if there was enough interest in advocacy on behalf of out of school time programming to begin operating as a coalition, the Wyoming Afterschool Network was formed.
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Board Members
Linda Barton
Executive Director of the WYAA |
Program Director for "Lights On in Lander" in Lander WY since fall 2000. Developed the program from its inception as a year-round K-12 school-based program for Fremont County School Dist. #1, serving several hundred children each year.
She moved to Wyoming from her native California in 1999, and as worked for Fremont Co. School District #1 as the School-to-Careers Coordinator to create a career education program for all students in grades K-12. Prior to that she was in Financial and Investor Relations for over 20 years in California and Massachusetts.
Linda is a councilmember for the City of Lander since 2004, and plans on running for re-election in 2008. She is a member of the Lander Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, including that of past President; a founding member of Soroptomist Club of Lander; the Lander Rotary Club; and founding member of the Lander Valley Education Foundation for Fremont County School District 1.
She currently is an Ambassador Emeritus for the Afterschool Alliance, and is a member of the 2004-2005 first "Associates" Class.
Her experience is in marketing, sales, organizational management and investor and public relations. She wrote and marketed a grant in 1999-2000 for a youth owned and operated guided tour business which was implemented at Lander Valley High School, and later sub-contracted to the Museum of the American West in Lander. In 2000, she wrote a grant in collaboration with the Wyoming Business Journal to create and design a career education magazine for all Wyoming junior and high school students entitled "Wyoming NEXT".
Her experience in relationship-building has led to a strong working relationship with her school district administration and building administrators.
Barton holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from California State University at Northridge and a M.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix.
She is passionate about justice and social issues and advocates to ensure that all children and families are provided equal access to the same opportunities. In her free time, she loves to work in her garden and sees it as a great therapeutic activity.
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Samin Dadelahi |
Samin joined the staff at the Wyoming Community Foundation in 2001. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Wyoming in Entomology and a graduate minor from the Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources. Currently, as the Senior Program Officer, Samin directs the Wyoming Community Foundation’s grantmaking and scholarship programs totaling over 3 million dollars annually. She participates in the design, implementation and evaluation of new program initiatives by the Foundation. Involvement in the Wyoming Afterschool Alliance began because the program staff of the community foundation could identify that there was no leader in the field available to provide support and advocate on behalf of the afterschool programs in the state.
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James (Jim) C. Heck, PH.D. |
Jim Heck grew up along the east coast of Florida. He attended the University of Florida on a football scholarship and later graduated with honors. He went on to earn Master’s and Doctorate Degrees. His Ph.D. dissertation won the L.V. Koos Award for “outstanding research in the field of community colleges.†Heck has also completed prestigious programs at Middlebury College’s prestigious Bread Loaf School of English and at the University of Kentucky’s post-doctorate College Business Management Institute among others. In 2004, He was one of a few professional educators selected to participate in The Florida Chancellor of Community Colleges Leadership Seminar.
Heck is now the Deputy Executive Director for the Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC). As such, he assists in coordinating all community colleges throughout the state. His specific areas of responsibility for state-wide operations include academic affairs, student affairs, adult basic education, GED testing, workforce education programs, and policy analysis.
Prior to becoming Deputy Executive Director of WCCC, Heck’s career spanned 30 years of service to K-12 Systems, Community Colleges, and Universities as both faculty and senior administrator. He has taught or held senior leadership positions at four major Florida Community Colleges. He also held faculty rank while serving as Executive Assistant to the President at Western Kentucky University. Additionally, Heck has also served as a consultant in the development of advanced academic programs for several colleges and universities.
In 2002, his alma mater, The University of Florida, honored him with their “Outstanding Graduate Award†for life-time achievement in the field of higher education.
Heck is an outdoor enthusiast and loves fishing, camping, hiking in his new home state, beautiful Wyoming. He also loves literature and has a long list of Wyoming writers he is joyously reading.
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Linda Jennings |
Linda is a native of Virginia and graduate of Virginia Tech. After teaching elementary school for 8 years in Virginia, Missouri, and Colorado, she moved to Douglas in 1985. Linda served as a school board trustee for Converse County School District #1 for three years. The Jennings transferred to Gillette in 1995. Linda is presently serving as VP for the WY League of Women Voters. Linda is proud to serve on the Board of Directors of Children’s Developmental Services of Campbell County. For the past five years she has served as staff for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant in Campbell County. This grant provides funding for much-needed afterschool programs in Campbell County. Linda is a proud graduate of the Class of 2005 Leadership Wyoming. She is presently serving her second year as a trustee for Campbell County School District #1. |
Kimberly Prey |
Kimberly Prey is the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Consultant with the Health and Safety Unit of the Wyoming Department of Education. Kim manages two federal grants for Wyoming including the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant for after-school programs (U.S. Department of Education) and the Learn and Serve America grant for service-learning (Corporation for National and Community Service). Kim is a certified teacher and has taught both elementary and adult students. Before becoming a member of the Wyoming Department of Education team, Kim worked for the U.S. Air Force as a School Liaison as well as a Training and Curriculum Specialist. Kim has a B.A. in Elementary Education from Concordia College, Ann Arbor, Michigan and a M.A. in Early Childhood Development from the University of Central Oklahoma. |
Krista Sweckard |
Krista is the Family-School Partnership and Outreach Coordinator for the Parent Education Network, Wyoming State PIRC. She holds a Masters Degree in Technology in Education from Lesley University as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wyoming. Krista coordinates and facilitates the implementation of effective parent engagement throughout Wyoming’s schools by working in cooperation with parents, teachers and administrators. After teaching for eight years in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota, the Sweckards moved back to Buffalo where Krista is an involved parent of seven year old triplets. |
Craig Williams |
Craig Williams is a Cheyenne resident and has lived in Wyoming for most
of his life. He graduated from the Univeristy of Wyoming with a
Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and from Walden University
with a Master's Degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. he
began his teaching career in Rock Springs, Wy and has been in Laramie
County School District #2 for the last 12 years. Craig has taugh third
through sixth grade and is currently an Instructional Facilitator. Craig
has served as Vice-President of the over 6,000 member Wyoming Education
Association for four years. He is proud of the involvement of the WEA in
the Afterschool Alliance. Craig feels that the WEA's advocacy for
students and educational staff is a perfect fit with the WyAA and he has
served on the WyAA board and steering committee since its inception.
Craig currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
WyAA. Craig's wife is the Mathematics Coordinator in Laramie County
School District #1 and he has two beautiful daughters ages 11 and 8.
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Financial Supporters
- C.S. Mott Foundation
- Homer A. & Mildred S. Scott Foundation
- Lights on in Lander
- Parent Education Network, WY State PIRC
- Wyoming Community Foundation
- Wyoming Department of Education
- Wyoming Education Association
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What is an Afterschool Network?
An afterschool network is a tool for working toward
quality youth development opportunities that ensure all
students are successfully educated and prepared for life’s
opportunities. The afterschool network for Wyoming
includes all organization and decision-makers that
work within or have an interest in youth development.
A statewide afterschool network is a critical tool for
providing guidance to develop high-quality services
in all out-of-school time environments from early
childhood through high school and beyond.
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About the National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks.
The national network of statewide afterschool networks
brings together established statewide afterschool networks
in their collective mission to build partnerships and
policies that are committed to the development and
sustainability of quality afterschool programs.These
partnerships — funded through the support of the
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation — are focused on
actively engaging key decision makers in support of
school-based/school-linked afterschool programs,
particularly in underserved communities. Currently 38
statewide afterschool networks are funded to coordinate
and influence the systems that support the success of
children and young people.
The network is centered around three goals:
- Goal 1: Create a sustainable structure of statewide,
regional and local partnerships, particularly schoolcommunity
partnerships, focused on supporting policy
development at all levels.
- Goal 2: Support the development and growth of statewide
policies that will secure the resources that are needed to
sustain new and existing afterschool programs.
- Goal 3: Support statewide systems to ensure programs
are of high quality.
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| 307.335.WYAA (9922) |
WYOMING AFTERSCHOOL ALLIANCE
626 Washington Street |
Lander, WY 82520 |
| WYAA is a sponsored initiative of the Wyoming Community Foundation. |
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