Janessa Bixel is currently serving as a Professional Development Specialist in Rapid City. Her experience includes an array of educational settings such as Head Start, university and military child development centers, public elementary schools, her own part-day preschool program, as an adjunct in higher education, and adult education and coaching. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Hawaii, a M.Ed. in ECE from the University of Alaska and is a doctoral candidate in Leadership and Innovation in Education at Arizona State University. She is currently in her second term as the President of SDAEYC and serves on many committees to support advocacy efforts for early learning in South Dakota.