MEET THE TEAM
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President & CEO
Prior to joining Ready for School, DeLost worked for Easter Seals Central Illinois (ECI), an organization dedicated to helping children with developmental delays, disabilities, and other special needs reach their full potential. At ECI, DeLost most recently served as Vice President of Program Services. Prior to that, DeLost also worked as Vice President of Rehabilitation and Clinical Services and Director of Motor Therapy and Aquatics. DeLost also has extensive experience providing services to children and families as an occupational therapist in home, medical, school, and community settings.
“My passion for serving children and families prepares me well to help children get their best start through the services Ready For School provides,” says DeLost. “I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to lead this organization. I am excited to work with stakeholders to further the mission of Ready for School as the organization continues its strong tradition of making a positive impact by serving local children and families.”
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Director of Operations
Megan is the Director of Operations at Ready for School. She earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Public Administration from Grand Valley State University.
Well before her formal education concluded she started working and volunteering in the public and nonprofit sector leading her to have over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. During her professional career, Megan worked in a number of different ways to support the overall early childhood system from building the original Great Start Collaborative in Allegan County, to providing technical assistance across the state of Michigan to support families understand their voice in the political system and to working locally at Ready for School.
Megan enjoys volunteering her time for the NEA Big Read Lakeshore and Think Babies Michigan. Additionally, she is an avid reader, nature lover and mom to three wonderfully independently minded children.
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Office Manager Ready for School
Program Specialist Reach Out & Read MichiganAmanda Rios is the Ready for School Office Manager and is joining Reach Out and Read Michigan as a Program Specialist. Amanda has almost 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with most of that time being in the early childhood field as a Family Services Advocate for Head Start.
Amanda has always been passionate about helping others and positively impacting the community.
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Project Manager Reach Out & Read Michigan
Tracy Amid joins Reach Out and Read Michigan as a Program Manager. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business from Calvin University and a Master of Management from Cornerstone University. Tracy has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector in varying roles promoting program growth, partnerships, marketing, and process improvements.
Tracy’s passion for the mission of Reach Out and Read Michigan was only amplified during her experience as a foster parent and adoptive parent. She gained first hand experience on the importance of early childhood literacy and development.
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Coordinator of Programs & Services
Anna comes to us with an endorsement in Special Education (Emotional Impairments) and an MA in Adapted Physical Education. She is a firm believer in incorporating movement with learning. When children move, they learn!
Anna stated “I am thrilled to join the Ready for School community! From my twenty plus years of special education teaching experience, I have developed a passion for providing quality, equitable education to our young learners. All children deserve to be exposed to early educational programming; it gives them the chance to be ready to learn when they begin Kindergarten.“What a privilege to be part of team as the Coordinator of Programs and Services and help make sure the children in our community are ready to learn!"
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Coordinator of Programs & Services
“I have a passion for making sure every child has access to learning and the tools to experience great success from the first day of kindergarten.”
She brings 30+ years of experience as a speech language pathologist and has spent the last 20 years working in West Michigan public schools and is thrilled to be part of Ready for School.
