Hello, I am Mary and I am a Parent Educator with the Jumpstart Program at Easterseals in the Joliet Region. I started working with Jumpstart in July 2021 and I have loved every minute of it. Before working at Jumpstart, I was working at Joliet Central High School Infant child care program. I have been working with the 0-3 age group now for 8 years. I am currently attending Aurora University and will be graduating in May 2023 with a Masters in Social Work. As a mother of a 20 and 13-year-old I understand the importance and the value of the Jumpstart program. I enjoy meeting with families and bringing activities that assist in helping support parent child interactions as well as helping the child reach their developmental milestones. The Jumpstart offers free books to families that help support early literacy. Growing up I loved reading “The Ramona Books and The Berenstain Bears”, and one of my current favorites is “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?” The first three years of a child’s life is very  important time for their development, and I am honored to be a part of a program that provides activities and resources to families to make that happen.