Welcome to our Employee Spotlight series, where we highlight the exceptional individuals driving the success of Child Care Services Association (CCSA). Today, we invite you to meet Teresa Graves, the dedicated Human Resources Director at CCSA. Join us as we explore Teresa’s journey with CCSA, uncover her evolving perspective on our organization, and celebrate her significant contributions over the years.
As we commemorate our 50th anniversary, learn about the profound impact our dedicated staff have on CCSA and the communities we serve.
How long have you worked at CCSA?
I came to CCSA in March 1993, so just over 30 years.
What do you recall about the early days?
Right now we probably have about 130 or so staff members. When I joined the agency, we maybe had 10. One of the funny things about it is that we had these itty bitty Macintosh computers when we first got computers and we had to share them. There were two people assigned to each computer and we had to schedule when to use them.
Back then, we were so small that we celebrated everybody’s birthday on their actual birthday, we’d all get together and have cake. And as we started to grow, we would do a birthday month. For instance, we would all gather in the office and have a cake for everyone born in July. Eventually, we got so big we just stopped.
Our president at the time, Sue Russell, was a big prankster, so she liked to play practical jokes on people. She didn’t play them on me because I was usually her ally, so I was helping her.
How has your job changed over the years?
I sort of grew into the position of special assistant to the president. When I was hired, I was sort of the receptionist, office manager and assistant to the president. Then we hired a receptionist and an office manager. As we grew, my role sort of evolved and I eventually became the special assistant to the president, which meant that I pretty much touched every division in the agency in some way. Whatever Sue was involved in, I was involved in. This allowed me to get to know the broad early childhood community. In 2022, I transitioned into the role of HR Director. I still touch every division, but it’s more narrow because it’s focused on our staff instead. For instance, I don’t talk to the governor’s assistant anymore because I no longer need to, whereas back when I was the special assistant, I had regular contact with legislators and their assistants and all of the community organizations.
What has been your biggest achievement/success and CCSA’s greatest accomplishments?
For me, it’s moving into HR because it’s something that I always wanted to do. I have a passion for it. I have a master’s in human resources, a master’s in leadership and a master’s in performance improvement. However, CCSA is one of those agencies that has very little turnaround. For 17 years or so, I’ve been waiting for there to be an opening in the HR division. When the opportunity finally came around, I interviewed and got the position. That was sort of a personal success story for me because that’s really where I wanted to be.
The agency itself has just had such an impact on the field of early care and education and I feel fortunate to have been able to see it grow from when we only delivered local services. Seeing the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center program grow from its pilot into a national program has been astounding to watch.
I also remember there were a couple of times when Sue went to testify at our U.S. Congress, about child care issues. In addition, the media used to call often in the young years of the agency. Just to know that CCSA had that kind of respect, that people would call them and ask for expert opinions, I think it was really amazing.
Just the mere fact that the agency has been sustained for nearly 50 years is an accomplishment in itself. The growth of all of our programs has been amazing.
What would you consider to be the biggest change in CCSA over the years?
How much the staff has grown. The staff has grown from just a few people to over 100!
What’s your favorite part of the job? What excites you most?
In my current position, just knowing that I’m helping or that I can be supportive to staff when they really need it – it’s the little wins that excite me. I received an email from someone last week who told us that her student loans had been forgiven and thanked us for helping her with the application. Or maybe somebody has experienced family challenges, and I helped them to get through it. For them to reach out and say thank you for the support is very satisfying. Just knowing that we’re able to help the staff in a time of need or help them accomplish goals, that’s what I’m here for — that’s what I love.
What is your biggest hope for the next decade? In what ways do you expect to grow?
We always say that CCSA is the best-kept secret because people don’t actually know who we are or what we do. They may know the name Child Care Services Association, but I can’t tell you the number of phone calls I used to get as a special assistant or someone looking for child care or someone who wanted to join the association.
My hope is that the agency will get the recognition that it deserves and get the branding that it deserves so that people can actually know us, which would allow us to reach out and help even more people.
Personally, I look forward to becoming as comfortable in my HR position as I was as the special assistant to the president.
Describe what CCSA means to you, on
a personal level, in 15 words or less.
The quintessential advocate for children, families, providers and the field of early care and education.
“… just knowing that I’m helping or that I can be supportive to staff when they really need it – it’s the little wins that excite me … For them to reach out and say thank you for the support is very satisfying. Just knowing that we’re able to help the staff in a time of need or help them accomplish goals, that’s what I’m here for, that’s what I love.”
”
-Teresa Graves
Human Resources Director
