Early Childhood Education Program Staff

The ECE program has two full-time, tenured faculty members and many outstanding part-time instructors with expertise and experience in Early Childhood Education, Human Development and Family Studies, and other areas related to children and families. Meet the faculty.

	Crystal Swank, MS Professor, Program Coordinator Professor Swank earned her master of science degree in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she focused on early childhood education and development. She was a part-time instructor at TMCC for 13 years before being hired full-time in 2003. She is also a TMCC alumna. Professor Swank is a native of Southern California and has lived in Northern Nevada since 1980. She is active in the ECE community and is especially interested in issues of professional development in ECE, the prevention of child abuse and neglect, and quality in ECE programs.
	Sue Turbow, MA Professor
	Jennifer Bascom Part-Time Instructor
	Diane Branson, PhD, CCC-SLP Part-Time Instructor Ms. Branson is a speech pathologist, part-time instructor in the Early Childhood Education program at Truckee Meadows Community College and a doctoral candidate in Early Childhood Special Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has presented workshops at statewide and national conferences on a variety of topics including: inclusion, collaborative consultation, transition from infant-toddler services into preschool, and the early detection of young children with autism spectrum disorder. Ms. Branson has been a part-time instructor at TMCC for many years, specializing in courses about children with challenging conditions.
	Joanne Everts, Ph.D. Part-Time Instructor Dr. Everts works for the Washoe County School District, where she directs the Early Childhood Education Program. The program serves about 500 children (infants through 4-years-old) in Washoe County. Dr. Everts' doctoral degree is in Child Development, and she has been working in the field of Early Childhood Education for over 25 years. She has two children, a daughter who attends UNR and a son who is married and lives in Portland, Oregon. She and her husband enjoy hiking, snow shoeing and skiing in the mountains. They have lived in Reno since 1988.
	Rhonda Lafountaine Part-Time Instructor
	Tamara Anderson, MS Part-Time Instructor
	Cynthia Roller, MS Part-Time Instructor
	Theresa Hagerty, MS Part-Time Instructor
	Linda O'Neil, MS Part-Time Instructor Mrs. O'Neil earned her master of science degree in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has been a part-time instructor at TMCC since 1989 and specializes in teaching courses on infants and toddlers. Mrs. O'Neil works as an Infant Development Specialist for the State of Nevada at Renown and St. Mary's Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Her extensive experience includes certification (NIDCAP, APIB) for premature infant assessments, certified NICU feeding specialist, and Infant-Toddler Director at UNR's Child and Family Center.
	Terry Randolph Part-Time Instructor Ms. Randolph works for the Washoe County School District Early Childhood Education Program as Coordinator for the Classroom On Wheels Program and Director of the Sparks High Community Learning Center. She earned her bachelor of science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. She also holds a State of Nevada Early Childhood Education Teacher's License. She has two grown children, and likes to read, hike, camp and travel.
	Elena Righettini, PhD Part-Time Instructor Mrs. Righettini earned her master of arts in literacy degree at the University of Nevada, Reno and is currently completing a doctoral degree in literacy and second language acquisition at UNR. She has been a teacher of infants and toddlers, preschool and elementary age children, and at the college level over the past 35 years. Her experience includes running her own infant, toddler and preschool program in California, a Master Teacher/Trainer at the UNR Child and Family Research Center, teacher educator at Head Start in Reno, and a teacher in the Washoe County School District for 10 years. More recently, she has taught at UNR, including courses in literacy and instruction of children who speak English as a second language. Mrs. Righettini has taught many Early Childhood Education courses at TMCC over the past few years.
	Lori Schoen, MS Part-Time Instructor
	Allison Smith Part-Time Instructor