Royale Lockhart

Experience

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  North Queen Anne Child Care

  May 2005 - Jun 2012

  Center Director

  Oversaw all operations for center, directing team of 30. Led marketing and fundraising efforts to promote services to community, gain financial resources, and build community. Invested in and developed staff; handled recruiting, interviewing, and hiring decisions. Interfaced cross functionally with to facilitate website development and manage facilities. Ensured compliance with state and local regulations.Highlights of this role include:- Aligned program pricing with comparable programs within community, improving financial standing and enabling higher pay and better benefits for staff.- Drove significant improvements to HR management, establishing first employee handbook, formalizing and documenting policies and procedures, and creating parent handbook.- Improved employee experience and retention by transitioning to simple and generous PTO system, introducing retirement benefits, and increasing pay.- Redesigned food menus for children to bring program into compliance with state and Federal Food Program requirements, research regulations and guidance, submitting plans to Public Health Nutritionist for review, and coordinating with food service vendor. Show less

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  Life Arts

  Jun 2011 - Jul 2017

  Executive Director / Training and Development

  Led and developed 3 learning programs, facilitating partnerships with local schools. Oversaw general program operations, developed curricula for all programs, and trained and coordinated 30 volunteers annually.Highlights of this role include:- Served as lead for Team Midway, coalition of local businesses and local churches that partnered with schools to provide programming for low-income children and families; expanded partnership to include local police department, library, and CHI Franciscan Rehabilitation Hospital.- Spearheaded and administered after school art education program in alignment with guidelines from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI); program expanded to serve 120+ children annually, providing safe and enriching environment for children.- Collaborated with Highline School District to launch Pre-K Play & Learn program, focused on facilitating parent interactions with their children to facilitate kindergarten readiness; created, tested, and implemented curriculum to address learning styles and optimized communication strategies. - Received grant to fund programs for semester, successfully writing and submitting grant. Show less

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  Vision House

  Jan 2013 - Mar 2014

  Center Director

  Provided leadership to organization struggling after embezzlement scheme came to light. Managed day-to-day center functions, overseeing financial decision making, budgeting, and fundraising, as well as HR and general operations. Advised Board of Directors on financial position and operational KPIs. Directed team of 25.Highlights of this role include:- Investigated unusual financial records identified by Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS) audit, eventually identifying significant misappropriations of funds for years by previous employee. This find led organization to introduce stronger transparency and internal control measures to govern financial management and to educate senior-level staff on proper accounting techniques.- Developed new employee handbook and formalized standard operating procedures (SOPs).- Spearheaded change management to deconstruct and reform toxic organization culture, leading transition from culture of favoritism to that of accountability and respect. Show less

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  Grace Children's Center

  Jul 2017 - Dec 2021

  Executive Director

  Direct all operations, learning and development, HR functions, facilities management, and program development. Emphasize and lead community building, manage customer relations and coordinate marketing initiatives. Manage team of 22. Routinely build trust and buy-in from Board of Directors and church leadership.Highlights of this role include:- Drove program growth by capitalizing on underutilized space and resources and conducting personal reach to families on waiting list to bring in new customers.- Guided organization through COVID-19 pandemic by adapting services for essential workers, adjusting staff schedules, adopting paperless systems, and securing PPP funding; closed 2020 with $230K, 97% staff retention, and no COVID-19 spread within center.- Spearheaded rebranding initiative, including logo redesign, updated signage, and new website design. - Developed strategic plan to address organizational debt by increasing ratio of revenue to expenses: increased tuition to competitive rate, budgeted for remodeling to expand available space and facilitate growth of customer base, and acquired grants to cover program expenses.- Initiated and executed modernization solutions, transitioning accounting, HR, and customer data management from paper to electronic systems to significantly improve efficiency, provide transparency, and equip leadership with enhanced reporting for decision-making.- Developed system to fairly allocate federal grant money, awarded by government due to continuous operations during pandemic, creating system to distribute funds with unanimous Board approval. Show less

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  University of Idaho

  Apr 2022 - now

  Lead Quality Childcare Consultant
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  HOPE - Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences

  Aug 2023 - now

  HOPE Facilitator and Champion

  Facilitators are trained to deliver the Introduction to HOPE workshop out in the community. Facilitators are drivers in spreading the core concepts of the HOPE framework with key partners, community members, and staff. HOPE Champion Certification program. As a Champion, I am certified to deliver in-depth technical assistance to organizations seeking to implement the HOPE Framework.

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  Darkness to Light

  Mar 2024 - now

  Stewards of Children Facilitator

  A Darkness to Light Authorized Facilitator is an individual who has been trained by Darkness to Light to deliver the Stewards of Children® training program to adults in their organization or community. Facilitators model the core values of Stewards of Children® in their community by talking openly about child sexual abuse and engaging adults in discussion.