Cathy Hammond
Educator
Cathy spent 10 years as an English teacher and another 25 as a daycare and school administrator. During this time, she wrote nearly every day - from emergency procedures to grant applications to quarterly updates. She believes this background in business writing helps her approach creative writing with some freedom. As she says, "Having so much practice in business writing allows me to forget the rules of grammar and sentence structure for a minute and wander into the inventive wilderness."
Alpine Academy
In 1995, Cathy opened Alpine as a babysitting center. Since then, Alpine has become a full-time childcare center.
Cathy is passionate about her philosophy of education, which is to hire experienced, energetic, loving people and empower them to use their talents and hearts.
Since Alpine opened, it has served over 3,000 children and trained over 100 teachers, many of whom have gone on to teach older children or manage other daycare centers and schools. To quote Cathy, "There is nothing more important than teaching and learning."
Eagle Creek Academy
When Alpine Academy had been around for 8 years and was busting at the seams, Cathy opened Eagle Creek Academy, a non-profit elementary school to accommodate her growing student body.
Cathy is especially proud that Eagle Creek Academy is a non-profit charity. This means, at the end of the year, all profits go back into Eagle Creek for the following years.
In fact, much of the money that Eagle Creek saves each year goes towards tuition discounts for the children of local nurses, teachers, police, first responders, and the military. One of the best things about Eagle Creek is the way it supports the community.
What's Next
Although Cathy has a great team managing the daycare and the elementary school, she still helps manage new efforts. Lately, she has been exploring ways to offer more programs for children with special needs.
As she says, "Before raising my own children, I thought any child who was not getting straight A's must not be trying hard enough. That was such a narrow view of success. Now that I have raised four very different children, each with his or her distinct abilities and passions, I realize that there are a lot of ways to succeed in the world. I love leading a community where children thrive, and I want to offer that to all children."