Staff Bios
THE OWNERS
Pat DePan - Patricia DePan is the Owner and Administrative Director of Care-A-Lot. She founded Care-A-Lot, which was originally located at Rt. 5 and Beach Roads, in 1985. She designed and contracted construction of the current building built for the specific needs of young children in 1987. She has a BS in Child Psychology and Certification in Early Childhood Development. She is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and has attended national conventions of the NAEYC in Chicago, Washington, Toronto and New York City as well as most local conferences. Her business education was accomplished at Bryant and Stratton Business Institute. She has also completed the Red Cross Infant- Child CPR Course. Mrs. DePan has four children and five grandchildren. She lives in Angola with her husband of 40 years! In her spare time she can be found with her grandchildren doing art activities, singing and reading children's booksMr. Bill - Bill DePan joined our staff as Assistant Administrative Director on June 1, 2002. He has a degree in Business Management from Empire State College, which he earned during his 20 years with Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford to run our office full time. He successfully completed our recent Red Cross Infant/Child First Aid Course. Bill is Pat DePan's husband and father of four children and four grandchildren. He brings us not only his talents in the office, but a variety of handyman skills!! You will often find him on an errand with a young 'handyman assistant'. Welcome Mr. Bill!
CENTER DIRECTOR
Miss Michelle -Michelle Keller has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She comes to us with lots of experience in the classroom and management. Michelle was a substitute teacher in the public schools before becoming a lead teacher at Brierwood in 2002. Two years later she took on the responsibilities of assistant director at that center, leaving only after her second child was born. In 2009 she took the position of Assistant Director at The Learning Cottage in Hamburg. Miss Michelle lives in Hamburg with her husband and two children.
OUR TEACHERS
Miss Ashley - Ashley Kotar has her Child Development Associate Credential. She was the lead teacher in a preschool classroom at an area center since 2007. She just recently bought a new home in Angola, which she is very happy and excited about. In Ashley's spare time she likes to walk her dog named Blueberry, read and be outside as much as possible.
Miss Shauna- Shauna Condon is our Lead Toddler teacher. She comes to us with an extensive educational background in childhood education field. Shauna has her Bachelors degree from SUNY Fredonia and is currently working on her masters in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages. She loves teaching children and watching them learn and grow. Shauna lives in Derby and in her spare time likes to sing, hike, camp, read and play with her dog named "Beans".
OUR TEACHER AIDS
Miss Amanda - Amanda Tomczak graduated from Gowanda Central High School. After school she worked at MacDonald's for five years, as a crew trainer and then a manager. Amanda is the mother of Hailey and lives in Angola with her, her husband, Leo, and two dogs and a cat! Amanda just loves being with kids of all ages!
Miss Breann- Breann Hubert is our Assistant Toddler Teacher. She is currently attending ECC to pursue her Associates Degree. Breann's mom is one of our Toddler teacher's at our Derby center, so she is been apart of the Care-A-Lot family for a while! She lives in Irving with her Mom and Dad, bird named Bandit, and her cat named Kitty. In Breann's free time she likes to listen to music, attend concerts, hang out with her friends, go shopping and write.