Early Childhood Coalition Board of Directors
ECC Board members represent state and local agencies, businesses, non-profits, universities, SMC pediatricians, and the community. Current board members include:
Ginger Welch
Ginger Welch is a licensed psychologist and infant mental health specialist in Oklahoma, where she maintains a private practice in addition to her full-time teaching position with Oklahoma State University. Her work focuses on issues related to child health, child maltreatment, and early childhood education, and she is the author of two books, “How Can I Help? A Teacher’s Guide to Early Childhood Behavioral Health” and “The Neglected Child.” She has been involved in the Stillwater community for many years, and has previously served as board President for the Saville Center for Child Advocacy and as state President for the Oklahoma Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. She has been a member of the Early Childhood Coalition for five years.
Sherre Davidson
Sherre Davidson is a retired Early Childhood Specialist who provided services, technical supervision and training on early childhood issues through the Child Guidance Service (Oklahoma Dept. of Public Health). She is a founding board member of the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health as well as the Oklahoma Family Resource Coalition. Her professional focus has been in the areas of early brain development, support services for families with young children and developmental considerations for young children involved with child welfare or divorce. She has been active in state and community issues involving young children for many years. Sherre has been a member of the Early Childhood Coalition since its inception.
Mary Melton
Mary Melton is a licensed professional counselor who works with children and adolescents. She is employed by the Saville Center, a local child advocacy center, has a private practice, and also serves at the Stillwater Head Start mental health consultant. Mary has been a counselor in Payne County since 1998 when she worked in the Child Guidance Program of the Payne County Health Dept. She specializes in early childhood, trauma, adjustment issues, anxiety/depression, parent child relational problems and other childhood issues. She has a working relationship with area schools, pediatricians, DHS, law enforcement, district attorney’s office, Stillwater medical center, and other community agencies. She has been a member of the Early Childhood Coalition since 2015.
Kendra Hall
Kendra Hall is a Child Development Specialist and Certified Child and Parenting Specialist. Kendra has worked in a variety of childcare settings, including Head Start where she taught Pre-K. She has served as a Child Development Specialist at the Payne County Health Department in Stillwater since 2016; starting in the Child Guidance Clinic and currently serving as the Child Development Specialist in the early intervention program, SoonerStart. Kendra has experience in child development, parenting, early childhood classroom, and developmental screening/evaluation tools. She has been a member of the Early Childhood Coalition since 2017.
Peggy Emde
Peggy Emde is currently the Child Development Program Director and faculty member with Northern Oklahoma College. She has been a part of various organizations, as well as boards in the community. Peggy’s entire career has been in the early childhood field, having been a preschool teacher, child care owner/director and family advocate. A longtime Stillwater resident, she has been a member of the Coalition from the beginning.
Tim Hardin
After retiring from the OSU Engineering Faculty, Tim Hardin was elected to the Stillwater City Council in 2023. He is active in our community as a Rotarian since 2018 and now serves as President-Elect of Stillwater Frontier Rotary Club. He volunteers for weekly food recovery for Our Daily Bread. In addition, he is active in his church's community outreach efforts. Along with his wife, Dr. Amy Hardin, Tim has a desire to improve the support services for families with young children in our community. He joined the Early Childhood Coalition Board in 2023.
Lisa Cundiff
Lisa Cundiff retired from Payne County Health Department after 39 years of service. She was the Business Manager for Payne, Kay, Noble and Pawnee counties. Lisa joined the Early Childhood Coalition in July, 2019. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors and is the Treasurer.
Laura Shellhammer, Executive Director
Laura is a Child Development Specialist and Certified Child and Parenting Specialist. She is the Stillwater HealthySteps Coordinator at Stillwater Medical Pediatrics, as well as the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant with Iowa Tribe Early Childhood Center and Headstart/Early Headstart in Payne, Logan and Noble counties. She has been involved with the Early Childhood Coalition since its inception in 2010.
Scott Martin, M.D.
Dr. Martin has been a practicing pediatrician in Stillwater, Oklahoma since 2001. His practice has long included Healthy Steps as an important component to the overall care of kids in his practice. He has also been involved with the Saville Center in Stillwater, through their multidisciplinary team, in the care of kids going through situations of trauma and abuse. He has been a board member of the Early Childhood Coalition since its formation.
Kiah Butcher
I have been in business and marketing for the past decade and have enjoyed time in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, and now Oklahoma. I have served the Stillwater area in multiple volunteer capacities since moving here with my family in 2019. I enjoy utilizing my skills to help organizations grow the community and ensure opportunities for all.