Health & Safety

License-Exempt Provider Project Manager

Chandrika Poole

Chandrika Payton joined the Early Childhood Investment Corporation in November 2020 as the License Provider Project Supervisor. In this role, Chandrika provides leadership and oversight for the implementation of the License Exempt Provider Project. Ms. Payton is a devoted early childhood professional who has an extensive background in supporting young children through system building and providing and sustaining high-quality care and service through collaboration with various stakeholders. Ms. Payton brings tremendous experience working with people from a variety of backgrounds, cultivating relationships, community engagement, facilitation, and local and state grant management. Ms. Payton received her Bachelor of Science in Counseling from Rochester University.

Senior Program Director

Donna J. Wade

Donna J. Wade, M.Ed. joins ECIC as our  Senior Program Director, overseeing ECIC’s early care and education programming. Donna brings more than 25 years of experience in the early care and education field, specializing in advancing the quality of care for young children. Most recently, the past six years, she has served as Director of Quality Services for a non-profit organization supporting the early care and learning field in Alaska. Donna’s portfolio included: managing statewide childcare initiatives, improvement systems, leading Alaska’s implementation of QRIS, and supervising staff. Prior to her work in Alaska, she also worked in a range of roles on quality assessment, professional development and technical assistance with the Pennsylvania Keystone STARS program and is a frequent speaker at conferences and sought-after ECE instructor in higher education. Among Donna’s national affiliations, she is active with BUILD, the National Association for the Education of the Young Child, the National Black Child Institute and the National Professional Development Center for Inclusion. Donna holds a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from West Chester University of PA and a BA in Organization Management from Immaculata University.

Training Support Specialist

Dana Williams

Dana Williams joined ECIC as the Training Support Specialist in July 2022. Dana has over 15 years of experience serving in the early childhood education field working as both an educator for young children from infant through Prekindergarten, as well as in leadership positions helping teams of professionals grow and develop through training and professional development. She is passionate about helping improve early childhood education by empowering those who teach and care for children, sharing the importance of early childhood education and how it can drastically improve communities, and helping all families have affordable and accessible early education for their children.  Dana’s mission is to make an impact in the lives of children and help bring understanding about their development that gives them a solid foundation to grow on for life.

Dana received my Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and leadership from Rasmussen University.

License-Exempt Provider Coach

Rusel Mahdi

Rusel has more than 15 years working in the community.  She has worked with Wayne County Department of Health, Human, and Veteran Services as a Nutritionist and public health community coordinator. She worked alongside numerous agencies to assist with community initiatives. As a community nutritionist in the health department, her work consisted in identification and assessment of nutrition problems in the community as well as the design, implementation and evaluation of intervention programs. She provided individual assessment and counseling support for breastfeeding moms, pregnant, and postpartum women, infants and children and aided in helping improve birth outcomes and early childhood health. Her passion is health equity and education for all.

Rusel received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Madonna University. Also, she holds a certificate with the Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance and she is Certified Lactation Consultant (CLC).