Joyce Preschool Executive Director to Live Abroad in Latin America

Joyce Preschool's Executive Director for the past seven years, Laura Johansson, has announced some exciting news for her family - they will be moving to Latin America in 2011!  Laura, her husband, and their school-aged children will spend a year living out a language and cultural immersion experience that reflects the values of Joyce Preschool.

Joyce Preschool was first established in 1966 and became a Spanish/English two-way immersion program in 1995.  Laura was hired in 2003 as the first Executive Director and has worked to expand the school's capacity to prepare more children and families for school and lifelong learning.

During her tenure, Joyce became incorporated as a nonprofit, established a Board of Directors, and developed formal finance, outreach and program evaluation systems.  The core preschool program grew from 36 to 88 families, with an additional 50 families participating in newer program extensions such as parent-child classes or summer camp.

Board Chair Paola Nuñez-Obetz commended Laura for her work transforming the school into a nationally accredited leader in bilingual, bicultural programming: "She has built a very strong foundation and we're in a really great position right now, thanks to her.  We're going to miss her and she has found a great opportunity for her family, but at the same time, I think we're in a great position to have a transition." 

With a new strategic plan in place, strong community support, and exciting new directions to explore for growth and partnership opportunities, board and staff agree it is an ideal time for a new leader to come in and guide the next stage of Joyce's journey.  Laura's decision to resign later this year allows plenty of time for a well-planned transition process.  She will stay on through the beginning of the coming school year and overlap with the new director to ensure seamless leadership for the school.

This transition brings exciting opportunities both for the school and for Laura's family.  To hear more of Laura's thoughts about her decision or Paola's comments about what this means for the organization, click on the video clips below.

To learn more about the Executive Director position, click here to read the job description. If you know someone who may be interested, please pass it along to him or her.

For questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the school at (612) 823-2447 or e-mail Laura directly at laura.johansson@joycepreschool.org

Click here to view the Executive Director job description.