Directors

Ms. Brittany – Co-Director

I am thrilled to continue my journey at Growing Green as co-Director. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity to work for such a great center. Growing Green has always been such a special place to me; I’ve always felt a great sense of community and family.

In 2011, I started at Carthage College working towards a degree in Elementary Education. I knew going into college that I wanted to work with children, I loved playing a part in their developmental process and wanted to make an impact on their life. In 2012, I was referred by a friend of mine that Growing Green was looking for an assistant teacher for their school-age program and that is where my story here begins. I began as an assistant teacher while still in school and was able to learn so much in my first years. During that time I was also coaching soccer for Tremper High School, girls soccer team and coordinating gardening projects in the Kenosha Unified School District. I student taught at KTEC and was also a tutor at Brompton Elementary. Once I graduated in 2015, I was then promoted to a lead teacher! I worked as the lead in room 5 (our preschool classroom), being able to create positive and fulfilling learning opportunities for my children was such a great experience. Although I was an exceptional classroom teacher in 2018, I was promoted to the program assistant. Being program assistant taught me so much; I was able to become a mentor for other teachers as well as work with the director and learn from her about how to run a successful center. Over the last 8 years I realized how much I enjoy the field I chose in early childcare, I am ecstatic that I am able to continue as director at Growing Green.

I was born and raised here in Kenosha. I am newly married to my husband, Robert. We also have our dog, Apollo who we enjoy hanging outdoors with. When I’m not working, you can find me working in my garden or out on the water fishing and kayaking. I also love doing house projects and crafting. Sports are a huge passion of mine; I played soccer for 17 years for different travel teams, Bradford and then at Carthage.

It is important to me to continue to help our center be the best that we can be. I strive to provide a safe, high quality, developmentally appropriate environment for your children. And to also build a cooperative partnership between our program, children, families and the community we serve to ensure our program reaches its full potential.

Angelica Albavera – Assistant Director

I am as excited today as I was when I joined the Growing Green team as the assistant director in the summer of 2021. I was aware of what an amazing team and program Growing Green had due to completing my student teaching with them in the spring of 2020. Prior to Growing Green I worked in the early childhood field as a classroom lead for 8 years. During this time I worked with children ages two to four years old.

My experience in the early childhood field led me to accept an opportunity to teach at the Kenosha Unified School District Head Start Program in February of 2020. During my time with KUSD I taught children ages three to five. This was a challenging time in the world as we navigated the pandemic which ultimately led us to virtual learning. I overcame many challenges when teaching virtually and continued to be as creative as possible while being flexible when planning daily activities.

I completed my associates degree from Gateway Technical College in the spring of 2020. Although I am taking a year to establish myself in my current role as assistant director of Growing Green, I plan on continuing my education in the near future. Even though I was born in Illinois, I grew up in Kenosha. I am newly married to my husband, Frank Hassler as of June 2021. We have two wonderful children, Abel and Mila, with a third arriving June of 2022. We also have three wild cats, Magnolia, Molly and Charlie who like to keep us on our toes. I love spending my free time with family enjoying all of the fun activities Kenosha has to offer. The opportunity to join Growing Green came at an amazing time, as I was ready to take on a more challenging role in the early childhood field. I am delighted to assume the role of assistant director and continue to help this program flourish.