MILWAUKEE — Giving every child a chance to succeed is a never-ending task that requires a dedicated leader.
At the table Tuesday night is retiring Christine Holmes, President and CEO of Penfield Children's Center.
"Reaching children early and we also know a lot more about brain development than we did 20 years ago," said Holmes.
Penfield Children's Center offers a range of early learning services but during her career, Holmes has seen many changes when it comes to early behavioral and emotional needs for children.
"We've seen a lot more trauma in young children. They are experiencing a number of events in their lives at a very early age that they were perhaps experiencing in the past, but we always didn't recognize it," Holmes said @ The Table. "Our therapy services have been adjusted to account for that type of trauma."
She says, "Many of our children have four, five traumatic events before they turn six. And that's really difficult to deal with and if you don't catch it at an early age, it can really lead to some issues for that child later in life."
After a lifetime on the front lines improving the lives of children, Holmes knows what works.
"When I started, we knew that social interactions were necessary," she said. "We knew that some good parenting skills were necessary, but we didn't really understand how that works in a child's brain."
Holmes will stay busy in retirement helping the Penfield Montessori Academy and board.
For more great interviews with key leaders in our community watch @ The Table with Shannon Sims and Charles Benson on TMJ4 at 10 p.m.
