MSCCA Legacies

Jennifer Nizer is no stranger to the child care community in Maryland. Jennifer’s most recent position in Maryland was the director at Johns Hopkins Bayview Child Development Center, an employee-based child care program, where her and the amazing teachers at that program achieved and maintained NAEYC accreditation.

During the 14 years of working at Johns Hopkins Bayview, Jennifer had the opportunity to be the president of the Baltimore City Child Care Association and then moved to working at the state level with the Maryland State Child Care Association (MSCCA). She also received her master’s degree from Towson University in early childhood education during that time. Jennifer was then elected as president of the MSCCA where she worked tirelessly on the behalf of child care centers to assure early childhood programs had a seat at the table with MSDE, the Governor’s Office and several other agencies in the State of Maryland. Jennifer remained president for 6 years where she served on several committee’s including, the quality rating and improvement system, MD EXCELS, revamp of the Child Care Credentialing system, the Training Advisory committee and working with the Public Policy committee to provide testimony in Annapolis on Universal Pre-k, to name a few. She also participated on various work groups such as, The Maryland Family Engagement Framework, Dispute Resolution and the Guide to Pedagogy.

Jennifer’s work with public policy and her engagement with MSDE afforded her the opportunity to be appointed as the Office of Child Care Advisory Council Co-chair and was the first early childhood educator to be appointed to the P-20 Leadership Council through the Governor’s Office. Jennifer was also adjunct faculty at Towson University, Howard County Community College and the Community College of Baltimore County throughout her career.

Family is extremely important to Jennifer. For a time, she moved to Clearwater FL to be near her sister and nieces. While in Florida she worked as a leader of a local Tampa Bay early childhood institute and most recently traveled as a quality assurance validator/accreditation support specialist for a small early childhood company. Upon her return to Maryland in 2018, Jennifer served as the Director of the Office of Child Care for the Maryland State Department of Education until 2022. She is currently the Senior Vice President of Child and Youth Programs for the Armed Services YMCA National Headquarters.

Jennifer has always been an advocate for children and families. Ensuring that children and families have access to high quality child care is her priority. Jennifer’s passion for excellence has been a driving force in the Maryland Child Care industry. That is what made her MSCCA’s inaugural honoree of the MSCCA Passion for Excellence Grant. Jennifer’s leadership has paved the way for future generations of passionate Early Childhood Educators and leaders.

Charles “Chuck” Wainwright earned a Bachelors Degree in Special Education from Syracuse University (1968) and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Denver (1973), and has received the National Child Care Association’s National Administrator’s Credential (NAC). In 2003, he was named the Washington County Chamber of Commerce “Administrator of the Year” for Non-public schools.

Mr. Wainwright has almost 40 years experience teaching and administering programs for children and youth. He has worked in the fields of Special Education, Juvenile Delinquency, Correctional Education (incarcerated youth), Psychological Services, and Educational Research.

Following 10 years of directing programs in Special Education (including pre-school handicapped children), Chuck was the Director of The Learning Center (formerly Surrey Child Care Center) in Hagerstown, Maryland for 19 years. The center was licensed for 285 children from six weeks through school-age. The Learning Center was Nationally Accredited by the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA); had received MSDE’s State Accreditation, and had earned the Child Care Administration’s highest Child Care Center Credential (Admin Level 4).

Mr. Wainwright has held numerous positions on the Board of Directors of the Maryland State Child Care Association (MSCCA); including the 2nd Vice President (Legislative Committee Chair.); and has served as President of the Washington County Children’s Council; Region III Representative to the National Board of Directors of Child Care in Health Care; and President of the Washington County Chapter of MSCCA. In 2024, Chuck retired from his most recent MSCCA board position of Emeritus.

Mr. Wainwright served on the Task Force on Inclusive Child and After School Care; the Early Care and Education Committee of the Subcabinet for Children, Youth, and Families; the State Judy Hoyer Center Advisory Council; Washington County’s Child Care Resource Center (A.P.P.L.E.S.) Advisory Committee; and the Hagerstown Community College Early Childhood Education Advisory Committee. He also served on the Governor’s Advisory Council for ADHD.

Chuck has been a MSDE State Accreditation Validator, and a NECPA Validator. Mr. Wainwright also taught classes at Hagerstown Community College where he mentored Child Care professionals in Washington County, many of whom now direct or own child care centers in Maryland.

Chuck is a pillar of professionalism and advocacy for families and children and a strong mentor for all those learning to navigate through the childcare industry waters. He is a wealth of knowledge and is generous in sharing his expertise. Chuck’s other passion is sports. You’ll rarely see him without some kind of Maryland sports team swag on. He participates in numerous community events around Washington County and is known and loved by all who he meets. Chuck has never met a stranger!