TINY HANDS ACADEMY - Key Persons

Hi, I'm Jessica French. I live in Queensbury with my husband, Jon and our four children (2 of my own and 2 bonus boys) Clayton, Sophia, Keaton and Landon. My husband and I run a youth travel softball team so my free time is usually spent at the ballfield watching our daughter. In the Winter I am usually at the hockey rink watching my boys play hockey! With 4 kids they definitely keep us busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I have been in the Early Childhood field for over 12 years. I was an assistant in a daycare for 10 years and then took ownership 2 ½ years ago. I have had many hours of training and understand the importance of early childhood development! I look forward to starting this new adventure with these wonderful women who share my values, beliefs, and love of education and development of young children! I look forward to creating a learning environment for every child to thrive in.

My name is Nancy Whitmore. I live in Queensbury with my husband. We have 3 amazing daughters and 9 beautiful grandchildren. I teach in the toddler classroom with Melissa. For over 30 years I owned and operated a group family daycare in my home. I have had 100's of hours of training in Early Childhood Education as well as many other aspects of operating a licensed New York State Daycare. In 1994 I earned my CDA( Child Development Associate). I have attended many state and local conferences and truly enjoy continuing to learn about new research and studies on Early Childhood Education. I have been friends with Melissa for over 25 years and even had her oldest son in my daycare when he was a baby. My daughter Jessica took over my daycare as sole proprietor in 2019 after being my assistant and partner for over 10 years. I was honored when Melissa asked me to join her in her Early Intervention Group as her assistant. Based on our love for helping and nurturing young children we have a wonderful personal and professional relationship and she is truly a a joy to work with. I am confident that taking this next step and opening a new preschool with these 3 amazing people and our combined experience and knowledge of Early Childhood Education that we will create a wonderful loving early learning experience for your children.

My name is Pam Conine and I am so happy to be a part of Tiny Hands Academy! I began my career as an early childhood professional in 1983 after receiving my degree in Early Childhood Education from Hudson Valley Community College. I worked in a preschool for 15 years as a classroom teacher for children from 18 months through 5 years old; as the Education Coordinator; and eventually as the Director of the Center. I was then blessed to become a parent of three great kids and worked with my sister Nancy in licensed Family Child Care for 10 years. When my youngest began kindergarten I became an Early Childhood Specialist with the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network where I developed numerous trainings for child care professionals in licensed child care. For the 13 years I worked at the Child Care Network, I have trained over 25 topics and I planned the Annual Early Childhood Conference held each Fall. My career has given me so many opportunities to continue learning about child development in all areas. Brain development and trauma informed care have been the most recent areas of professional development. I believe that children have an innate sense of their own development, that they each follow a similar path but at their own pace and that my role is to offer a classroom rich in varied experiences and follow the lead of the children to enhance the the environment so that they will want to explore and create throughout the day.