Meet your partners in early childhood impact
Meet the ECCLA team
Maegan Lokteff
Executive Director
she/her/hers
(720) 588-2841
Contact me about: Advocacy/Policy, Funding/Grants, Partnerships and Collaboration, ECCLA/Council Representation, Operations, Meeting Invitations
Stephanie Martin
Program Director
she/her/hers
(720) 741-2896
Contact me about: Coaching, Reflective Supervision, Coach Credential Scholarship, Data and Evaluation, Membership Support
Shannon Hall
Senior Program Director
she/her/hers
(720) 899-3047
Contact me about: Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant, TEACH Early Childhood® Colorado Scholarship Program
Cheryl Gould
Administrative Assistant
(she/her/hers)
Enola Garland
Associate Program Director
she/her/hers
(720) 699-8283
Contact me about: Professional Development Services / Technical Assistance, Scholarship + Grant Payments for all programs, Sponsorships, Events, Website & Listserv
Dr. Maegan Lokteff
Executive Director
Originally from far northern California, Maegan Lokteff has spent over 20 years working with children and families. After completing her undergraduate work at the University of Idaho with a BS in Child Development and Family Relations and a BS in Recreation, she spent the next several years working in early care and education programs, after-school programs, and summer day camps as both a teacher and administrator. She has also spent several years working with families experiencing domestic violence, been a center director for a university-based early care and education program, and worked as a CDA and Accreditation Coordinator for Child Care Resource and Referral in Northern Utah.
In the spring of 2014, Maegan completed her PhD in Family and Human Development with an emphasis in child development and early care and education at Utah State University and took over the Executive Director position for Grand Beginnings, a non-profit serving as the Early Childhood Council and Child Care Resource and Referral for Grand and Jackson counties. Maegan has a passion for building strong early childhood systems that support whole child and family development that meet the unique needs of Colorado’s diverse communities.
She is excited to be moving this work from the local to the state level as she joins ECCLA and looks forward to continuing to work towards the shared vision that all Colorado children are healthy, valued, and thriving.
Shannon Hall
Senior Program Director
Originally from Colorado, Shannon Hall has worked in the early care and education field since 1997, as both a teacher and a director. She holds Master of Science degrees in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University and Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy from Erikson Institute. Shannon joined ECCLA in January 2019 after Qualistar Colorado closed its doors. She currently serves as the Director of Workforce Supports, which includes the TEACH Early Childhood® Colorado Scholarship Program and the Family Child Care Home Improvement available throughout the state. She also enjoys facilitating trainings that relate to early childhood and leadership in the field. During her off hours, Shannon also enjoys teaching early childhood part-time at Colorado Mountain College.
Shannon is extremely passionate about the early childhood field, and it is her belief that an early childhood education of the highest quality is essential to child development, and early childhood educators play a critical role in that. In her free time, Shannon enjoys traveling, reading, movies, and spending time with her family.
Enola Garland
Associate Program Director
Enola (she/her) is a passionate advocate for early childhood education with over a decade of experience. A serendipitous opportunity as a teacher’s aide in a before- and after-school child care program blossomed into a career working with young children and the adults who nurture them. After nine years as a preschool teacher, Enola took her classroom burnout as an opportunity to step into leadership and workforce support. She combines her hands-on classroom experience with specialized expertise as an observer/assessor, coach, and trainer to support early childhood professionals.
At heart, Enola believes that collaboration is the key to meaningful change in early childhood education. For her, that means being a bridge between classrooms and systems, between voices and policymakers, and between the early childhood we have and the one we envision.
A Colorado-California hybrid, Enola spent her childhood in the foothills of the Rockies, teenage years on the West Coast, and early adulthood between both worlds. She currently resides in Castle Rock where she lives with her partner, a dog, and a senior-baby cat. She still struggles to not say “rad,” “gnarly,” “umm yeah no,” or call people “dude” in professional settings.
Stephanie Martin
Program Director
Stephanie Martin joined ECCLA in March 2022 as the Data and Evaluation Coordinator. It is exciting for her to be back in the world of Councils as Stephanie oversaw Routt County’s early childhood system, serving as the Council Coordinator for First Impressions from 2005-2019.
Hailing from Alabama, Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University (War Eagle!) and a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education from Jacksonville State University. Stephanie is a lifelong learner, completing the Coaching Consortium in 2015 and becoming a Buell Fellow in 2019. Teaching ECE classes for Colorado Northwestern Community College keeps Stephanie ingrained in impacts and outcomes for families and children statewide. After 20 years in Steamboat, Stephanie is almost considered a local. You will find Stephanie enjoying time with family, friends, traveling with her husband, reading, and enjoying outdoor activities.
Cheryl Gould
Administrative Assistant
Cheryl is a lifelong resident of Cañon City. She has been married for 40 years and is the mother of two grown children and a grandmother to two granddaughters.
For 30 years, she has owned and operated a large for-profit childcare center in Fremont County. She was honored to be named Early Childhood Professional of the Year by Qualistar Colorado in 2017.
Cheryl is a firm believer in education, emphasizing that we always have something to learn not only from professional development and college coursework, but also from each other. She feels that everyone has a story and that we all need someone to share the path with.
ECCLA is the membership association for the Early Childhood Councils across the state. If you have a local need, we recommend that you reach out directly to your Early Childhood Council. We are not a regulatory agency, and we are unable to settle disputes or provide support with any issues relating to child care licensing, Early Childhood Council staff, or other challenges that may exist outside of our scope of work.
Contact us
7850 Vance Drive
Suite 280
Arvada, CO 80003
(720) 588-2840
The ECCLA team is mostly remote. Visits to the office are by appointment only.
