President & CEO of Scottdale Early Learning, Inc. MARYUM LEWIS GIBSON

EDUCATION: Gibson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science degree in Non-Profit Leadership from Georgia State University. She also earned her CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) designation from CFRE International in Virginia, and is a past faculty member at the Georgia Center for Nonprofits

IN THIS ROLE: Gibson directs all operations, oversees staff, manages volunteers and strategizes fundraising activities for our award-winning early childhood care and education organization based in the historic Scottdale community of DeKalb County, just east of Atlanta. Mrs. Gibson came to Scottdale in 2013 (as only the second executive leader of the organization) with over a decade of diverse nonprofit leadership experience including fundraising, organizational management, board leadership, volunteer management and consulting. She brings a strong vision around advancing access to high-quality early childhood education for the children of central DeKalb.

The organization has made incredible strides under her leadership over the last eight years. The organization collaborated to begin an innovative program serving refugee children, the Clarkston READY Schools, grew the Parents as Teachers Program from serving 25 families in 2013 to over 100 currently, and partnered with Bright from the Start to offer Early Head Start spaces in the center-based program. The organization has strengthened financially, employee turnover is less than 5% and the Warren Avenue facility has been renovated and upgraded to ensure long-term viability. In January, she was invited to share at Congressional Briefings in Washington DC about the impact and success of the Early Head Start partnership, has presented to the Board of Directors of Bright from the Start about the partnership, and was invited to speak at the Region IV Child Care Development Fund State Convening on the role of child care programs in supporting refugee and immigrant families.

PRIOR TO JOINING SCOTTDALE: Gibson held leadership positions with Quality Care for Children, a statewide childcare resource and referral agency, and Genesis Shelter, a transitional homeless program for families with newborns that included a fully licensed child development center. She serves on the Boards of the DeKalb Library Foundation, the Clarkston Early Learning Task Force and the Community Advisory Board of the Georgia State University Prevention Research Center for Clarkston, Georgia. She is a 2018 graduate of Leadership DeKalb and the 2019 Chair of National Philanthropy Day.