Kathe Petchel, founder of Bright Beginnings Preschool, Charlottesville, Virginia has been an early childhood leader for 36 years. Since 1984, Kathe has operated 3 successful childcare centers and is active in multiple state and national early childhood organizations and several national mastermind groups. A former public school early childhood educator, she is a certified outdoor classroom specialist and actively supports and mentors owners and directors. Kathe is an industry expert on hiring and training staff, facilitating staff development and growing teams, onboarding and training as well as successfully mentoring programs looking to grow or sell. Since joining HINGE Brokers in 2017, Kathe has presented for more than 75 groups via webinars and conferences, including the World Forum in Macao, China. She was recently featured in Child Care Exchanges’ Post COVID-19 video series. She has created over 50 presentations to date with topics ranging from ‘Engaging Staff with Career Ladders’ and “Team Development- Building Upon Strengths” to ‘The Benefits of Investing in an Outdoor Classroom.’ At HINGE Advisors, Kathe heads the Business Development team, serves as Broker Support and consults.