My name is Elsa Bonilla, I have three children Stefany 20 years old, Nicky 18 and my son Ruben 16 years old.  I was born in Nogales Arizona.  I currently live in Tucson AZ.

I have been a preschool teacher for 13 years,  Ten of those years were spent in Child Parent Centers Head Start working in Nogales, Rio-Rico and Tucson.  I was also part of Sunshine Private Preschool and the last preschool I worked  was  Outerlimits Preschool in Tucson.

I have had an opportunity to work with and incorporate programs into a preschool curriculum like, High Scope, The Reggio- Emilia Approach, Emergent Learning Curriculum and Project Based Learning.  I have been able to be a part of pioneer programs like the incorporation of Teaching Strategies GOLD.  I have worked very close with Quality First.  I am familiar with much type of observations tools.

At this moment I am working on improving teachers’ strategies for smooth kindergarten transitions for tribal preschool children at the Tohono O’odham Nation.  I work for the Tohono O’odham Community College and I currently work with Head Start, Child Care Program and Home base programs.

I believe and fight for the Power to the Profession because I have lived the issues that we are currently facing in this field.    I feel that I have enough experience to understand Arizona’s need toward High Quality Education for children through support for Higher Education and professional development.  I understand the financial struggle we are facing when it comes to having decent pay for our professionals.  I know of the importance of advocating towards having The Early childhood career turn into a profession.  Living here so close to the border I am seeing the impact that the current president has with our families.  I am also seeing the impact it has on The Tohono O’odham nation and how all this is affecting our families and our children.  I am currently a supporter with an initiative in Tucson called Strong Start Tucson.

I also have an understanding of the Mexican/American Border issues and how this is affecting our programs. I am also aware of Native American issues we have in the nation.

I am bilingual I speak English and  I also speak read and write Spanish. I am currently working on learning the O’odham language by taking a language class .  I have taken a Tohono O’odham History and Culture Class to better understand the people.   I am also working on strategies on how to incorporate the Himdag (culture) into the curriculum.