Our Board
Meet the amazing Play Adventures Board Members. The uniquely qualified team provides an invaluable source of knowledge, expertise, experience and oversight to all our activities and teaching programs and help us provide the very best support for your child.
Noelle Chandler
Secretary
Originally an east coast native, Noelle Chandler is now the Arts Program Specialist at Merced COE and traverses the county daily doing theatre, music, dance, and visual art. She believes in process-based, developmentally appropriate, standards-aligned expression, and works to show classrooms that arts integration at this level is not only possible, but necessary. Play Adventures is her (and her son’s) favorite place to be.
Dr. Grace Paradis
Board Member
Grace is an associate professor in the Psychology & Child Development Department at California State University, Stanislaus. She has been teaching for over 15 years. Her areas of interest include parent-child interactions, language development, and media / technology. In her free time, Grace loves playing board games, video games, and cooking.
Dr. Eric Walle
Board Member
An Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of California, Merced. Eric's research examines emotion, social and emotional development, and developmental transitions (e.g., the onset of walking). He is co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Emotional Development, has numerous peer-reviewed publications, and his work was featured in the Netflix docuseries, Babies. Eric serves on the editorial board of the journals Affective Science, Cognition and Emotion, Emotion Review, and Infancy.
Stacie Guzman
Board Member
Stacie is a lifelong public servant who has dedicated more than 20 years to serving the residents and communities of the San Joaquin Valley. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Merced County Association of Governments where she is responsible for the administration of our region’s public transit services with The Bus and the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS), as well as the management of both landfills in Merced County. Prior to joining the team at MCAG, Stacie was the Associate Director at the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State where she managed several valley wide initiatives such as the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley and the San Joaquin Valley Housing Collaborative. She began her career as Policy Advisor to former Congressman Dennis Cardoza. Stacie earned her B.A. in Political Science from Fresno State and her M.P.A. from CSU Stanislaus. Stacie is a native of Firebaugh, CA. When she isn’t watching football (GO BILLS), she loves to read and be creative through cooking, crochet, painting, or just generally making a mess with her kids.
Kim Jarrett
Board Member
Kim holds a BA in Child Development and is a multiple subjects credentialed teacher, with a background in Waldorf education. She has long proven her ability to keep the integrity and quality of our program to the highest standards. She is a competent leader and teacher while modeling play-work and best practices for the needs of our children. She has an integral role in our staff development. Kim has been practicing play-worker for over two years.
Miranda Griswold
Board Member
[about Miranda]