Stacy Petty

Stacy Petty has served as the Director of the Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Council (RMECC) since August 2015, though her involvement with the Council dates back to 2006. Her journey into early childhood began when her own children were young. After volunteering in their preschool classrooms, she became a licensed family child care provider and discovered a lasting passion for supporting young children, families, and early childhood professionals.

From 2000–2013, Stacy taught as an adjunct instructor at several community colleges, including Colorado Mountain College, where she was twice recognized as Adjunct Faculty of the Year at the Timberline Campus in 2007 and 2011. She is also a credentialed early childhood coach and has extensive experience supporting teachers, program leaders, and early childhood programs in their professional growth and continuous quality improvement efforts.

As Council Director, Stacy’s work has expanded beyond individual programs to focus on advocacy and building stronger, more sustainable early childhood systems. She works closely with local and state partners, policymakers, community leaders, providers, families, and businesses to elevate the importance of early care and education and strengthen access, quality, affordability, and workforce stability. A significant part of her work focuses on systems-building strategies, including developing partnerships, aligning resources, and advancing local public and private investment in early childhood across the Council region. She is particularly passionate about helping communities recognize early childhood as essential infrastructure that supports children and families while strengthening the workforce, local businesses, and regional economies.

Stacy holds a BA in English with a minor in Reading and a Master’s in Education with a focus in Elementary Reading and Literacy. Whether working directly with an educator, advocating for the early childhood workforce, or helping communities develop long-term strategies for investing in early care and education, she values collaboration and the opportunity to bring diverse voices together around solutions that work for local communities.

Outside of work, Stacy enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, extended family, and friends. She also enjoys skiing, dogsledding, and spending time with her dogs.