Jean White has worked with young children for the past thirty-three years. She graduated from Northern Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in physical education and health in 1976 and began teaching four-year-olds through the Head Start program. She continued teaching in early childhood until 1987. Then she became a part-time teacher and part-time director through the US Army Child Development Services Program in Munich, Germany. In 1993, her program for young children grew to a size that it required a full-time director. From that time until 2009, Jean directed programs. Jean's strengths are growing programs into high-quality care and learning centers for young children. In 2007, Jean earned her masters of education-early childhood from the University of Phoenix. Now Jean is passing on her legacy by teaching early childhood education classes to students at the college level. Jean has been a presenter on numerous occasions at early childhood conferences, been keynote speaker, and worked as an early childhood consultant for many years.However, Jean's greatest and most important successes of all have been being a wife to Leon and a mother to Rebecca and Brian. They have been her gifts from God and the light of her life in the world.