Director

Carin Elliott
Carin accepted a position with Bright Start Learning Center in September of 2008 as the Associate Director. She was promoted to be Bright Start’s Director effective July 13, 2009. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Virginia Union University and a Master of Education degree from George Mason University in Curriculum and Instruction with triple licensure in Early Childhood Education (Birth to Grade 3), English as a Second Language (PK-12), and Early Childhood Special Education (Birth to Age 5). During the past ten years, she has had the chance to work with children from varying age, cultural, linguistic, and ability groups throughout Virginia as youth mentor, prodigy, intern, infant and toddler teacher, special educator teacher, basic skills tutor, intern, and tutorial coordinator. Carin absolutely loves children and her work. Carin has been married since August of 2006 and is a new mother of a beautiful little girl. She is excited to not only work at Bright Start but feels extremely fortunate to be a parent of a child who is enrolled here as well. During her free time, she likes to go out on dates with her husband and play with her daughter.

Associate Director

Angel Dungee
Angel first began with Bright Start as the Closing Manager in June 2009 where she had the opportunity to visit several of the classrooms and interact with several of the families and children. Her love for children and drive to create a safe and developmentally appropriate learning environment comes from her many years of experience working with children as well as the expert level of training that she received from George Mason University. At George Mason, she earned a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Psychology and Masters of Education Degree in pre-kindergarten through third grade Curriculum and Instruction. Some of her experiences in the local area include several internships teaching children in preschool through grade three, caring for children ages 18 months through 12 years of age in a child care center of a local gym, and teaching in the (SACC) School Aged Child Care program for Fairfax County Public Schools. Also, as a former teacher of Prince Georges County Public Schools and Arlington County Public Schools, Angel has over three years of experience teaching grades kindergarten through grade two

In her new role, she looks forward to continuing to build positive relationships with Bright Start’s families and children and maintaining a nurturing environment in which the children is provided with the best care and educational opportunities possible. As the Associate Director, Angel understands that each child spends a huge part of their day here, and therefore, she truly believes communication is key to bridging the gap between home and center care.