bloom! Founder & Executive Director
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say; we did it ourselves.”
“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.”
Risha McLellan
She may spend her day in the classrooms of little ones, but Risha McLellan has big thoughts when it comes to helping children learn and thrive. In her role as the Executive Director of bloom! Risha is the keeper of a unique vision in early education. That vision? That children thrive when their teachers have a deep understanding of child development principles and can confidently apply them, on the spot, in the classroom.
Risha’s love for quality early education began when her children were young. Her passion deepened during her excellent graduate experiences at Indiana Purdue University and she is currently researching development and its relationship to education as she pursues her PhD in a joint program through Loyola University and Erikson Institute in Chicago, Illinois.
When she’s not pondering the education of young children, Risha loves to garden and is at least partially responsible for Starbucks’ financial success. Risha and her husband have two grown children who live way too far away with their beloved new granddaughters. A BIG dog named Mac fills some of the void.
On My Bookshelf
Connections Over Compliance; Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline, Lori L. Desautels, Ph.D.
The Upper Elementary Years; Ensuring Success inGrades 3-6, Christine Finnan
Why Don’t Students Like School, Daniel T. Willingham
Think Again. Adam Grant