about us

MADDY MALIS - President & CEO

During her 40-year history at Federation Early Learning Services, she has held a variety of middle and senior management positions. Her communal leadership positions in the early childhood education community include co-chairing the SE Pennsylvania Child Care Coalition, board member and officer of the Pennsylvania Child Care Association and board member at the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC). She also serves on the United Way’s Early Childhood Education advisory committee and the Child Care Task Force for the Department of Health. She served on the Mayor of Philadelphia’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Children’s Behavioral Health. She is the 2001 recipient of the Award of Excellence for outstanding accomplishments in the field of child care administration for Pennsylvania’s children and families. She is a graduate of the Wexner Tri-State Jewish Leadership program. In addition Ms. Malis provides consultation to area early childhood programs on a variety of topics related to the delivery of quality early childhood education.

FREDDA SATINSKY- Senior Vice President

During her 33 years at FELS, Fredda has served as the agency’s Director of Programs and Services and Center Director of the Lassin Early Learning Center.She has worked in a variety of areas including marketing and public relations, development, external affairs, human resources and facilities management. Prior to joining FELS, Fredda served as the Director of Early Childhood Education at Elizabethtown College, was an adjunct faculty member at Penn State University’s Graduate Department of Family Studies and Arcadia University’s Graduate Education program. She also served as the Director of Hahnemann University Hospital’s Child Advocacy Program and trained home-based providers in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties. Ms. Satinsky holds a master’s degree in Human Development from the University of Maryland’s Institute of Child Study and Human Development, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from SUNY at Buffalo and is a graduate of the Wexner Tri-State Jewish Leadership Program. During her career, she has served on a variety of professional development and child care advocacy boards.

PAMELA THOMAS, CPA - Vice President & CFO

Pamela began with FELS as the Director of Finance and Operations in 2007. In addition to managing a 60 million dollar DPW grant to operate CCIS NE, Pamela provided support to the FELS accounting department. She assumed the role of CFO in December 2008. Her rich academic and professional background serves the Agency well. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the Stern School of Business at New York University and is a Certified Public Accountant. She has over 20 years of experience working in the accounting field and has held numerous management positions including controller, regional accounting manager, and senior staff accountant. She was an auditor for large non profits, worked in the real estate industry and was responsible for all aspects of financial accounting. She was an adjunct professor at Drexel University for three years teaching a graduate level course on financial management for non profits

JACKI METZLER - Vice President of Programs

Jacki began with FELS as the Director of Programs in 2002. She holds a Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education from Arcadia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grove City College in Psychology. She has a rich background in early childhood education including direct classroom teaching, supervision and training. Prior to coming to FELS, Jacki was the Executive Director at Summit Children’s Program in Mt Airy and before that was Executive Director of Les Petits Cherubs in Philadelphia. For the past ten years, Jacki has been an adjunct faculty member at the Community College of Philadelphia and served in a variety of volunteer leadership positions in the child care community. She is the immediate past president of the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), an organization with 2,000 members working in child care programs throughout the Delaware Valley.

NORMA FINKELSTEIN - Executive Director

Norma Finkelstein is the Executive Director of Child Care Information Services Northeast, (CCIS NE) a publicly funded program operated by FELS since 1992. CCIS NE helps low income families find, select and pay for child care so they can work or go to school. During Norma’s tenure which began in 1986 she was a social worker at the Lassin Early Learning Center, the Director of the Family Day Care program and in 1992 she assumed oversight of CCIS NE. Norma has a BA from Beaver College and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. She has successfully shepherded CCIS NE through many changes and significant growth from a $3.5 million dollar program to its current $72 million budget. CCIS NE provides state subsidy to over 10,000 children on a daily basis, paying 2,500 early education programs monthly and processing hundreds of new applications and requests for child care referral assistance. In July 2011, Norma assumed oversight of a new grant awarded to FELS; LEARN (Local Education and Resource Network) which focuses parent and community education on the importance of quality early childhood programming.

Norma is actively involved in both local and state based early education organizations including the Regional Leadership Council of the Southeast PA Regional Key, the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), Southeastern Pennsylvania Early Childhood Coalition (SEPECC) and the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA).

SHANNON ROSENMAN - Child Development Specialist

Shannon Rosenman is from Brooklyn, NY and grew up in North Jersey. She is a licensed Occupational Therapist with over 35 years experience working with children and families. She graduated from Boston University, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy and completed coursework in Rutgers University’s doctoral program in Clinical Psychology. Shannon has worked in inpatient, outpatient, and school systems in Boston and Philadelphia. In addition to her work at FELS, Shannon sees children & families in infant-toddler early intervention programs and through her private practice. Her special expertise is addressing sensory processing issues that can affect a child’s development. The philosophy that guides Shannon’s work is to empower caregivers by helping them appreciate each child’s unique talents and abilities. Even the youngest child has something special to teach the adults in his/her life.