The Learning Center for Families (TLC) will host an open house Monday, Sept. 28, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. in honor of outgoing executive director and founder Debbie Justice. Members of the media are invited to attend a short presentation in the TLC lobby at approximately 3:30 p.m. Families who have benefited from TLC’s services over the years, friends, and business associates are invited to enjoy light refreshments and visit with Justice on her last official day at TLC. In lieu of gifts for Justice, TLC welcomes donations of diapers (any size) for their diaper drive for young families in need.
Justice co-founded TLC in 1993 and has expanded the agency from one location to four, increased the staff from the three initial employees to 65, and has grown its budget thirty-fold over the past 23 years. She has secured multiple state, federal, and private grants over the years for early childhood programs, started the first Kindermusik program in St. George, and coordinated the building and funding of TLC’s St. George facility in 2011. In 2015, Debbie led the way for TLC to receive the St. George Chamber of Commerce Community of Compassion Nonprofit of the Year award and was recently awarded the Champion for Young Children award from the Arizona First Things First program for her work serving families along the desolate Arizona strip.
Suzanne Leonelli, from Centerville, Utah, began work on Sept. 1 as the new executive director for TLC. Leonelli brings over 17 years of experience to the position, having working for both nonprofit and governmental agencies, most recently as a program coordinator for the Utah Department of Health’s Office of Home Visiting, where she oversaw a $12 million budget for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting federal grant.
TLC is located at 2044 S. Mesa Palms Drive in St. George. For more information about TLC, please visit their website.
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