Founded in 2017 as the Center of Excellence, our Early Learning Center is open to all children. With our trauma-informed lens, we offer a safe and nurturing environment for all children to learn and grow.
Our Early Learning Center is a 4-Star Parent Aware-rated designated center. We offer vibrant spaces designed to engage children in activities and materials that enhance their curiosity, creativity, and independence, while focusing on activities that support school readiness.
MAIN SITE - DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS
Hours:
Monday-Friday,
6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location:
810 South 7th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(located inside First Covenant Church)
Each of our classrooms is designed to support your child’s specific developmental stage, while including activities and materials aimed at supporting their school readiness. Through a trauma-responsive lens, we foster an emotionally safe environment for your child to explore, and our small groups and low child-to-teacher ratios allow us to adapt our program to your child’s individualized needs.
Discover more about our approach to your child’s unique needs and development.
Discover how we integrate social and emotional learning into our classroom to prepare your child effectively.
Learn about our focus on your child’s school readiness from academics to social and emotional learning.
We’re excited that you are interested in enrolling your child at People Serving People’s Early Learning Center where we are committed to providing a nurturing, healing environment for your child to become school-ready.
To enroll your child with our Early Learning Center, please download, complete, and submit the following forms to ELC-Main@peopleservingpeople.org:
Our students enjoy weekly music classes and two family events per year thanks to our generous community partner, MacPhail Center for Music. Additionally, we are proud to partner with Wayside Recovery to offer care for children while their parents participate in Wayside’s programming. We also participate in the Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 80 x 3: Resilient from the Start program.
Interested in enrolling your child in our program? Schedule a visit or call us at (612) 249-5337 and learn more about our Early Learning Center.
Director of Early Childhood Education
Kristen Wheeler Highland is a veteran Early Childhood/School Age professional with many years of experience both in direct service and in the role of consultant/ coach for providers, programs, and staff. Throughout her career, Kristen has held many positions within the field. Currently, Kristen is the Director of Early Childhood Education with People Serving People. Her broad experiences in early childhood settings and leadership roles have brought with them an appreciation for the rich depth and diversity of settings available for children and their families. Kristen utilizes her past experiences to inform the topics she researches and speaks on. Kristen’s speaking and training style is laid back and approachable, infusing humor and stories from her own life and experiences. In her (rare but cherished) spare time, Kristen enjoys basking in nature, exploring new crafts, and spoiling her grandchildren.
Kristin Smith is the Scheduler and Project Specialist who supports the CEO and the Senior Leadership Team in their planning and execution of executive-level meetings and events. Before joining People Serving People, Kristin provided project management and consultation support across academia, nonprofits, aviation, and publishing. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Literary Studies at Georgia State University and her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University. When she’s not working or binge-watching Star Trek, Kristin volunteers with her congregation to promote the communal unity, compassion, and empathy that serve as recurring themes in her manuscripts.
Interim Director of Finance
Veronica holds a BS from Loyola University of Chicago with concentrations in Public Accounting and Finance. She started her career at Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Service Group. Then Veronica was recruited as an international auditor for a Chicagoland holding company. She continued her career with IBM as a financial manager. Veronica paused her career to raise her two sons, who are fluent in Spanish. Veronica restarted her career at a mid-size regional Minneapolis accounting firm. During her five years at the firm, she started and led its accounting service department. This department serviced for-profit and non-profit entities. Veronica decided to take a leap of faith to start her own consulting business providing services to for-profit and non-profit entities. The mission of Tews & Associates Accounting is to combine unparalleled client service with deep accounting expertise to offer clients the most effective accounting, financial, and bookkeeping service solutions. Veronica prides herself in implementing, maintaining, and revamping accounting systems. During her time as a sole proprietor, she has become her clients’ business partner, assisting them with audits (internal, external, and compliance), budgeting and forecasting, and addressing business challenges (e.g., COVID-19, inflation, supply shortages).
Shalonda Flowers is the Director of Shelter Operations at People Serving People. She has years of experience in the field of serving families who navigate systems involving housing and financial instability. She is passionate about building trauma-informed, person-centered services that foster stability, resilience, and long-term well-being. Shalonda has a strong background in crisis response and family programs.
Prior to joining People Serving People in March 2024, Shalonda served as Director of Youth and Family Services at Minnesota Associations for Children’s Mental Health. She also served at The Union Gospel Mission, where she held multiple roles from 2009 to 2022. Her final role at UGM was Director of Programs.
Shalonda has worked with families for over 25 years. She studied at Concordia University, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Learning and Development and a master’s degree specializing in Educational Leadership. Her focus is on establishing relationships that are fostered by demonstrating authenticity, developing mutual trust, and genuinely caring for those she is fortunate to work with.
Grace Rieck is the Senior Director of Shelter Operations at People Serving People, where she joined the team in July 2022. She believes that every human has the right to quality housing, and she strives to dismantle systems of oppression at play in our work. In her role at PSP, Grace supports operations across all PSP sites and leads large building-related projects.
Grace attended Arizona State University for Violin Performance. Her career has included a variety of roles in residential remodeling and nonprofit leadership. In her spare time, you can find her playing social sports and cooking fun meals.
Laurel Lilligren is the Director of Family Supports at People Serving People. She knows the power and impact of strong support systems. She is fortunate in her role to be able to help develop, implement, and work to continually improve programs that provide wrap-around supports for families experiencing housing instability.
Laurel’s career began at People Serving People in 2009, starting as an intern and working in varied direct service roles within the department she now leads. She sits on several committees, including the Hennepin County Coordinated Entry Leadership Committee and the Hennepin County Healthcare for the Homeless Board. Laurel has a Bachelor of Science in Family Social Science and a minor in Family Violence Prevention from the University of Minnesota and a Mini-MBA for Nonprofit Organizations Certificate from the University of St. Thomas.
Outside of work at PSP, Laurel enjoys hiking and paddleboarding with her partner, binge-watching reality TV, and going on solo trips to recharge.
Kenneth Smith is People Serving People’s Director of Belonging. He is an experienced Human Resource Professional with expertise in profit and non-profit operations, compliance, and the administration of local, state, and federal residential laws. Kenneth earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Kenneth is committed to empowering individuals, communities, and organizations. For over 30 years, he has responded to individuals in the community who have been impacted by systems of oppression, loss of family members, housing, employment, education, and dreams. Kenneth is a beacon of light in the way he listens, asks questions, and reassures individuals and communities to respond and rise above life challenges. His strong negotiation skills and sound judgment are exemplary.
Ken’s experience in mending and building healthy teams and individuals is steeped in his wisdom and hope for humanity. He is competent in designing and facilitating training for all sectors—an effective consultant for both employees and employers.
When he isn’t hard at work at PSP, Kenneth spends time spoiling his grandchildren, volunteering at church, and training his dog.
Jen Gehrig joined People Serving People as the Director of Communications in May of 2025. She began her career as a court advocate for women and their children escaping domestic violence in Illinois. After practicing law for several years, Jen transitioned to higher education administration at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She served as the Assistant Dean for the School of Education until 2013, when she became the Director of Marketing for the university, a position she held until joining People Serving People.
Jen attended Hamline University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy. She then obtained her JD from Hamline’s School of Law. Additionally, Jen holds an MA in Theology with a certificate in Spiritual Direction from St. Catherine University.
Throughout her career, Jen has been an advocate, a listener, and a storyteller. She uses her passion for storytelling—and her love for the Oxford comma—to amplify the voices of the families as well as the amazing partnerships that staff, donors, and volunteers build with the families served by People Serving People. Outside of work, Jen enjoys spending time with her husband and furry family (a dog and two cats), being outdoors, a great book, and searching for vintage treasures.
Amanda is the Director of Advancement at People Serving People. She entered the fundraising and nonprofit space in college, leading her college’s Habitat for Humanity Chapter. That experience launched her 15-year career delving into building partnerships with community members, neighbors, and volunteers to solve community challenges together. After graduating, she served for two years as an AmeriCorps VISTA working on behalf of schools, then transitioned to corporate relations and major giving at Augsburg University. Most recently, she served as the Development & Communications Director at Children’s Law Center of Minnesota. Amanda is passionate about racial justice, LGBT rights, and creating a more just and equitable community for all. You can find her reading, making art, baking, getting outside, especially in the Minnesota summers, spending time with her wife, Aliya, and pup Linus.
Charlotte Kinzley is the Chief Program Officer of People Serving People. Charlotte has spent over 25 years working in Minneapolis shelters, transitional housing facilities, and schools to support the growth and resilience of young people who have experienced homelessness. She believes in the power of education and the importance of equitable practices in all spaces where young people live and learn.
Before joining People Serving People in September 2025, Charlotte served as the Director of Homeless/Highly Mobile Student Support Services at Minneapolis Public Schools, where she helped launch Stable Homes Stable Schools, an innovative cross-sector program designed to end homelessness for students in MPS. Before her MPS role, she worked at Mary’s Place, where she created and led family advocacy and literacy interventions.
Outside of her role at PSP, Charlotte loves to spend time with her partner, three young adult children, and her dog. Cooking, meditation and yoga, painting, and spending time in nature fill her cup and keep her grounded.
Senior Director of People & Culture
Bob-e Simpson Epps, Founder/CEO BASE Consulting, Sr. Advisor Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, University of MN Interdisciplinary Research Project, EDI TF, CAAB, Restorative Justice, SPARK, committee member, and Sr. Director People & Culture, People Serving People, Minnesota.
She has spent a lifetime working to enhance the operations and effectiveness of organizations in both the public and private sectors. Her commitment is to build strong, healthy, and resilient communities, engaging all in conversations to build and sustain diverse environments, leading to the extraction of knowledge, wisdom, and reflection of self and others. Much of her work focuses on issues of relationship building, intergenerational connection, human connection, race, racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Bob-e is an author, public speaker, life coach, focused on relational leadership practices, restorative justice, human resources, trauma, and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, Art of Hosting, organizational development, strategic planning, evaluation, and humanness.
Jake Gale is People Serving People’s Chief Operating Officer. He has been with People Serving People since 2014, previously serving as the Resident Resources Manager and Director of Operations. Before joining People Serving People, Jake served for 12 years with the U.S. Department of Defense, managing operations and teams in a variety of locations both at home and abroad. Jake earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa and a Master of Arts from Georgetown University. Jake is passionate about his family and his work, and has too many hobbies to be particularly good at any of them.
Hoang Murphy is the Chief Executive Officer of People Serving People. Hoang knows from lived experience the impact that housing instability and homelessness have on families. He imagines a world where every family has what they need to thrive. As CEO of People Serving People, Hoang leads a strategic framework that places family voices at the center of the work.
Before joining People Serving People in October 2023, Hoang served as the Executive Director of Foster Advocates, which he founded to address the lack of advocacy organizations working to improve the foster care space in Minnesota. Hoang was the 2023 University of Minnesota Child Welfare Change Maker award recipient, a 2022 Bush Foundation Fellow, the 2021 CCAI Angel in Adoption awardee, and served as the 2016 Public Policy Fellow with the United States Department of Education. Hoang is a proud new American and first-generation college graduate with a BA in Policy Studies from Syracuse University and a Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University.
When Hoang isn’t tackling systemic issues with his team, he’s busy enjoying gourmet chocolate, adding to his Lego collection, and playing with his equally cute and energetic dogs Mapo Tofu and Ginger.