Kansas raised her, Texas claimed her, and Head Start gave her life's work its shape and direction. Marisa Barrett is the co-founder of Early Childhood Collective, a Head Start-rooted consultancy specializing in CLASS® observation, coaching, and professional development for early childhood programs. She has trained and consulted with programs nationwide and will still sub on a Friday, because staying close to the work matters. With experience spanning infant-toddler classrooms, home-based programs, prekindergarten, and roles in education, mental health, and disabilities, she gets the complexity leaders navigate daily. She approaches it all with a steady, observant eye, the same one she uses for birding, photography, and locating the best chips and queso in any zip code. Growth through relationships, reflection, and real talk. That's her practice.