Meet the team behind the love.

Terrie has been in Early Childhood Education for 34 years — as a home provider, an Infant/Toddler Director, and for 19 years as Regional Director of three family-owned childcare centers for children ages 2–12. She has been Director at BELM for nearly 5 years.

Her passion is working with children and providing the very best educational experience so every child has a successful start in Kindergarten. Building strong relationships with families and staff is always her top priority — from the Annual Family Dance and Muffins with Moms to Donuts with Dads, Multi-Cultural Celebrations, and the annual family picnic.

Terrie earned her Bachelor's in Public Health Education / Family Life Education from Indiana University (Bloomington). She and her husband Chris have three grown children and five young grandchildren — plus fur babies Ruby and Ivy.

Paquita M. Brown has over 29 years of experience working with children, including roles as children's church teacher and as a Kindergarten, 2nd/3rd grade, and Pre-K teacher at Joy Tabernacle Christian Academy, where she was named Teacher of the Year in 2003.

Beginning in 2010, Paquita worked as Pre-Kindergarten lead teacher at KinderCare Learning Center for six years, where she also trained and motivated her co-workers. In May 2011, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Martin University. Ms. Paquita has been with BELM for 5 years.

She is a longtime member of Harvest Prayer Center, where she serves in intercessory prayer, as an armor bearer, and in liturgical dance. Paquita is the mother of four sons and grandmother of five.

Ms. Gladys is a CDA-certified Pre-K Teacher with 12 years in Early Childhood Education. She has been employed with BELM since April 4, 2011!

She became an educator because she always wanted to teach. Her goal is to give the best care possible to infants and toddlers and to make sure preschoolers and Pre-Kindergartners are socially, emotionally, and physically ready for Kindergarten — reassuring every parent that their child is in a safe and loving environment.

Ms. Gladys is a mother of 5 grown children, with 19 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. In her spare time, she loves spending time with family and learning about history and how the brain works.

Ms. Penny graduated from Emmerich Manual High School in 1985, earned a degree in Medical/Dental Administration in 1987, received her CDA in 2010, and graduated from Ivy Tech with an Associate's in Early Education in 2015.

She has worked at Bethany Early Learning Ministry for 12 years, beginning her journey in September of 2008, and has taught children in every area of the center. Before BELM, she was an Autistic Skills Trainer at St. Vincent for 3 years and owned an in-home childcare while raising her own children.

Ms. Penny is a mother of 6, mother-in-law of 4, and grandmother of 11. She loves photography, scrapbooking, extreme crafts, and her two dogs — Cairo, a Bull Mastiff, and Chewy, a Brussels Griffon.

Ms. Dee is our Preschool Teacher and loves working with the 3-year-olds! She finds it so exciting to work with young little minds.

A native of Indianapolis, Ms. Dee graduated from North West High School and holds her CDA in Early Childhood Education. She has been a Preschool Teacher for 9 years and has been with BELM for two years. Reading to the children and science exploration are her favorite parts of the day.

Ms. Dee has an amazing 7-year-old son who is her strength and her pride. When she isn't teaching or planning awesome lesson plans, she enjoys music, baking, comedies, traveling, and time with family — favorite colors: pink and blue.

Ms. Kat can be found in any of our classrooms — she's our floater! She has worked in Early Childhood Education for five years and has been caring for children since she was 13, volunteering in her church's nursery, tutoring neighborhood kids, and babysitting.

She holds her CDA credential and is working on her Associate's in Early Childhood Education (hoping to graduate December 2021), with plans to pursue a Bachelor's in Early Childhood / Elementary Education and eventually become an Inclusion Specialist.

Ms. Kat is the mother of two beautiful boys and engaged to her wonderful fiancé of 8 years. Her hobbies are writing, playing keyboard, and playing with her babies.

Born and raised on the Eastside of Indianapolis, Ms. Christie graduated from Warren Central High School in 1992. After 5 years in Greenville, SC, she returned home in 2019 and now lives in Decatur Township with her daughter and adopted daughter (she also has two sons).

Ms. Christie has worked in Early Childhood Education since 1994 and received her CDA in 2010. She has cared for children of every age, from birth through school-age.

She is blessed to work for BELM and takes pride in giving children the best possible start — supporting them as they grow physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

Ms. Tameka is the Kitchen Coordinator at Bethany Early Learning Ministry and has been with BELM since October 2017! She finds it a pleasure to work with every child who walks through Bethany.

Beyond preparing and serving healthy meals, she also gets to assist in the classroom from time to time.

Ms. Tameka is the proud mother of 3 sons and 3 daughters, with 3 granddaughters and one grandson. She loves making people smile — something she does every day with her family and with the children laughing and playing at Bethany.

Ms. Sasha teaches in our two-year-old classroom. She has been in Early Childhood Education for several years and absolutely loves working with children — and they love her! She has been with BELM for a little over 2 years and is currently working toward her CDA.

Ms. Sasha recently received a scholarship for the Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement as part of the Infancy Onward Endorsement supported by Early Learning Indiana — equipping her to better support young children and families through mental health awareness, services, and self-care.

She is the proud mom of her wonderful son, Tristen, and loves cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Ms. Sabrina teaches in our one-year-old classroom. She has been in Early Childhood Education for 6 years and absolutely loves working with children — her two beautiful daughters attend BELM, so she gets the privilege of watching them learn and grow.

She has been at BELM for nearly 2 years and is in the process of completing her CDA, having attended Ivy Tech Community College for two years in Early Childhood Education. She hopes to return for her Bachelor's in the very near future.

Her teaching philosophy: allow children to make mistakes and learn from them — never give up. Creative and artistic, she loves drawing, documentaries, music, and most of all, seeing her daughters smile. Favorite color: purple.