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| Shoestring
Staff Profile:
DR. IVY LOVELADY
 When
Ivy Lovelady talks, people listen.
Dr.
Lovelady, the deputy director of Operation Shoestring,
walks the halls with
an air of quiet, pleasant authority.
Just spend a few minutes with her and you’ll quickly
see why. Her commitment to the betterment of children’s
lives emanates from her like an aura.
"I
started out in college with a degree in business administration
with ambitions to work in the world of business, and then
I got married while still in college," she says. "Back
then, I kind of had the old-school thought that married
women shouldn’t be in business. But I was always
concerned about children and their welfare, so I thought
that I would maybe head in that direction, and I did."
|
Dr.
Lovelady grew up in Prentiss. After receiving her doctorate
in early childhood education from Jackson State
University, she served as a teacher and principal in school systems
in Jackson, Oxford, and Greenwood, and also was a professor at
Grambling State University in Louisiana. She has administered
Even Start programs and has held positions as a school district
curriculum director and other positions in program management
and professional training.
But
Dr. Lovelady says the real measure of her success comes at
the most basic level. "Everything
we do here is for the children and their families," she
says. "When I see
their satisfaction, I’m happy about that."
Favorite
thing about job: "I like to see programs implemented
successfully. There’s a constant urgency about the quality
of what we do. I appreciate employees who are enthusiastic about
their work and show it through their attitude and actions."
Biggest
Challenges: "Raising funds, and finding and keeping
quality staff."
If
I could pick another career: "Child psychologist or
education researcher."
Career
I wouldn’t want: "Anything technical or involving
computers."
Professional
role model: "My high school home economics
teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Gray. She married late in life and had
been a university professor before marriage."
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