FEATURED LEADERS
Our Featured Leaders are Early Childhood Community stakeholders who work to make Oakland smarter and stronger. They are parents/caregivers, providers, educators, and collaborators.
Ni McCovery, BANANAS
Ni McCovery has worked in early care and education for her entire career, touching every part of the early childhood ecosystem. For the past 3 years she’s been Provider Services Manager at BANANAS. She’s also co-chair of the OSSS Boys of Color Workgroup. And, she staffs the OSSS Family Child Care Policy Program.
We recently talked with Ni about what ties all of her work together and what she loves about being a leader in the early care community in Oakland.
How did you first get involved in early care?
My goal in childhood was to be a child psychologist. So when I went to school, I thought I would work with children’s minds. But as I started taking classes I realized I really like working directly with littles! I really love that little spark that children get when they make a connection.
After I got my degrees, I worked for a child development center and then I opened my own family childcare. I loved everything about that, but I had to leave because of a family illness. Then I worked in Head Start, corporate child care, then before and after care, and then pandemic child care.
So in all of this, I was really able to see the gamut of early care and learning.
What do you do at BANANAS?
I supervise 17 contracts that BANANAS has on all aspects of provider services – everything from inclusion navigators to health and safety to play groups to help with becoming a licensed provider. I supervise all of BANANAS’ professional development and everything providers need to know to be successful business owners. One of my favorite programs is Black Joy, where providers who wouldn’t have the capacity to take children on field trips are able to have in-house field trips like mobile petting Zoos, African drummers, a variety of exciting things.
What do you love most about your work?
What I love most about my current role is the freedom BANANAS gives me to empower providers and parents. I love the fact that we recognize parents have agency and power to be in the driver’s seat around their child’s own education. Other jobs have been me telling parents what’s best for their child. BANANAS really believes in making sure parents know they GET to decide their children’s future AND it is their responsibility. You can see the leadership light turn on and see parents understand themselves in leadership roles where they didn’t before.
I have also found the Boys of Color work through OSSS to really be a joy. Black people are expected to exist in societies that don’t recognize or see their own needs. There’s a lot of trauma-informed care that’s needed. Being a part of this workgroup allows me to navigate Black teacher needs and Black community needs and Black parent needs.
This is a question from the previous featured leader. What keeps you rooted in Oakland?
What keeps me rooted is my passion for the Oakland community. The long history of the Black Panthers. The opportunities that Black families have in Oakland and the commitment to maintaining diversity is something I’ve never seen anywhere else. If we could get the educational Oakland to reflect the cultural Oakland, then I think Oakland is unstoppable across the world.
What’s a question you have for the next featured leader?
What is an avenue of change that you can challenge someone else to create? I’m all about “what will we invade next?” That’s a big thing for Kym (Johnson, the CEO of BANANAS). How can you make a difference next? What is going to be your DO SOMETHING?
We recently talked with Ni about what ties all of her work together and what she loves about being a leader in the early care community in Oakland.
How did you first get involved in early care?
My goal in childhood was to be a child psychologist. So when I went to school, I thought I would work with children’s minds. But as I started taking classes I realized I really like working directly with littles! I really love that little spark that children get when they make a connection.
After I got my degrees, I worked for a child development center and then I opened my own family childcare. I loved everything about that, but I had to leave because of a family illness. Then I worked in Head Start, corporate child care, then before and after care, and then pandemic child care.
So in all of this, I was really able to see the gamut of early care and learning.
What do you do at BANANAS?
I supervise 17 contracts that BANANAS has on all aspects of provider services – everything from inclusion navigators to health and safety to play groups to help with becoming a licensed provider. I supervise all of BANANAS’ professional development and everything providers need to know to be successful business owners. One of my favorite programs is Black Joy, where providers who wouldn’t have the capacity to take children on field trips are able to have in-house field trips like mobile petting Zoos, African drummers, a variety of exciting things.
What do you love most about your work?
What I love most about my current role is the freedom BANANAS gives me to empower providers and parents. I love the fact that we recognize parents have agency and power to be in the driver’s seat around their child’s own education. Other jobs have been me telling parents what’s best for their child. BANANAS really believes in making sure parents know they GET to decide their children’s future AND it is their responsibility. You can see the leadership light turn on and see parents understand themselves in leadership roles where they didn’t before.
I have also found the Boys of Color work through OSSS to really be a joy. Black people are expected to exist in societies that don’t recognize or see their own needs. There’s a lot of trauma-informed care that’s needed. Being a part of this workgroup allows me to navigate Black teacher needs and Black community needs and Black parent needs.
This is a question from the previous featured leader. What keeps you rooted in Oakland?
What keeps me rooted is my passion for the Oakland community. The long history of the Black Panthers. The opportunities that Black families have in Oakland and the commitment to maintaining diversity is something I’ve never seen anywhere else. If we could get the educational Oakland to reflect the cultural Oakland, then I think Oakland is unstoppable across the world.
What’s a question you have for the next featured leader?
What is an avenue of change that you can challenge someone else to create? I’m all about “what will we invade next?” That’s a big thing for Kym (Johnson, the CEO of BANANAS). How can you make a difference next? What is going to be your DO SOMETHING?