For education entrepreneurs, school owners, churches, developers, and community organizations ready to build sustainable, mission-driven early learning businesses.
Marnie Forestieri is a childcare brand founder, curriculum innovator, author and TEDx speaker. With eighteen years of hands-on experience building, operating, and scaling education businesses, she loves solving challenges that improve early childhood education and help the next generation of childcare founders turn vision into sustainable, mission-driven brands.
Great childcare requires more than care. It requires thoughtful design — for children, families, teachers, and the operators responsible for making it all work.
Each engagement is shaped to the operator, the community, and the stage of the business. Below: where Marnie works.
Business model. Licensing readiness. Location planning. Staffing model. Launch strategy. Parent enrollment from week one.
Enrollment systems, leadership structure, staffing, parent communication, curriculum, compliance, financials.
For churches and faith-based organizations launching or improving preschool and early learning ministries.
Market demand. Competition. Tuition analysis. Demographics. Site evaluation. Enrollment projections.
For municipalities, developers, nonprofits, employers, and community partners seeking childcare solutions.
YIA Schools Platform complements parent communication apps by adding the implementation layer schools need: curriculum, teacher training, performance management, child portfolio assessments, SOP libraries, and curriculum delivery.
Available to consulting clients as a deployed implementation layer.
Tour the hub ↗
Working with Marnie on our childcare feasibility study gave our church the clarity we needed to move forward with confidence. She helped us understand the market demand, operational requirements, staffing needs, licensing considerations, and financial realities of launching an early learning program. Her experience in childcare operations and mission-driven education helped us see how a childcare center could serve families, support our community, and align with our church's vision. The study gave us a practical roadmap, not just ideas.
Our church wanted to launch a preschool but every consultant we met was either ministry-fluent or operations-fluent. Marnie was both. The program is now in year two and full.
The feasibility study saved us from a half-million-dollar mistake on the wrong site. Then it gave us the playbook to find the right one. Best money we ever spent.
Marnie's command of early childhood operations is matched only by her ability to translate it into a business case any board will fund. She is in a category of one.
She rebuilt our entire enrollment funnel from inquiry to first-day. We went from a four-month sales cycle to under thirty days and a wait list at two of three sites.
Marnie is the rare operator who can build a beautiful program and a beautiful P&L. The kids notice. The parents notice. The bank notices.
The TEDx talk that started a movement in early childhood. Marnie's flagship argument — that the small choices grown-ups make every day either protect or extinguish a child's natural curiosity — reached nearly a million viewers and now anchors every consulting engagement she takes on.
Forty-two episodes on parenting, early-childhood disruption, mission-driven business, and how to raise kids who can build things. Hosted by Marnie, sometimes with co-host Sarah Sprinkel.
From classroom innovation to multi-site operations, Marnie helps childcare leaders turn vision into sustainable, mission-driven businesses. Operator. Author. Speaker. Strategist. Built, led, and scaled childcare brands across eighteen years of practical work.
There's what many consider a national childcare crisis. This industry demands some disruption — and that is what we're going to do.
Graduated top of class, bilingual EN/ES with working Japanese. The foundation for a career that would cross three continents and three industries.
Reported on the Yakuza, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and the trafficking of Latin American victims in Japan. Learned how to find a story inside a crisis — and how to ask the question that opens a closed door.
First U.S. operating venture in early childhood. Six years of daily classroom and operating leadership — the apprenticeship behind every page of the books that would come later.
Co-founded and scaled. Eventually sold and reinvested every dollar into the next venture.
Built around the CAPE framework and Harvard Project Zero. Today: three Orlando-area campuses (Winter Garden, Winter Park, Oviedo). Franchise launched 2019.
First of two GrowFL honors. PBS American Graduate spotlight. The press cycle that put Marnie's operator playbook in front of a national audience.
Four series with Gryphon House, Kaplan, and iUniverse. Senior Fellow, Stockworth Institute. Founder/ED of the Young Innovators Foundation for Early Childhood — 501(c)(3), EIN 851204031.
Flagship talk released April 2024. The condensed argument behind the books, the campuses, and the consulting practice.
The next chapter: full-time consulting for childcare entrepreneurs, school owners, churches, developers, and community organizations. The operating playbook, packaged.
Five practice areas. One mission: launch, improve, and scale high-quality early education programs that work for families, operators, and the communities they serve.
Each lane is a complete engagement model with its own scope, cadence, and pricing. Tap a lane to see the full operating detail.
Vision to operating business — brand, model, licensing, real estate, staffing, enrollment.
For operating businesses underperforming on enrollment, margin, retention, or compliance.
For churches and ministries — programs that are spiritually grounded and operationally excellent.
Board-ready analysis before you sign a lease, raise capital, or commit to a build.
For municipalities, developers, and employer coalitions closing the childcare gap.
Whether you are launching a single center or building a multi-site brand from a blank sheet of paper, this is the engagement that takes a vision and turns it into an operating business. Marnie has done this herself — started as a franchisee and founded two childcare brands and opened multiple centers — and brings the unsexy operational detail that decides whether a school opens on time, fills classrooms in month one, and survives year three.
Engagements typically run 12–16 weeks. Output is a complete operating package: brand, business model, licensing path, real-estate criteria, staffing plan, curriculum framework, parent enrollment funnel, and the financial model that ties it all together.
For operating childcare businesses that are running — but underperforming. This engagement diagnoses the operational bottlenecks costing you enrollment, margin, and team morale. Then we rebuild the systems: enrollment, leadership, staffing, parent communication, curriculum delivery, compliance, and financials.
Typical outcomes: shorter sales cycles, higher conversion, lower staff turnover, cleaner compliance, stronger margins. Usually completed in 8–12 weeks with quarterly check-ins built into the relationship.
Churches and faith-based organizations sit on a unique combination of real estate, community trust, and mission — and chronically struggle to translate it into a sustainable early learning ministry. Marnie has worked alongside ministry leaders to launch preschools that are both spiritually grounded and operationally excellent.
The engagement respects the ministry layer first, then layers in licensing, business model, staffing model, and enrollment strategy specific to faith-based programs.
Before you sign a lease, raise capital, or commit a board to a build — get the numbers right. Marnie's feasibility study answers the question every early-childhood project really needs: should we do this, here, now, at this size?
Output is a board-ready document covering market demand, competition, tuition analysis, demographics, site evaluation, and three-year enrollment projections with launch recommendations.
For municipalities, master-planned developments, employer coalitions, nonprofits, and county-level economic development offices. When the childcare gap is the gating constraint on workforce participation, economic development, or community growth — this is the engagement that closes it.
Marnie has consulted with developers, employer groups, and community partners on the structures that actually work: employer-sponsored slots, mixed-use childcare in master-planned communities, nonprofit-operator partnerships, and public-private financing models.
30-minute scoping call. Mutual fit. Whether Marnie is the right consultant for the work in front of you.
Written proposal with milestones, deliverables, timeline, and pricing. No surprises. No hourly games.
Deep audit of the current state. Interviews with leadership, staff, and (where appropriate) parents.
The work itself. Documents, frameworks, hands-on implementation alongside the operating team.
Final handoff with a 90-day implementation guarantee. Quarterly check-ins available as a retainer.
From classroom STEAM activities to childcare business operations to a literary novel that placed Juan Rulfo finalist. Distributed through Gryphon House, Kaplan, and Amazon worldwide.
The Gryphon House professional title that turned classroom STEAM from buzzword into operating system. Used in early childhood programs across all fifty states.
Order on Amazon ↗The same frameworks Marnie uses in consulting engagements — productized for operators who want to do the work themselves, on their own timeline. Lifetime access, community included.
A step-by-step pathway for launching a childcare center, preschool, faith-based program, or early education brand. The same operating playbook Marnie uses in consulting engagements — adapted for self-paced learners.
For owners of operating childcare businesses that are underperforming. A focused 6-week program to diagnose what's broken, prioritize the fixes, and execute them — without burning out your team.
Eighteen years operating childcare businesses across three campuses. Every template, checklist, and decision tree inside these courses has been used to actually run a school, fill enrollments, and retain teachers. Nothing is theoretical. Everything has been pressure-tested.
Talk to Marnie →Every template, checklist, and decision tree inside these courses has been used by Marnie to operate three childcare campuses. Nothing is theory-only.
Work on your timeline. Modules unlock immediately. You keep the course, the templates, the community, and all future updates — forever.
Private community of childcare founders, multi-site operators, and faith-based program leaders. Monthly office hours with Marnie included.
If the course isn't the right fit within the first 30 days, contact Marnie's office for a full refund. No questions, no friction.
Every course graduate gets a free 30-minute consulting call with Marnie. If the work calls for direct engagement — Diagnostic, Build, or Partner retainer — your course investment credits toward the engagement.
See consulting tiers →Keynotes, workshops, and panels on childcare entrepreneurship, innovation in early education, faith-based leadership, women in business, community childcare solutions, and early learning workforce development.
Marnie's TEDx talk has reached nearly a million viewers — one of the most-loved talks on early childhood innovation. The condensed argument behind eighteen years of operating, fourteen books, and three campuses.
RUNTIME · 14:42 · 2024 · ENGLISH
Helping children think like creators, problem-solvers, inventors, and future leaders.
Preschoolers naturally practice the skills entrepreneurs need most: curiosity, creativity, resilience, collaboration, and the courage to experiment.
A practical framework that helps children and adults turn curiosity into creativity, problem-solving, confidence, and purposeful action.
Leading with courage, clarity, purpose, and authenticity.
Turning lived experience into business ideas, income, and impact.
Starting again, rebuilding after setbacks, and using change as a leadership advantage.
Building a career and business without sacrificing values, identity, or faith.
Navigating risk, rejection, and growth with conviction and purpose.
Keynotes, workshops, and strategy intensives — every engagement is custom-scoped against the audience, the room, and the outcome you need.
Available for conferences, leadership events, churches, schools, community organizations, and corporate partners. Travel and customization may be quoted separately.
Bios in three lengths. High-resolution headshots. Topic menu. Technical rider. Awards list. Ready for journalists, conference programmers, and partners.
Request the kit ↗Templates, checklists, frameworks. Take what works, leave the rest. Built for the operator who reads at 6am with coffee.
The companion guide to Marnie's TEDx talk — expanded into a practical playbook for parents and operators. The small choices that build innovators, the daily rituals that protect curiosity, and the operating principles behind one of the most-loved talks on early childhood innovation.
The complete operational audit framework Marnie uses with consulting clients — productized as a self-serve template. Open the linked folder and reference pages 3 through 8 of the audit document.
Every box you need to check before opening day — from licensing to first parent tour. Used by Stanford LBI cohort.
Diagnose your current enrollment process in 20 minutes. Identify where leads are leaking out of your funnel.
The pricing mistakes that quietly destroy margin — and the operator math behind sustainable tuition decisions.
A 22-minute walkthrough of how three campuses share systems, branding, and a single operating playbook.
The eight-stage launch model for churches and faith-based organizations starting an early learning ministry.
Marnie's strategic thesis on the next decade of early childhood — built from the TEDx talk and expanded.
The podcast for parents, operators, and educators raising the next generation of innovators. Hosted by Marnie Forestieri, produced by Jay Zettler. New episodes monthly.
An estimated 300,000 children visit the ER each year from door-related injuries. Marnie talks with Moshun CEO Tim Boundy about a smart, mechanical way to stop…
An estimated 300,000 children visit the ER each year from door-related injuries. Marnie talks with Moshun CEO Tim Boundy about a smart, mechanical way to stop slams without permanently closing a door.
Marnie sits down with Lenita Flores, Director of School Success at Illumine, to explore what it truly means to prepare young children for the future —…
Marnie sits down with Lenita Flores, Director of School Success at Illumine, to explore what it truly means to prepare young children for the future — balancing play-based learning with healthy technology.
A hands-on workshop episode with kinesthetic learning specialist Dr. Debby Mitchell — unpacking the research-backed correlation between a child's ability to…
A hands-on workshop episode with kinesthetic learning specialist Dr. Debby Mitchell — unpacking the research-backed correlation between a child's ability to keep a steady beat and their future academic success.
A powerful conversation with Tim Seldin, President of the Montessori Society, on the timeless wisdom of the Montessori philosophy and how a 120-year-old…
A powerful conversation with Tim Seldin, President of the Montessori Society, on the timeless wisdom of the Montessori philosophy and how a 120-year-old approach continues to shape today's most creative, compassionate thinkers.
A solo episode on how to replace control with curiosity, fear with adaptability, and anxiety with confidence — modeling lifelong learning and emotional…
A solo episode on how to replace control with curiosity, fear with adaptability, and anxiety with confidence — modeling lifelong learning and emotional flexibility for our children.
Dr. Debby Mitchell returns with a simple framework to boost learning through play. Three screen-free movement games you can try this week — the bridge from…
Dr. Debby Mitchell returns with a simple framework to boost learning through play. Three screen-free movement games you can try this week — the bridge from gross motor to pre-writing and abstract thinking.
No extra time, no extra tools. Three micro-rituals — table questions, chore team-ups, and bedtime story flips — that turn ordinary routines into creativity-building moments.
No extra time, no extra tools. Three micro-rituals — table questions, chore team-ups, and bedtime story flips — that turn ordinary routines into creativity-building moments.
How to find the right balance between technology and parenting — turning kids into creators, not passive consumers, with practical strategies you can apply this week.
How to find the right balance between technology and parenting — turning kids into creators, not passive consumers, with practical strategies you can apply this week.
Eighteen years of building, operating, and scaling early childhood education — measured in children served, teachers trained, and operating playbooks that worked.
Marnie Forestieri brings firsthand experience as a childcare founder, multi-site operator, franchisee, and franchisor. Her work is grounded in the realities of building and scaling early childhood programs — from startup planning and operations to curriculum systems, staff training, parent experience, and growth strategy.
Today, she helps childcare entrepreneurs, school owners, churches, developers, and community organizations design sustainable, mission-driven early learning businesses.
The work isn't theoretical. Below: three engagements across multi-site operation, turnaround consulting, and feasibility — each with measurable outcomes and the operator playbook behind them.
Founded with a single Winter Garden campus and the CAPE framework, Young Innovators Academy now operates three Orlando-area schools (Winter Garden, Winter Park, Oviedo) under a franchise model launched in 2019. Built around Harvard Project Zero–informed pedagogy and a parent-facing operating tech stack.
There's what many consider a national childcare crisis. This industry demands some disruption — and that is what we're going to do.
Marnie Forestieri, Founder
The operator had run the program for over a decade but lost 30% of enrollment in two years. We diagnosed the parent enrollment funnel, rebuilt the tour-to-deposit pipeline, restructured tuition, and brought a clear operating cadence to the leadership team. Names withheld for client confidentiality.
Marnie doesn't just give you a strategy — she gives you the operating system. Within ninety days our enrollment pipeline looked nothing like it did before.
Owner, Independent Preschool
A regional developer was about to sign a long-term lease for a childcare center on the wrong site. The feasibility study diagnosed the demographic mismatch, identified a stronger alternative location two miles north, and laid out a three-year enrollment projection that ultimately secured board approval and partnership financing.
The feasibility study saved us from a half-million-dollar mistake on the wrong site. Then it gave us the playbook to find the right one. Best money we ever spent.
Regional Developer
Young Innovators Foundation for Early Childhood Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded to expand access to high-quality early learning for families historically underserved by the existing system. Marnie serves as Founder and Executive Director.
The Foundation is mentioned here for context — it is not the focus of this consulting practice. For Foundation partnership inquiries, please use the General Inquiry form on the contact page.
Public charity. Tax-deductible donations. Programs include scholarship access, teacher training partnerships, and community-based early learning initiatives.
Foundation inquiries →From TEDx to GrowFL to Oprah Magazine — Marnie's work and Young Innovators Academy have been featured across publications, broadcasts, and stages nationwide. A selected archive of the coverage that matters.
Profiles, podcasts, magazine features, and broadcast interviews on Marnie's work as an early childhood entrepreneur, author, and thought leader.
Marnie Forestieri isn't just building schools — she's building a movement. One where creativity matters more than compliance, and children are seen not just as students, but as changemakers.Julie Peters Her Table, Her Rules · 2025
Coverage of the three Orlando-area campuses and the curriculum that built them — featuring Marnie as founder, CEO, and curriculum architect.
A timeline of major coverage from first feature to flagship moments — scroll horizontally or drag through the years.
Press inquiries, podcast booking requests, and media partnerships welcome. Marnie speaks on early childhood education, the business of childcare, women in entrepreneurship, and the maker mindset for young learners.
Request an interview →Tell us about your childcare project, school, church, or community initiative. Marnie reviews every inquiry personally and responds within two business days.
For founders, investors, and operators launching a new childcare center, preschool, or early education brand. Tell Marnie about the project — the more detail, the better the first conversation.
For developers, municipalities, employer coalitions, and operators who need a board-ready analysis before committing to a site, build, or financing structure.
For owners and operators of existing childcare businesses ready to diagnose what's broken and rebuild the operational systems that drive enrollment, margin, and team retention.
For churches, denomination offices, and faith-based organizations launching or improving an early learning ministry. Programs that are both spiritually grounded and operationally excellent.
For conference programmers, podcast hosts, university programs, and corporate event planners booking Marnie for a keynote, workshop, or panel.
For everything else — press, partnerships, foundation inquiries, mentorship, or just to introduce yourself.
hello@marnieforestieri.com
booking@marnieforestieri.com
foundation@younginnovators.org
For private inquiries, partnership conversations, and press. Marnie reviews and responds personally within two business days.
marnie@marnieforestieri.com →Bring the project. We'll determine fit, scope a path forward, and confirm whether Marnie is the right consultant for what's in front of you.
Open calendar ↗Every inquiry gets a personal response within 48 business hours. Active engagements get same-day. No automated routing, no inbox triage.
Mon–Fri · 9a–5p ETMost engagements run 8–16 weeks for build work and 12–14 days for diagnostic/feasibility work. Partner-tier retainers are 6 or 12 months. Marnie typically holds 4–6 active engagements at a time to ensure direct attention to each.
Every engagement runs through Marnie personally. Specialist contractors (legal, real estate, finance, marketing) come in for execution support — but the strategy, scoping, deliverables, and primary working relationship are all Marnie's direct work.
Yes — Marnie works nationally. Most engagements run hybrid: monthly on-site visits anchor the relationship, with weekly working sessions over video. Speaking engagements happen everywhere; travel costs are scoped per booking.
Childcare entrepreneurs (single-center and multi-site), school owners, faith-based programs, municipalities, master-planned community developers, employer coalitions, education-focused nonprofits, and family offices investing in early childhood. Mission-aligned work only.
No hourly billing. Diagnostic engagements ($5,500) and feasibility studies are the smallest entry points — both deliver a board-ready written output, not a meeting transcript. If even the Diagnostic feels too heavy, start with the free 30-minute discovery call.
Submit the Speaking form above. Marnie's office responds within two business days with available dates, a tailored proposal against your audience, and the speaker kit. Most events are booked 3–6 months in advance; rush bookings are possible against availability.
Yes — for outlets aligned with early childhood, education entrepreneurship, women in business, faith-based leadership, or Latino business voices. Use the General Inquiry form and include your audience size, format, and target air date.
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