Early Childhood Development Associates
The Early Childhood Development Associates invites parents to see the world from the perspective of their children. When we practice mindful parenting and focus on positive qualities, children learn about trust, caring for others and meaningful relationships. Children develop the social and emotional competence they need to be successful in school and later in life.
The Early Childhood Development Associates invites parents to see the world from the perspective of their children. When we practice mindful parenting and focus on positive qualities, children learn about trust, caring for others and meaningful relationships. Children develop the social and emotional competence they need to be successful in school and later in life.
Meet Our Team
Marilee Hartling, RN, MFT
Marilee is the founder and director of Early Childhood Development Associates. She is a licensed Child and Family Therapist who worked for many years in the Early Childhood Program at Cedars Sinai Medical Center with children ages 0 – 10 years old and their families.
Marilee is also a registered nurse with a child development specialty who worked in Pediatrics, the NICU and Early Intervention. Marilee combines her medical experience with her knowledge of developmental psychology, her relationship-based mindful parenting expertise and her collaboration with specialists from a variety of disciplines to provide families with quality, individualized developmental care. In addition to leading groups for typically developing children, Marilee specializes in early childhood assessments and treatment of children and families. She also was an adjunct faculty member in the MFT department at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, CA for 10 years.
Marilee is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 5. She reminds us that parenting is a life long journey!
Patricia Joseph, PHD
Pat is our Preschool Prep consultant and creator of our Preschool Prep curriculum. Pat came to us from the Center for Early Education. She is a busy grandmother of one adorable five year old. She supervises and oversees the curriculum here while also maintaining her directorship at St. James Preschool. Pat visits us periodically as a participant of our program, providing consultation and supervision to our teachers when requested.
Cynthia Epps, MS, IBCLC
Cynthia is a Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Infant Feeding Specialist with a Masters Degree in Metabolic Nutrition. She specializes in lactation, transitioning to solids, toddler “food wars” and gentle weaning. She has written for LA Family Magazine and Mothering Magazine and she facilitates breastfeeding and infant feeding workshops all over the Los Angeles area.
Cynthia is the mother of two wonderful grown daughters and enjoys sharing her own mothering experiences with new moms as they navigate the challenges of feeding their infants and young toddlers.
We welcome Cynthia as our feeding consultant and frequent guest speaker for our group programs.
Beth Weisman
Beth is a very experienced parent educator in the community and currently is the parent educator at IKAR. She leads parent discussion for the parents and caregivers of the children who attend our Little Friends Group in our Parent and Me Groups on Sundays at ecda, and we are so lucky to have someone with her experience on our team. She has a Masters degree in education and has held positions as director and teacher in multiple educational settings.
Beth is the mother of two grown children and often shares her own parenting experiences with parents and caregivers in our after school program.
Jackie Allen, MA, AMFT
Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist #123989
Employed by Early Childhood Development Associates
Supervised by Marilee Hartling, RN, LMFT
Jackie is an associate marriage & family therapist, supervised by Marilee Hartling, who specializes in using play therapy to respond to the developmental and mental health needs of children. As a therapist, Jackie is warm, energetic, nurturing, and attuned. She utilizes play therapy and creative self-expression to connect with children and help them better understand their feelings and behavior. At ECDA, Jackie provides individual and group therapy for children ages 3-12.
Jackie completed a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Antioch University Los Angeles and holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University, where she studied psychology and creative writing and minored in child and adolescent mental health.
In her work as a child therapist, Jackie draws from her extensive and varied clinical experience, which includes: conducting individual therapy with elementary school students; assisting in the facilitation of a social skills therapy group for 8-10-year-old girls at the Institute for Girls’ Development; assisting in the facilitation of a therapeutic summer camp designed for elementary-aged girls with ADHD/autism spectrum disorder (also at the Institute for Girls’ Development); volunteering at a youth crisis hotline called Teen Line; conducting group play therapy with toddlers in ECDA’s Preschool Prep program; assisting in the facilitation of ECDA’s support groups for new moms and babies; and conducting individual therapy with adult women at Women’s Clinic Counseling Center.
In addition to her clinical experience, for the past 3 years, Jackie has also worked as a teacher/mentor at a private, one-to-one middle school/high school called Fusion Academy, where her focus has been supporting executive function and social/emotional well-being in pre-teens and teens, many of whom are neurodivergent.