Chair-Elect - Leslie Daniels, CCLS

Leslie Daniels, CCLS, is a Child Life Manager at Children’s Mercy Hospital (CMH) in Kansas City, Missouri. Leslie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. For over twenty years, Leslie has worked in direct patient care, primarily serving in critical care areas and the emergency department, and she served as child life internship coordinator. Leslie has played an active role on the CMH Aftercare Committee, providing support to children and adolescents who have experienced the death of a sibling. Leslie holds a certificate in Pediatric Bioethics. Leslie has been active with ACLP, specifically the CLCC, most recently serving as Appeals Chair and Ethics Chair Elect of the Certification Commission. Away from the hospital, Leslie enjoys spending time with her husband, Billy, and her children, Alex, Cheyanne, and John. She also enjoys visiting with family and friends and traveling. 

Past Chair - Bindy Sweett, CCLS

Prior to taking on the role of CLCC Chairperson in June 2018, Bindy was Chair Elect for two years.  From 2014-2016 she coordinated the Ethics and Appeals Committees, and prior to that time served on Exam Assembly, Practice Analysis Task Forces, Academic and other summits as well as participation in other certification-related positions. Her first experiences as an ACLP volunteer were with Item Writing and Review as early as 1998, preparing for the first certification by exam. She also worked as Chairperson of the Certifying Committee from 1999 until 2001.

The quality and quantity of work completed in the past two years challenges all those cumulative years of CLCC volunteer work prior to 2016. Although it has been challenging to come up to speed and respond with the rapidity with which CLCC performs, she looks forward to the next two years as Chair with a hardworking group of volunteers. Between stints with certification, Bindy was involved with the Internship and Practice Standards Task Forces, also completing twenty-two years as a clinician and ten years as a child life instructor before retiring in 2011. Bindy’s personal interests including books, music, cooking, nature and winter sports, most of which terrify her! She is the loving single parent of one wonderful grown son.

ACLP Past President - Jill Koss, MS, CCLS

When Jill discovered child life in graduate school in 1988, she realized she had found her career and hasn't looked back since. She started as a child life specialist at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and twenty-seven years later is the Director of Family Support Services there. She has been involved in many aspects of ACLP over the years, from Vision-to-Action in 1996; to years of work with Certification, serving as Senior Chair from 2008 to 2009 and still currently sitting on the Appeals Committee; participating in the Leadership Development Mentor Program; to being on the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2016. She also had numerous opportunities to be involved in International Child Life and Child Friendly Healthcare initiatives over the years, for which she is very thankful. Driving values for Jill are holding a growth mindset, owning accountability, and having integrity. 

She has been fortunate to have been mentored by many strong child life leaders, as well as opportunities to work side-by-side with phenomenal child life professionals. She believes the child life profession is thriving even in the face of changes in healthcare because we are strong professionals who are committed to making the psychosocial/emotional needs of children and youth a priority. She is as committed as ever to working hard towards this goal as all children and youth should have access to child life services.

Commissioner - Caitlin Leary

Caitlin has been a Certified Child Life Specialist since 2007. She received her bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her master’s in Child Life and Family Centered Care from Wheelock College. Caitlin worked as a Developmental Therapist for Early Intervention in Massachusetts before taking her current position at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. She is a CEIM, CPST and trained in Newborn Behavioral Observation as well as both Circle of Security and Centering Parenting group facilitation. Caitlin started volunteering for the Certification Commission in 2014 as an Item Writer before moving to Item Review in 2017. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two boys. 

Commissioner - Tracey Craddock, CCLS

Tracey Craddock is a Certified Child Life Specialist in the emergency department at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, Pennsylvania. She received her master’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with a specialization in child development from West Virginia University. During her sixteen years as a child life specialist, she has worked at hospitals in both Pennsylvania and Ohio. Tracey’s involvement in volunteering with ACLP began in 2014 as a member of the Focus Review Board. Since that time, Tracey has served on the Advanced Professional Development Committee. In 2017, she joined the Child Life Certification Commission and has served on the Item Writing Committee and Communications Committee.

Commissioner - Melissa Schotthofer, CCLS

Melissa Schotthofer is a Clinical Instructor and academic advisor for the Undergraduate Child Life Program at Missouri State University. Melissa has been a CCLS since 2005 and started her current position at Missouri State University in 2013. Melissa enjoys training and preparing the next generation of Certified Child Life Specialists through her work at Missouri State University. Melissa is also currently pursuing a PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Cognition and Instruction in Higher Education. Melissa’s dissertation research focuses on the influence of transformative experience on the academic persistence of first-generation college freshmen. Melissa began volunteering with the ACLP in 2015 and has served on the Item Writing Committee. Currently Melissa serves as the Chair of the Item Writing Committee. For fun, Melissa enjoys traveling to visit her two nephews and three nieces.