Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed a new chair and two new members to the Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County (ELCAC). 

According to a press release from the governor’s office, Tammy Prince of Newberry will serve as the new ELCAC chair. Prince is an executive board member for the PACE Center for Girls Alachua and serves on the board for Rotary International, Inc. Prince has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degrees in health administration and nursing. 

Raymond Holt Jr. is from Alachua and will also serve on the board. The owner of C Bar Ranch Luxury Wedding and Events and a former Jacksonville City Councilmember (2007-2015), Holt has a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and a master’s from the University of South Florida. 

“I’m looking forward to working with the ELC and all the partner agencies to help Alachua children to be better prepared to enter kindergarten, and to be therefore more successful in life,” Holt said in an email. 

April Tisher has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is a Gainesville-based sales executive and writer for Giggle Magazine. She’s also a substitute teacher for Alachua County Public Schools. The Junior League of Gainesville has given her the Legacy Award for advocacy for women and children. 

ELC of Alachua County provides financial assistance for childcare and school readiness, but is also required by law to build a coalition of partners and advocates on a local level to coordinate services for children from birth through kindergarten, according to the ELCAC website. 

The local coalition board is responsible for providing strategic direction, oversight, resource management and ethical and legal accountability for ELCAC. 

The board must have a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 30 members, three of whom are governor-appointed, including the chair and two private sector members. The remaining slots are filled by qualified community members who can fill out an online application.