Meet 27-year-old Brittany Shelton, East Haven Family Resource Center’s newest parent educator. Brittany hails from a very small town in Missouri and couldn’t be happier to have landed in East Haven, helping local families.

As the daughter of two schoolteachers, Brittany never saw herself working in education. For many years Brittany says she resisted following in her parents’ footsteps, but through an aunt who is also a parent educator, as well as a work mentor on her very first job, Brittany found her path, which led her here to East Haven in September, to a job she is clearly passionate about.

A graduate of the University of Arkansas, where she lived for seven years, Brittany’s degree is in human development and family sciences, but her focus was on lifetime personal development, which includes a person’s transition to parenting, family crisis, communication, and more.

“I felt like my degree really prepared me for this [parent educator] type of job,” Brittany says.

Her journey to East Haven began when she met her boyfriend, Tom Adams, who was on his way to getting his Ph.D. in clinical physiology when the two met almost seven years ago.

Brittany said Tom made her very aware that his path came with some travel—and that was fine by her.

Having come from “a very small town of about 5,000 people,” says Brittany, “I saw a lot of people stay, and not that there is anything wrong with that, but I wanted more” adventure and travel, and it came.

After spending a year in Charleston, South Carolina, Brittany says, “Tom got an opportunity at Yale, and off we went.”

Currently, Tom works at the Yale OCD Center. Their shared love of helping others in need is a common bond for the pair.

Prior to the move, Brittany did a video job-interview with the assistant superintendent of schools, and notes with a laugh, “I had to push all the boxes [from moving] out of the way for the video.” Everything went well, and Brittany was hired before her arrival.

Brittany’s adventurous spirit has helped make the move a smooth transition but she does admit she sometimes misses life in Arkansas.

“I had a big garden and chickens, but this is a great time and a great job,” she says.

The job, as parent educator, is very rewarding.

“We educate parents about child development, about milestones” and more, she says. “We also help families in transition with the resources and materials they need. We help them become the best that they can be. Often we are the first outside contact for families.”

Currently, Brittany is kicking things into high gear with two projects, the first being the annual Week of the Young Child family event, which takes place on Saturday, April 18 at Overbrook School. The rain date for the event is April 25.

All Pre-K and kindergarten kids throughout the district will receive a free Pete the Cat book at the event. There will also be face painting, magicians, games, a guitar player incorporating Pete the Cat into music, fire trucks, Amber Alert, pizza,” and much more.

On April 28, family resource centers statewide will hold an event at the State Capitol in support of funding and East Haven families are invited to go to Hartford to enjoy an ice cream social with legislators and staff. For more information, email Brittany at bshelton@east-haven.k12.ct.us.

To nominate a Person of the Week, contact Jaki Lauper at j.lauper@shorepublishing.com.