Meet Kisha Edwards-Gandsy | Co-founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kisha Edwards-Gandsy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kisha, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in rural, Pelzer, SC where our family lived within walking distance to the homes of aunts, uncles, and my grandmother. From gardening, cooking, and church fellowship, I was raised to consider the needs of others, to have a strong appreciation for nature, and to be resourceful. I learned from a young age that a strong village was essential to family success. While I was fortunate to be adopted into my family at an early age, my parents were foster parents, and I had the opportunity to meet, be raised with, and learn from several foster siblings throughout my youth. Understanding the inner workings of the foster care system and understanding the full-bodied care that children need to thrive molded my heart for the work we do each day at Explorers. Our approach to care considers the whole child, extends to our parent community, and ensures that our school feels like home to all of our families.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Our school community grew organically from the seeds that my business partner and I had planted as teaching artists and caregivers in New York City. When we first opened our Brooklyn doors as a children’s play space and family enrichment center, we were grateful for the warm welcome we received from the multitude of families in our company’s neighborhood. Nudged by several of these families, we molded our program of enrichment classes into a full day preschool which has now been open and running for 14 years in Brooklyn.

Having little financial resources and limited corporate knowledge (we went to art school!) was difficult for us in the beginning, and we had to learn many lessons the HARD way for sure, but once we opened our doors we were to determined to keep them open for the families we served. We also learned how hard it is have confident employees when working to build a business from the ground up. It is challenging to work for a struggling start up, and managing employee expectations was definitely a challenge in our early years.

As we’ve grown over the years to several main and satellite locations in both Brooklyn, NY and Greenville, SC, we have continued to hold our values close to our business’s heart. These values have been our core tenets since the beginning.

1. Children deserve the very best.
2. All are welcome by any means necessary.
3. Love is the main ingredient.

With those core values as the root of our corporate decision making, we’ve been able to hold on to what we’ve built, even throughout the challenging times. As a leader, I have done every single job in our company from custodian, chef, and teacher to copywriter, strategic communicator, to CEO. And my hands will always be available to step in wherever necessary. That’s the beauty of a strong community. Whatever it takes, it must be done, by whoever can.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I loooove to EXPLORE!! If a friend was visiting me in Brooklyn, I would think of our itinerary in three parts: thrills, frills, and chills.

For thrills, I’d take my friend on an adventurous and upbeat day that included an aerial yoga class in Union Square, a tasting menu at my favorite Brooklyn restaurant Xixa, and a party cruise down the Hudson River with beautiful views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey.

For frills, we’d start the day shopping with the help of the personal stylist at the Macy’s 34th Street location before walking nearby for delicious Korean BBQ lunch at Don’s Bogam. After lunch, we’d take a ride up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building for inspiring aerial views of the city before making it downtown to our reservation for live jazz and dinner at The Blue Note.

For chills, we’d get up early and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise and into Tribeca to relax for several hours at AIRE Ancient Baths New York. After the spa, we’d take the train over to the Meatpacking District to pick up some delicious food items to bring with us to our late afternoon picnic on Little Island just a few blocks over. After relaxing and enjoying our picnic, we would pick up a couple Citi Bikes at the kiosk, and bike downtown along the Hudson River bike trail to Battery Park. Once in Battery Park, we’d enjoy a sunset cocktail and dessert at The View in Battery Park and a peaceful ride on the SeaGlass carousel in the Batter Conservancy before calling it a night.

If we had more time to explore, we’d definitely have to take a visit to The Met, see more live jazz, grab tickets to the theater, and enjoy the city’s best local restaurants.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my success to foster and adoptive parents all over our world. Your work is essential, valued, and necessary to ensure that all children are able to have the village they deserve.

Website: www.explorerkids.us

Instagram: @scribblesandbits

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kedwardsgandsy/

Twitter: @yourfriendkisha