After spending time working in classrooms across Amarillo, Chandra’s dream to get more books into more homes was born. Chandra is full of passion and purpose as she leads the way to see the dream realized, just like Rapunzel. Under her care, Storybridge has grown from giving away books brought to a park in the trunks of cars to operating multiple programs for book delivery. Through all the growth and change, she holds tight to the belief that early access to literacy will change lives for local children. Chandra will always look at a situation from every angle in order to impact the largest population of children while continuing to dream about what could be next. When she is not looking for the next grant opportunity, shopping online for new books to give away, or asking the team how she can help, she is likely listening to a podcast or cheering on her 2 sons as they launch into their next adventures. Chandra had a dream and keeps on dreaming, and we are all forever thankful for that. There is not a more perfect person to champion our mission!!

Remember Joy from Inside Out? This is the vibe Meaghan Slater brings to every room. She is the powerhouse behind Summer Storytime, Storybridge LIVE, and our social media accounts. She’s an award-winning real estate agent with Lyons Realty (seriously, The Best) with a degree in Marketing and Finance from WTAMU, but don’t let that formidible bio fool you - this extroverted mother of 3 can don a Curious George costume and entertain 7 rooms full of 4 year-olds back to back before 10 am! When she’s not selling houses or helping Storybridge, she’s probably driving around with a sleeping baby or setting goals. (Actually, she may be doing all those things at once.) She’s a gifted communicator with a genius creative streak and unending optimism. We’re so grateful that she’s passionate about furthering our mission!

Sara Hill leads our Kinderbridge program and coordinates all of our volunteers. Sara was born and raised in Amarillo and attended University of Texas in Austin. She has 20 years of experience teaching Kindergarten and Pre-K and 3 unique and confident daughters she’s especially proud of. She is a wizard at strategically captivating and engaging children in order to grow new synapses in their brain. With Ms. Sara, golf tees become fine motor exercise, sponges become fancy pastries, and feathers become an art medium. She is the Mary Poppins of Storybridge! When she’s not counseling parents through the brutiful work of early childhood or leading a parade of toddlers pretending to be fish, you may find her reading her 5th book that month or volunteering at Amarillo Little Theater.

Alli Smeaton is the Elastigirl of the Storybridge team, basically everyone’s right hand woman! She helps Sara make sure Kinderbridge sessions run smoothly, coordinates book pick-ups from all of the drop-off locations, packs books for Free Book Fairs, and does a lot of work making sure the long list of kids enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is as correct as possible every month. She is Amarillo-born and raised, earned her degree in Elementary Education from WTAMU, and taught Kindergarten at South Lawn Elementary for several years. Alli has the best laugh and a gift for making anyone feel at ease. Alli and her husband are raising 2 sweet boys at home. Alli’s powerful recipe for recharge: coffee, audiobook or podcast, and a good puzzle. Mmm, delicious!!

Shelly Wilson has a BBA in Accounting from WTAMU and her CPA license. She worked for many years in public accounting before staying home with her kids. She’s also an original member of the Storybridge team, taking books to kids before we even had a plan, or even a name. After serving several years as the Treasurer on our Board of Directors, she transitioned to staff accountant. She may not be as visible as the other 4 on our team, but she’s at the top of the list when we count our blessings! She is the Moana of our team - laser-focused, courageous, driven by justice. She and her husband Barry are both passionate about helping our local refugee community and active in leadership of Eastridge Mission Center and Refugee Language Project. They also win the prize for parenting the most kids of anyone on our team (5).