Originally from the Chicago area, Erin Lightfoot lived near Pittsburg for five years but calls Bowling Green home, living here for 28 years. Lightfoot is the Assistant Director of the School Age Programs at Community Education, a position she has been preparing for all her working career.
Lightfoot worked part-time in the Before-school and After-school programs for two years while a student at WKU. After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, Lightfoot joined Community Education full-time, working 17 in an administrative position of some capacity.
“I started working at Community Education as a young college student working towards becoming a teacher. Once I graduated college, I realized that while I still wanted to work with children, the classroom environment wasn’t meant for me. I joined the administration side of Community Education, and I love that I have different ways to be impactful to students and families.”
Aside from being employed with Community Education, Lightfoot was also a parent of the programs. “My son, JD, grew up in the programs and now serves on our Advisory Board. Seeing how the after-school programs impacted him and many of his friends is amazing. They still talk about their experiences to this day.”
Asked what she is proudest of accomplishing while at Community Education, Lightfoot responded, “I don’t think there’s just one thing. I’ve accomplished much over 19 years with my colleagues’ help. At the height of programming before COVID, I oversaw 27 before and after-school programs, a summer program serving close to 200 students, and many all-day programs to help working families. We are working hard to get back to our pre-pandemic levels in terms of the number of families we can serve.”
Lightfoot lives with her husband Brent, their son JD, and three slightly spoiled dogs.