Melissa grew up in Orange Beach as a member of one of the founding families of Orange Beach. She is a Foley High School graduate, graduating as number 7 out of 250 graduates. She then attended the University of Montevallo, graduating with a Bachelor of Science. As Owner and Director of Discovery Island, Ms. Lissa, as the children call her, has taken eight hundred hours of training in Early Childhood Education and Pre-School Management.

She has been married for 40 years to her husband and co-owner, Mr. Eddie. They have 2 grown children. William, who is a Troy University graduate, currently lives in Eureka, CA with his wife, Nicolette. They have one child, Violet Lucia, who is 4 years old and Melissa and Eddie's only grandchild. Will works for Riot Games which is an international gaming company with League of Legions being their premier product. Eddie and Melissa also have a daughter, Tessa, who is a graduate of Lander University in South Carolina. Tessa also spent a year in Los Angeles at EI International to become a certified make-up artist. She currently works at Columbia Southern University and does freelance make up jobs in her spare time. Both children attended Discovery Island in its beginning years.

Melissa was an officer for 6 years at her church, St. Jude's Lutheran Church in Gulf Shores. She is a past member of the Children's Policy Council of Baldwin County and a current member of the Alabama Association for Early Learning. In December of 2008 Ms. Melissa became the first Director in Baldwin County certified by the State of Alabama in their, at that time, newly mandated Alabama Early Learning Guidelines. Most recently, in 2023 she received her National Director's Credential.

Ms. Melissa has always acted as Director of Discovery Island since its inception. In addition, she also taught the Pre-K class for 15 years.

Ms. Esther has been with discovery Island for over 20 years. During this time she has been both a part time substitute and a full-time lead teacher in almost every classroom.

Esther is a highly trusted and valued employee taking over the majority of the responsibilities for the management of the Center and the DI Team in 2023. She oversees all areas of the running of the Center and the day to day management of the center including the State of Alabama's Quality Assessment program which is know as STARS, the USDA's federal food program, and the hiring, training, and scheduling of teachers for the Center.

Esther has taken over 200 hours of training while working at Discovery Island, helping her excel as a preschool teacher. She is currently working on her National Director's Credential. She also represents Discovery Island on the local Children's Advisory Committee.

Esther enjoys time with her three children, all of whom are graduates of Discovery Island's PreK program. She and her husband, Ryan, have been married for 21 years. The family attends Church of the Shores in Gulf Shores.

Ms. Candace has worked with children of all ages for 27 years. She has a degree from Auburn University in Elementary Education and has taught grades K-6. In a preschool setting she has been a PreK Lead Teacher as well as a center Director. She Has completed her AELG credential for the State of Alabama as well as becoming Serve Safe Certified. Candace and her husband have 3 children who are 21, 17, and 14. The oldest attends AUM and the younger two are at Orange Beach High School. Candace has been at Discovery Island over four years. She loves working with children of all ages and watching as they learn and grow each day.

Ms. Macaila attended Gulf Shores High School, graduating in 2016. She is also a 2018 Graduate from Fortis College. Her family is originally from Gadsden, Alabama. They moved to Orange Beach in 2003. Macaila came to Discovery Island with 3 years previous childcare experience. She has now been with us for over 2 years. She has a daughter, Ansley, is a DI graduate and currently attends Magnolia Spring Elementary. Together they love to cook, swim, and walk or bike.

Ms. Kim is a Robertsdale High School graduate. During high school she attended vocational school for 2 years with Early Childhood Education focus. Ms. Kim has returned to Discovery Island after several years away. Ms. Kim was our One Year Old teacher in our very early years for approximately 5 years. She then moved into the Assistant Director position helping Ms. Melissa manage Discovery Island for almost 10 years. We are very pleased to have such an important part of Discovery Island's history back with us. She has two adult sons and enjoys her time with her grandchildren.

Ms. Lisa moved to the Gulf Coast recently from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her education includes a bachelor's degree in psychology. She worked in the foster care system for a short period, but she soon realized she had a love for teaching. Ms. Lisa has been a daycare teacher for 10 years with most of this time being spent working with two and three-year-olds. When she is not working, she now enjoys living near the water and visiting the beach. She also loves a good book, refinishing furniture, and spending time with her family.

Autumn is a graduate of Robertsdale High School. She recently moved to Summerdale with her partner and 2 cats. She has always enjoyed being around children, including her many nieces and nephews. Autumn started at Discovery Island in 2021 and has worked as both a floating teacher and a lead teacher. She is one of those flexible teachers who does an excellent job with every age group. She enjoys the families at Discovery Island and is looking forward to be at Discovery Island for many more years!

Robyn is from Pensacola, Florida where she studied Early Childhood Development each of her four years of high school. She volunteered her time at Sherwood Elementary School where she was awarded Outstanding Youth Volunteer. Robyn's favorite hobby is art. She enjoys working with watercolors, acrylics, and a variety of other mediums. Robyn believes creativity is fundamental for children of all ages and is a great way to express yourself. In the future she would like to continue her education and eventually become a first-grade teacher.

Kristina began working for Discovery Island in 2017. After leaving for a couple of years she returned to us about 4 years ago and we were so happy to have her back. She was born and raised in Pearl, Mississippi, graduating from Pearl High School in 2006. In 2009 she moved to the coast of Alabama. She is engaged to her childhood sweetheart whom she met in the fourth grade. Ms. Kristina has a total of 19 years experience working with young children. She loves Jesus, reading, and football (Roll Tide). She was so happy to return to Discovery Island and loves working with the children and the families at DI.

Ms. Stephanie is originally from a small town 75 miles from Kansas City, Missouri called Sedalia. She has been an educator in the public school system for 26 years. Stephanie taught Inclusion PreK for 16 years. She has also worked in the elementary environment with students who were emotionally disturbed and had behavior disorders for 6 years. She has been married to her husband, Tim, since 2016. She has a 21 year old daughter from her first marriage and the 3 of them moved to the coast after her daughter completed high school in Missouri. She was an educator in the Baldwin County systems for 2 years. Ms. Stephanie tired of the high stress level in the public school system, but wished to continue to work instructing young children. We are lucky to have her join our team and bring her talents to the DI family.

Ms. Dani moved to Gulf Shores in August of 2023 from Hazel Green, Alabama. She has been married for 10 years and has 4 boys ranging in age from 12 years down to 1 years old. Her husband works from home so currently her youngest is not yet attending Discovery Island. She attend Calhoun Community College where she became a certified Phlebotomist. She worked in the field or Early Childhood Education for 5 years prior to having her third child. Ms. Dani has trained to work in all our classrooms, wherever needed to support the team.

Our newest addition to the team is Ms. Kaylee. She is a recent graduate of El Paso - Gridley High School in Illinois. New to the area, her and her family just moved to Gulf Shores. She plans to attend Pensacola State in the Fall of 2025 and will continue to work at Discovery Island part time. She intends to study Early Childhood Education. She enjoys the beach, reading and spending time with her family.

We are very excited to welcome Ms. PJ to our DI family. We call her PJ since we already have a Ms. Paige! PJ comes to us from the state of Arizona having moved to the Gulf Coast to be with her fiancé. She is currently finishing her degree in elementary education and has worked as a teacher for several years with different age groups in different roles including being a classroom teacher to a sports coach. She expects to be doing her student teaching in the fall. Working with children in a daycare setting led her to getting her teaching degree as working with children is her passion. One of her favorite parts is the connections she builds with each student in her care. She has two dogs and loves spending time with them and her fiancé enjoying being outside, and active.

Paige has been at Discovery Island since 2022 Preparing nutritious and delicious meals for the children. She has worked in the food industry since she was 16 years old. Ms. Paige is the oldest of five children giving her lots of experience taking care of multiple children at a time. Her youngest child, Lucy, attends Discovery Island. She, with her family, enjoy many outside activities including kayaking, fishing, camping, and long boarding. If you visited her home you would find she enjoys gardening and tending to her many chickens and guinea hens.