Kristen M. Waterfield: Leading to Empower Others

Kristen Waterfield is an entrepreneurial leader who is dedicated to empowering others, making a positive impact on local communities and giving back to those in need.   Kristen started her career as a teacher before joining a large child care franchise, where she worked her way up to become Director of Corporate Operations. Despite her success, she wasn’t satisfied knowing the traditional model wasn’t delivering all it could for young children.   With a vision unconstrained by industry norms, Kristen set out to raise the bar in early childhood education and founded The Malvern School in 1998. With steady, motivational leadership, she made this dream a reality–and lifted up countless others along the way.   For 25 years, The Malvern School has been providing high-quality, individualized child care and early learning programs that enable young children to reach their highest potential at critical stages of development; allow parents to embrace their careers and other fulfilling aspects of their lives beyond parenthood; and set teachers up for success.   Maintaining a focus on quality, Kristen strategically fuels The Malvern School’s growth. Today The Malvern School has 27 locations in PA and NJ, has educated 40,000+ children and provided enriching career opportunities for thousands of educators.   Kristen continues to successfully lead the organization through the extremely challenging child care crisis and post-pandemic environment. Refusing to shut her doors as hundreds of programs closed, Kristen has focused her energy on adapting to continue supporting children and families who need care more than ever, strengthening her team and advocating for the industry. As families struggled to find early learning for their children, she opened new schools in Westtown (2021) and Valley Forge, PA (2022).   Leading by example, Kristen also champions support for 25+ local communities and is committed to teaching our youngest community members about the importance of helping others. She initiated The Malvern School’s philanthropic partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation to fight childhood cancer in 2008 and has led The Malvern School community in raising more than $1.2 million for the cause!