Meet Our Team
The small & dedicated team behind Child1st. Every item is carefully designed & delivered by our team in house.
General Manager
James Malburg
James joined the Child1st team in the role of General Manager, with oversight of finance, budget, strategic outreach, and other operations. James’ background is in Social Work, and he comes to us from a career as a Probation Officer. He provides support to each Child1st team member and enthusiastically empowers our team to reach their goal of helping children across the globe learn to read!
James holds a BSW from Kuyper College where he studied Social Work and Theology. He is a Michigan native and enjoys spending time with his family exploring new areas of the state. James is the father of two young boys and in his spare time he can be found golfing or spending time with his family.
Operations Manager
Therese Johnson
Therese brings with her a passion for helping and supporting those who teach children. She has homeschooled three children herself, bringing them success through creating lessons tailored to their learning needs, so she is admirably equipped to help those who are also desiring educational solutions for their children. Therese brings her experience with managing personnel and creating systems that support the smooth running of an organization.
Therese holds a bachelor degree in Organizational Management from Cornerstone University, which dovetails nicely with her natural gifts in the areas of systems and management.
In her free time, she loves spending time with family, traveling, outdoor activities, and seeking out adventure!
Graphic Design / Illustration
Ryan Bartz
Illustrations are a critical part of assisting young learners to grasp new ideas, and those pictures don’t draw themselves! From pictures to book layout, Ryan makes sure to keep things cohesive, comprehensible, and fun for kids.
As a graphic designer, he understands how people read books. Fonts, margins, stock, profile, styles, grids, leading, kerning, hierarchy, and branding are all components of the books we read, so it is important to design books in a way that a child can learn.
Ryan is a graduate from Taylor University where he studied graphic design.
When he isn’t drawing, he enjoys gardening, running, dabbling in software, or enjoying a good movie.
Business Development Associate
Nick LeClair
Nick is the Business Development Associate for Child1st, focusing on developing our brand, our offerings, and our market presence. He is a natural-born learner with a deep desire to gain new knowledge and skills.
He prefers to learn hands-on through kinesthetic or visual methods, this gives him an innate understanding of unique learning styles and he has a passion for making sure people reach their potential.
Nick holds a bachelor degree in Kinesiology with a Sports Management emphasis and a minor in Business from Calvin University. He enjoys activities such as building things, cars, hiking, nature, and playing sports in his free time.
Founder, Product Designer
Sarah K Major
Sarah is the creative visionary and fearless founder of the company. Her unwavering belief in every child’s ability to learn—and her passion for nurturing each child’s unique gifts—have fueled her life’s work, opening new pathways for academic success. As a Title 1 program designer and director, Sarah earned both the Outstanding Parent Satisfaction Award and the Major Academic Program Improvement Award. She retired in 2022, leaving behind a powerful legacy that will continue to inspire and empower future generations.
