Meet The Team

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Kayla Corbitt
Founder & Owner

As a passionate advocate for the military community and a successful entrepreneur, I am dedicated to supporting the unique needs of military families. With over 10 years of experience in the military child care field, I have developed a deep understanding of the challenges faced by our service members and their families.

As a speaker and expert in military child care, I am committed to sharing my knowledge and experience with others. I have spoken at numerous conferences and events, sharing my insights on the importance of quality child care for military families and its impact on our military's readiness.

In addition to my work in the military child care realm, I am also a successful entrepreneur. I have started a business from my passion, providing innovative solutions for military families. My entrepreneurial spirit and drive for success have helped me to create this company that is making a real impact in the lives of military families.

With my unique combination of skills and experience, I am committed to making a difference in the lives of military families and furthering the cause of military advocacy.

Bridget Waltz
Director of Operations

Bridget is a child and parent advocate. Her career and interests blossomed from business and community leaders. As the daughter of two business owners and staunch community servants, she set her sights on receiving her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Upon graduation she started work at a small law firm as an intern, was then promoted to a Paralegal and then the Office Manager. She left this position to become a full-time stay at home mother. The demands of this position have grown exponentially in the last decade and in order to keep up, Bridget immerses herself in continuing education of early education, milestones, and research based parenting. She currently sits on the board of the West Virginia Early Intervention Interagency Coordinating Council, and is a social media manager for numerous small business owners. She acts as the primary care taker of her two young children along with her husband John, a career educator.

Stephanie Grout
Talent Engagement Advisor

Stephanie has a passion for advocating for military families, having spent fifteen years working with Child And Youth Service flight throughout many installations with the U.S. Air Force. Stephanie has tackled the tough talks identifying the need for high quality education and child care for military families. Throughout her positions in Child and Youth Services she has worked in leadership roles supporting the families and educators in the classrooms of our Child Development centers, Family Childcare homes and youth programs, along with the reach into the community taping into building the bridge with local leaders and Wing leadership. Stephanie has a passion for advocating for the military family through educating and supporting families and caregivers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who does Operation Child Care serve?

Operation Child Care (OCC) serves Active Duty, Retired/Separated, Reserves/Guard, Coast Guard, DOD Civilians/Contractors, and their families. Any Department of Defense affiliated personnel can apply to be a Care Giver. This may mean you are a Military Spouse, an adult-dependent, a family member of a contractor, or any other affiliation. Feel free to reach out if you are unsure.

As a Care Giver, what benefits do I receive by using your services?

OCC facilitates the payments between Family and Care Giver so it's never late. All families have been individually interviewed by our staff to help ensure safety as well as to educate families on treating Care Givers as the professionals they are. In addition, we attempt to facilitate all warm handoffs when there is a relocation if we are actively serving the new area. This allows us to place both parties with new individuals as quickly as possible.

What is the difference between a Nanny and a babysitter?

All of our Care Givers, regardless of title, provide reliable and quality child care.

A sitter is most often used in the very short term, a few days a month, usually for a date night or PCS-related needs. A sitter usually does this work for extra money and it is not their full-time job.

A nanny does all of the tasks a sitter does (guarantees safety, nutrition, engagement, etc.) as a profession. This means a nanny focuses on your children and their individual needs over time. They may complete extra duties as negotiated like light housework, transportation, laundry, and meal preparation. Since this is a profession Nannies are also paid in a professional way. Like in most professions a full-time nanny receives PTO, paid holidays, and sick time.

Are Care Givers

guaranteed a minimum wage?

At OCC we have standard minimum wages in accordance with the cost of living at various bases. As an example, in Texas, there is currently a $15 minimum wage for all OCC contractors. While in this example $15 is the minimum wage, it doesn’t mean that is the price you must settle on. We offer our Care Givers and families a guide for determining fair wages in negotiation.

How are fees assessed?

Too often companies hiring Military Spouses take significant portions of their wages because they know that spouses are overeducated and underemployed. We believe that you DESERVE the totality of your wages because you are the one doing the work. OCC does not collect any fees from our Care Givers. All fees are paid by the families who are seeking care.

As a Care Giver, can I bring my own children with me?

If you have children yourself who need care, it is entirely up to the family whether this will be allowed. We understand that childcare is hard to come by and sometimes you need to be both a parent and a professional. Some families like when their caregiver has children who are around the same age as their child for socialization. If you have children who you will sometimes/always need to have with you please let us know so we can match you up with families who accept this.

What is a Nanny share?

A nanny share is perfect for families who want additional socialization for their child, they cannot afford a nanny alone, or only need part-time care. A nanny share is when two (or more) families split a nanny’s wages amongst themselves in exchange for the nanny caring for all of their children. OCC does have a two-family or three children limit for a nanny share. This means if three families only have one child, you can contract with all three. If two families have three or more children combined then you can only contract with those two families. This is to ensure the quality of the care doesn’t suffer.

How are Care Givers paid?

Care Givers will be paid twice a month at the rate contracted with their family. If the family has contracted work for 20 hours a week, but only used 15, you still get paid for the full 20 hours. Families pay in advance which ensures Care Givers receive a paycheck for all hours contracted.

Does Operation Child Care perform background checks?

Once a Care Giver has been interviewed, reference checked, and selected by our agency, a background check is conducted. This is at no charge to the Care Giver or the family.

Does Operation Child Care handle my taxes?

All Care Givers are considered OCC contract employees and will be issued a 1099. Due to the complex nature of our community and their home of record, we do not handle taxes for any contractors or families. There may be additional tax implications depending on your situation. We recommend that you contact a Military One Source tax professional.

What if a Family and Care Giver are having issues?

We encourage Care Givers and families to write out their communication plans in their contracts. If this isn’t enough, feel free to reach out to our team and let us know what is happening. We are happy to facilitate communication or assist in terminating the contracts if needed.

Board of Advisors

Michelle Norman

Michelle Norman is the Executive Director and Founder of Partners in PROMISE, a non-profit organization focused on educating, advising and advocating for exceptional military families and their education. She is a Navy spouse of over 27 years and mother of an 19 year old daughter with cerebral palsy and many other medical diagnoses. After years of successfully advocating and winning multiple legal cases to ensure her daughter receives the minimum education required by law, Michelle realized that she was not alone. Seeing a gap in support, the Virginia Beach resident has become a passionate advocate for all military children with special needs and their families.

Michelle graduated with a degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and worked as an Environmental Engineer civilian with the US Navy until her daughter was born prematurely. Her problem-solving background as well as her desire to do the right thing has resulted in top-level changes over the last few years within the Department of Defense Exceptional Family Member Program and State Education and Disability communities.

Michelle has been recognized for her military family advocacy efforts with the 2022 Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) Changemaker Award, William and Mary PELE Law Clinic Kayla Bower Advocacy Award, 2020 Heroes at Home Military Spouse of the Year Award for Hampton Roads and 2019 AFI Navy Military Spouse of the Year Award.

Katherine Pummill

Katherine Pummill is a New York City native with nearly 20 years of experience in media management, marketing and sales. She began her career studying Political Science at New York’s Queens College and earned a Master’s degree in Media Management from the New School. She spent much of her career as a National Media Executive at the Associated Press. Pummill is the 2015 recipient of the AP’s Grambling Award and was named one of Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media: Directors Who Do It All in 2020. In 2022, Katherine was accepted into Chief, the only private membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders.

Pummill is now the VP of Military Partnerships at Recurrent Ventures, leading sales and marketing efforts for We Are The Mighty, Task & Purpose, The War Zone, Military Influencer Conference and MilSpouse Fest. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and is active with Veterati, mentoring military members, veterans and military spouses in their post-military careers.

Katie Russell

Katie Russell is a proven leader and brand builder with over a decade of sales and marketing experience. She began her career in the fast-paced world of corporate litigation, then moved to media sales, payment processing, and finally to automotive software. She currently serves as the Senior Event Marketing Manager for Vehlo, a leading provider of software and financial solutions for the automotive repair industry, where she is responsible for the strategy and execution of approximately 40 large-scale events each year across 15 brands. A proud military spouse, Katie also serves as a mentor with Veterati and previously served as the CMO of The Paradigm Switch. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from The College of William & Mary and also holds a Digital Marketing Science certificate from GreenFig.

Katie and her husband Kenneth reside in Fort Irwin, California, with their one-year-old son (AJ) and Weimaraner (Ellie).

Values

Integrity

Operation Child Care strives to operate with complete honesty, reliability, and with all patrons in mind.

Passion

The military community rises together and falls together. OCC tackles all tasks with the same vigor as the last.

Inclusion

We fiercely believe in everyone having a seat at the table. This at times means that we do not affiliate with people, places, or companies that are exclusionary.

Understanding

Every family and person is different and has a unique set of needs. Through Integrity, Inclusion, and Passion we learn from others by listening to their stories.