About

U-DREAM-IT. BUILD-IT. WE-APPROVE-IT. U-LAUNCH-IT.

Where Workforce Meet Homegrown Opportunity

We’re so glad you’re here! Whether you’re a parent, educator, or aspiring entrepreneur, thank you for taking the time to learn about our mission and the work we do to empower families and professionals across Virginia.

💜 Our Story

Our founder, Nicole St. Ann-Ahmad, first envisioned U-LAUNCH while studying at Norfolk State University—balancing motherhood, coursework, and Army cadet training while struggling to find reliable childcare.

What began as a class project became an award-winning business plan earning first place in NSU’s 2011 Hodge Business Plan Competition—and laying the foundation for what would later grow into U-LAUNCH.

When the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped childcare in 2019, Nicole discovered Virginia's Family Day System—an underutilized model that allows educators to operate approved home-based programs under a unified system. That discovery reignited her mission to make childcare accessible, turn-key, and community-rooted.

U-LAUNCH: IT

Workforce Development at the Core

U-LAUNCH: IT is the workforce development backbone of the U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes ecosystem. We transform skills into opportunity by helping individuals transition from employment to entrepreneurship through homegrown, state-recognized pathways. By integrating education, credentialing, business development, and career readiness, U-LAUNCH: IT creates turn-key systems that enable people to launch sustainable, home-based businesses while remaining rooted in their communities.

Our work centers on economic mobility, equitable access, and workforce ownership—preparing individuals not just to work, but to lead, grow, and thrive.

This includes operating the Childcare Educator Operator (CEO) Registered Apprenticeship, which provides an earn-while-you-learn pathway into an Approved Childhood Development Home, a home-based childcare entrepreneurship.

🏛️ Our Structure

At the heart of U-LAUNCH: IT is the U-LAUNCH: Virginia Board of Directors, which provides governance, oversight, and strategic direction for all U-LAUNCH: IT initiatives.

Three interconnected divisions work together to align education, entrepreneurship, and family empowerment into one cohesive workforce development system.

Approved Childhood Development Homes operate as the Employer of Record for CEO Apprentices, while U-LAUNCH provides training, apprenticeship structure, and system-level oversight.

🏡 U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes (CDH)

U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes (CDH) is licensed by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) as a Family Day System—a designation granted to organizations that approve, supervise, and support a network of Approved Family Day Homes which we label as Approved Childhood Development Homes.

As a licensed system, we carry full responsibility for ensuring that every Approved Childhood Development Home and Childcare Educator Operator (CEO) meet Virginia’s standards for safety, quality, and child development.

Under this structure:

U-LAUNCH: IT, a Virginia-registered limited liability company and SWaM Certified small business which provides the workforce development framework that supports individuals transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship through structured training, credentialing, and business-readiness pathways.
U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes (CDH), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, delivers the centralized administrative, compliance, and system oversight functions that power the Licensed Family Day System statewide, ensuring quality, accountability, and regulatory alignment.

U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes Authority, are responsible for:

Approving and certifying childhood development homes that operate under our system’s oversight.
Referring children to approved childhood development homes and, when needed, to local health and social services for early intervention and family support.
Providing technical assistance and consultation, and coordinating training delivered through the CEO Academy and CEO Apprenticeship pathways to Childcare Educator Operators (CEOs) to ensure ongoing quality and compliance.
Conducting inspections and supervision of each Approved Childhood Development Home, including quarterly visits (with at least two unannounced annually) to maintain compliance with state standards.
Maintaining accurate administrative records for each CEO and family served, including enrollment, billing, and tuition collection.
Ensuring that each approved home cares for no more than nine children and that all CEOs meet the same background checks, central registry, and health screening standards as licensed family day home providers.

Through these functions, CDHA fulfills its regulatory role while empowering Childcare Educator Operators (CEO) to operate as small business owners.

Together, U-LAUNCH: IT and U-LAUNCH: CDH create a sustainable model where Virginia-quality childcare meets workforce opportunity.

🎓 U-LAUNCH: CEO Academy

U-LAUNCH: CEO Academy delivers related technical instruction and competency-based training for Childcare Educator Operators.

U-LAUNCH: CEO Academy delivers Related Technical Instruction (RTI) and competency-based training embedded within the CEO Registered Apprenticeship. This training is aligned with 8VAC20-780-190 Program Director Qualifications, Virginia Department of Education requirements, and national workforce standards, and includes stackable credentials, micro-credentials, and continuing education.

The CEO Academy is also open to individuals enrolled in GED programs and high-school Early Childhood Development courses, creating a seamless pipeline for the next generation of educators.

💼 Workforce Development Home-Based Programs

Beyond early education, U-LAUNCH: IT empowers professionals to build sustainable, home-based and remote careers across industries.

We provide career readiness, digital literacy, and entrepreneurship training, helping individuals transform their skills into sustainable income while strengthening local communities and families.

💫 Our Impact

In June 2024, U-LAUNCH: Childhood Development Homes became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a Virginia-licensed Family Day System, establishing a system-based approach to expanding high-quality home-based childcare across the Commonwealth.

On February 11, 2026, U-LAUNCH was approved as a U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor, formalizing an earn-while-you-learn workforce pathway for Childcare Educator Operators (CEOs) to launch and operate Approved Childhood Development Homes.

Today, U-LAUNCH serves communities across Eastern, Peninsula, Central, and Piedmont Virginia—training and supporting CEOs, approving and overseeing home-based programs, connecting families to trusted care, and strengthening the early childhood workforce through Registered Apprenticeship and system-level quality oversight.

Through our integrated model—CEO Apprenticeship, CEO Academy (training/RTI), and Approved HOMES (quality & oversight)—we are expanding access to care, building compliant small businesses, and raising standards for safety, quality, and accountability in home-based early learning.

In February 2026, U-LAUNCH: IT LLC became SWaM Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia, strengthening our capacity to partner with public agencies, workforce boards, and institutions to deliver training, technical assistance, and system support at scale.

Together, these milestones reflect a more accessible, more accountable, and more equitable early learning and workforce ecosystem—rooted in communities and designed for long-term impact across Virginia.

💜 Join the Movement

If you believe in creating access to opportunity, uplifting Childcare Educator Operators, and building stronger communities—we invite you to partner with us.

👉 Donate Today
👉 Become a Community Partner
👉 Sponsor a New Provider

Together, we’re building a Virginia where education, entrepreneurship, and empowerment begin at home.

U-Dream-It. Build-It. We-Approve-It. U-LAUNCH-IT.

Where Workforce Meets Homegrown Opportunity.