USAHS Faculty Spotlight – Bill Ganza, Doctor of Education EdD
Early childhood education and higher education are two separate paths, or at least that’s what Dr. Bill Ganza thought.
Dr. Ganza is the Faculty Development Manager for the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) and his focus is to keep faculty learning and growing in the classroom. He is also the current secretary and former president of the Florida Association for the Education of Young Children (FLAEYC). In addition, he sits on the board of The Economic Empowerment Center, Inc. and works to find ways to help high school students become financially literate. 
Dr. Ganza, who has his EdD Doctor of Education, began his career in early childhood education as a child care center director where he made his first connection with the National Association on Early Childhood Education. When he moved to Florida and took his first job in higher education, he thought his days of early childhood education were over.
“I was in Florida for 48 hours until someone in early education got in touch with me,” Dr. Ganza said. He explained that his continued involvement is simple, “Children are the future and youth are the future. These two organizations are both dealing with younger people and they are tomorrow.”
Using His EdD For All Ages in Learning
The FLAEYC and its affiliates are a membership organization that provides leadership, advocacy, and professional development for early childhood professionals. Its members work directly in classrooms, facilitate high school and college programs, and serve in administrative offices of Early Learning Coalitions and Childcare Resource Centers.
Dr. Ganza said his biggest accomplishments while president was the reorganization of affiliates to create a manageable number of state affiliates to increase the organization’s functionality. He also partnered with other early childhood organizations in the state to speak collectively as one voice.
He used this initiative to create change at a legislative level. This collective voice of early childhood professionals worked together to get legislation pulled for high-stakes testing for kids ages 3-5.
The other organization Dr. Ganza dedicates his time to is The Economic Empowerment Center, Inc. Its mission is to educate and empower teens and college students with quality and easy to understand financial education programs.
Again, Dr. Ganza stressed that these individuals are the future and educating them and giving them the right tools to make the best financial decisions puts everyone in a better position for the future.
“We’re getting people to think about the choices they make and how they’re going to affect them down the road,” he said.
In all of Dr. Ganza’s roles in education, from early childhood education, to higher education and financial literacy, he wants everyone at all stages of life to have a love of learning.
“I focus on faculty development and that’s growth,” he said. “I truly believe that we can always be better at what we do and how we get there is through growth activities. That’s what I see with early childhood education. We are preparing the kids today for tomorrow.”
Passion for Education into a Career
Bill is a perfect example of turning an education into a passion. He used what he learned and provided the proper tools for others to succeed. A career in healthcare can create opportunities for you to impact people’s lives in so many ways. How will you be the change? Find out more.
