LYNN ANN ZAZZALI, 45
Owner
Company: The Learning Experience Units: 8 (5 open, 3 under construction) Family: Two children, Daniella 15, Nicholas, 17 Years in franchising: 13 Years in current position: 13
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A Passion for Learning From public school teacher to award-wining franchisee Written By KERRY PIPES
12
Multi-Unit Franchisee
ISSUE 1, 2021
t’s easy to see that Lynn Ann Zazzali is passionate about education. She spent the first part of her career as a public school teacher in New Jersey and was on track to become a principal. But things changed when she became a mom and needed childcare for her own two children. “I visited a handful of childcare centers and felt more and more nervous during each tour,” she says. “I kept thinking about leaving my children with people I didn’t know. I had the same fears that most parents experience. What if they are sad? Will they be loved? Safe? Will they be happy?” When she spoke with her parents about her feelings they suggested she open her own childcare center. She says her initial response was, “No way. How could I own a business?” But the more she thought about it, the more intrigued she became. So she researched childcare franchises, visited websites, made phone calls, and set up in-person meetings. She says that when she met Michael Weissman, founder of The Learning Experience, she knew it was the right fit. The brand is geared to early education for children 6 weeks to 6 years old. She signed on with The Learning Experience and thought what better way to kick things off than to enroll her own two children at her town’s location. Two years later, in 2008, she opened her first location in Waldwick, N.J. Today she operates five locations of the brand (Waldwick and Hoboken, N.J., New Rochelle and Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and Stamford, Conn.), and has three more under construction (White Plains and Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Summit, N.J.). Zazzali has excelled as a multi-unit operator. Each of her centers has received the Center of Excellence Award every year
