Living at the intersection of direct care, policy, and nutrition, Bhavini Patel represents the definition of “doing it all.”
Bhavini is the founder, director, and lead teacher at Kirkland Child Care, an in-home family child Care center where she is currently providing high quality early learning care to 10 children. Within her role, Bhavini does more than own and operate the business – she designs and delivers the curriculums, manages all licensing requirements, prepares all the snacks and meals, and provides care and a safe environment for the children during all business hours.
Bhavini was first introduced to early learning advocacy with BrightSpark by joining an Advocacy Pod. Advocacy Pods were formed in 2021 as a grassroots effort to organize and mobilize community members. The pods host monthly meetings that bring together child care providers, parents and caregivers, and other early learning stakeholders from various legislative districts across King and Pierce Counties.
There, members learn more about current early learning policy and funding proposals or concerns, the legislative process, training and strategies for effective advocacy, and can even meet directly with their lawmakers a few times a year to share their experiences. Bhavini first joined an Advocacy Pod around 2022 and has been an active member since.
In December of 2025, Bhavini hosted a site visit with Washington State Representative Roger Goodman. She first heard about the opportunity and signed up through the Advocacy Pods network, which connected her with BrightSpark’s Advocacy team to set up a meeting. From there, the team facilitated and supported the visit with Representative Goodman.
For Bhavini, it was more convenient to have a representative come to her than for her to go to the State Capitol to advocate.
“There are more times that other educators that I’m connected with will go to Olympia and go to all of the meetings that happen,” Bhavini said. “I don’t have that privilege to go and use my voice because I’m here with the children most of the time, or unless I find a substitute, which is very hard to find in this field.”
The site visit with Representative Goodman lasted over an hour. During that time, Bhavini shared the realities of owning and operating a Family Child Care Center and the unique experiences that come with caring for children inside her own home.
“[Legislators] are very much aware of Child Care Centers, but they do not know how Family Child Care works. We work from our home and we open our house to the families and communities,” explained Bhavini. “I share my living room, my dining room, and my kitchen with the children. I don’t have a family room because that family room belongs to the children. So, yes, I live here and I own the business here, too.”
While nothing formal came out of the visit right away, for Bhavini, the value was in the conversation itself. She looks forward to more engaging visits from council members and legislators going forward, seeing each one as an opportunity for lawmakers to understand what Family Child Care actually looks like from the inside.
Outside of her advocacy work with BrightSpark, Bhavini is also a part of the King County Early Learning Coalition (KCELC). The KCELC is a network of child care providers, parents and caregivers, health providers, and early learning organizations across King County advocating for better policies and more equitable outcomes for the community’s youngest learners. After being encouraged to join the KCELC by BrightSpark’s Advocacy team, Bhavini serves as a member at large and represents the perspective of in-home Family Child Care Centers within the organization.
Despite the long hours, busy schedule, and demanding responsibilities that come with Bhavini’s job, it’s worth it to her for the relationships she builds with the children in her care (who lovingly call her “Nini”). “I have a really nice, pretty rose bush outside. One morning a child picked one of the roses, and when he walked in the door, he said, ‘Nini, this is for you.’ It was so exciting!” Bhavini shared.
She also noted that the trust she builds with parents and caregivers is especially meaningful as well. “That’s the most loved person in a parent’s life, and they are leaving that child with someone else. That’s trust, right?”
“The kids are happy, thankfully. They come happy, and they go happy.”
About Bhavini
In addition to being the owner and director of Kirkland Child Care, Bhavini Patel is a certified nutritionist. She is a current member of the National Association for Family Child Care, the National Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Washington State Childcare Association. She is also a state-approved STARS trainer, providing trainings for fellow child care providers in the evenings and weekends.