Chappell was founded by Mrs. LaDauskie Chappell in 1958 and upon the death of Mrs. Chappell in 1979, her daughter, Katheryne Chappell Drennon, became President and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation. She devoted all efforts to the creation and maintenance of state-of-the-art child development centers which included well-planned expansion focusing on the acquisition of management contracts and existing centers as well as the design and construction of new centers. One of these child development centers has received national acclaim; Chappell Deerwood, built in 1984 was the first privately owned, free standing, non-subsidized child development center in an Office Park setting in the United States. Today, the Chairman of the Chappell Board of Directors is Mr. Gianni Arcaini.  Dr. Melanie Williams serves as CEO, and Mr. Scott Norteman serves as Chief Operating Officer.