Washington State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks

Advisory Panel Membership List


Sue Anderson
, Comprehensive Health Education Foundation
Ms. Anderson is a Health Educator, Program Developer/Manager and Trainer. For the past 23 years, she has worked for Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (C.H.E.F.*), a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that Produces health education curricula and programs for all age groups. While Director of Training at C.H.E.F. *, Sue developed nine training programs and taught thousands of educators nationally and internationally on how to use C.H.E.F.'s health education programs. She currently serves as the Director of C.H.E.F.'s Early Childhood Initiative. In this role, she has led the development of three national early childhood programs (Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments, Healthy Beginnings, and Social Beginnings).

Bill Blair , Chehalis Public Schools
Mr. Blair currently teaches a multiage K-1 class in Chehalis Public Schools. He is a 32-year veteran in early childhood education. He was a member of the task force, which authored the Washington Birth to Five Frameworks for Reading, Writing, and Communication. Recently, Mr. Blair served on the committee which formulated the K-10 Grade Level Expectations in Reading.

Melinda Brennan , Walla Walla Community College
Ms. Brennan is currently Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Programs at Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla Washington. This includes Early Childhood Education, Parent Education, Education Paraprofessional as well as Child Care Resource and Referral Programs. She is serving as current Chair of TEACH Advisory Committee and President of OPEP (Organization of Parent Education Programs) for state of Washington Community and Technical Colleges.

Susan Bresnahan , MS, Spokane Public Schools
In her position as a Student Support Services Coordinator for Spokane Public Schools, Ms. Bresnahan is responsible for program development and operation of all Special Education Preschool Programs, which includes eighteen district-wide programs.  These district programs include: Developmental Preschools; the Collaborative Approach to Preschool Education (CAPE), an inclusive model operated in conjunction with Head Start; and another inclusive model developed in collaboration with our district's Express Child Care Program. Other special programs include the Autism and Behavioral Learning Environment Preschools (ABLE), and a Phonological Preschool operated in collaboration with the United Programs in Communication Disorders EWU/WSU program. 

Susan has her degree from the Child and Family Studies/Preschool Education program at WSU and obtained her MS in Applied Psychology/Child Development from EWU. She is in the process of completing her doctoral work in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga University. Prior to her current position, she held the position of Assistant Superintendent for Special Programs at Chewelah School District with responsibility for special education, Title One, Highly Capable and other grants programs. Susan also has experience as a preschool teacher, preschool program Director, itinerant School Psychologist and Coordinator for ESD 101. She is a past president of the Eastern Washington Association for the Education of Young Children and has served on the YWCA Board of Directors with responsibility for child care programs.

Gary Burris, DSHS
Gary Burris is the Program Initiatives Administrator with the Division of Child Care and Early Learning. He has worked previously for the Oregon Commission on Children and Families, The Evergreen State College's Center for Educational Improvement and the WA State Legislature. Gary received a BA from Evergreen and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard.

Bridgett Chandler , Talaris
Bridgett Chandler is Vice President and Chief Programs Officer at the Talaris Research Institute, dedicated to advancing knowledge of early learning and the importance of parenting in the early years. She helps create and deliver research-based tools for parents, caregivers, and early learning professionals. She has 20 years experience in the non-profit, higher education, and public sectors. She and her husband, Bear, own the West Seattle Cellars wine shop and keep busy raising their 4-year-old daughter.

John Chattin-McNichols , Seattle University
Mr. Chattin-McNichols began working at a Montessori school in 1968 and he took Montessori training in Italy in 1970-1971, with Mario Montessori as one of his trainers and his examiner.  He received a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and a Ph.D. from Stanford in Child Development and Early Education.  He taught at Purdue University in Developmental Psychology before coming to Seattle University.  He is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning.  His most recent book is The Montessori Controversy. He is a past President of the American Montessori Society.  Here in Seattle, he served on the boards of the Guardian ad Litem program at juvenile court and The Children’s Museum.

Sangree M. Froelicher Head Start-State Collaboration Project
Sangree has been the Director of the Governor's Head Start-State Collaboration Office for the past 2 1/2 years. In that capacity, Sangree has worked at the statewide level to: help build early childhood systems; encourage widespread collaboration between Head Start and other appropriate early childhood agencies, organizations, and services, augmenting Head Start's capacity to be a partner in State initiatives; and facilitate and sponsor the development of collaborations and partnerships across the early care and education arena to better serve children and families. Sangree is a member of the Core Team and the Advisory Panel guiding the development of the Benchmarks. The Governor's Head Start-State Collaboration Office is the major Sponsor of the Washington State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks, and the Washington School Readiness Summit.

Enrique J. Garza, Migrant Head Start
Mr. Garza is currently the Program Director for Head Start/Early Head Start/ECEAP programs, and Associate Director for the Migrant/Seasonal Head Start program. Additionally, he is a board member of the Children’s Alliance and served on an Advisory Board for the Migrant Even Start program. He participated as a member organization of the Early Head Start Research Consortium in partnership with the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) – DHHS.

Richard Gómez , Ph. D., OSPI
Dr. Gómez’ educational experiences range from a classroom teacher in public education to assistant professor in higher education. He received his B.A. from Pan American University, M.A. in Education from the University of Texas at Pan Am, and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Bilingual Education from Texas A&M University. He taught English as a second language at the high school level for six years and has been teaching courses on Bilingual Education at Texas Tech University since 1994.

Dr. Gómez has presented at over 40 national, international, and state conferences including the National Association for Bilingual Education, the American Association of College Teacher of Education Conference, the American Association of Education Research, the California Association for Bilingual Education, the III Congreso Internacional de Educación, and the Texas Association for Bilingual Education.

He has authored and co-authored several published articles including “Teacher’s Attitudes Towards Their Mexican-American Students” Bilingual Research Journal, “Writing Recipes for Bilingual/ESL Classrooms” Assessing Writing Journal, “Two-Way Bilingual Education: A Model for the 21 st Century,” Studies in Second Language Acquisition Journal, and “A Multi-Profile Writing Assessment Instrument for Limited English Proficient Students,” Studies in Second Language Acquisition Journal.

He is a member of various professional organizations and has received numerous honors and awards for his endeavors in the field of education.

Lorri Grevstad , Department of Health
Since attending nursing school at the University of Washington, Lorrie Grevstad has worked to improve the health of Washington’s citizen’s. A nurse for over 30 years, Lorrie’s past 16 years have been devoted to public health and focusing on young children and their caregivers. Lorrie led the development of Healthy Child Care Washington and recently became lead for Washington’s Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems grant. She was the 2004 recipient of the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, Cynthia F. Shurtleff Award for outstanding leadership and collaborative efforts promoting the health and well-being of young children and families in Washington State. She encourages collaboration across systems, working to connect research with policy and practice to help assure Washington’s youngest citizens are healthy and ready to succeed in school.

Deborah J. Handy, Ph. D., Washington State University
Ms. Handy is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University. Her doctoral work is in Educational Leadership, focusing on curriculum development. At WSU she teaches courses in Program Development and Evaluation, Instructional Strategies, Lifespan Human Development, Adolescent Development, and supervises Family and Consumer Sciences student teachers. Debbie serves as the Human Development representative to the WSU Teacher Education Committee, representing both Preschool – Third Grade Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences Education. She has served on the Certificate of Mastery Committee for Washington State, chaired the Vocational-Technical Professional Education Committee, and served as the Washington State Team Leader for the implementation of the National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences Education. She helps OSPI implement training for teachers working with teen parents, and provides teacher in-service workshops on a variety of curriculum and leadership topics. She is actively involved in the Washington and American Associations of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Washington and American Associations of Career and Technical Education, and the Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Educators. She also serves as the State Administrator for Washington’s Affiliate of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. Debbie has been honored at WSU with the CO-TEACH Faculty Collaboration Award, and has been featured as an outstanding adviser and received the Washington Family and Consumer Sciences Education Outstanding Service Award.

Maxine Hayes , MD, MPH, State Health Officer
Dr. Maxine Hayes is the State Health Officer for the Washington State Department of Health. She advises the Governor and the Department of Health Secretary on issues ranging from emergency response to outbreaks (such as E. coli outbreaks) to preventing childhood illness. She works closely with the medical community, local health departments, and community groups to give the public the latest scientific information on how to become and stay healthy, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and to protect the public’s health. Prior to her appointment as Health Officer, Dr. Hayes was the Assistant Secretary of Community and Family Health. As Assistant Secretary, she had responsibility for the statewide coordination of the following programs: WIC Nutrition, Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning, Children with Special Health Care Needs, Health Promotion, Heart Disease and Cancer Prevention, Immunization, TB Control, HIV/AIDS and STD, and Chronic Conditions and Injury Prevention. Dr. Hayes is clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and on the MCH faculty of the School of Public Health. She is a past president of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, and is a past chair of the Maternal and Child Health Section of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Hayes was the 1999 Distinguished Alumna of the Year for the State University of New York School of Medicine at Buffalo and the Year 2000 recipient of the Stockton Kimball Award. In 2000 she was presented an honorary Doctorate of Science by former Acting Surgeon General and President of Spelman College, Dr. Audrey Manley. She is the recipient of many awards and honors for her work in maternal and child health, including the American Medical Association’s 2002 Dr. Nathan Davis Award and the 2003 Heroes in Health Care Lifetime Achievement Award through the Washington Health Foundation. Dr. Hayes is also a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Lorri Hope, Family Home Child Care Provider
Ms. Hope is an in-home child care provider. She has been a licensed provider caring for infants through school-age children and teaching preschool since 1993. She has 19 years experience working with the public and is currently a Co-President of the Benton-Franklin Family Child Care Association where she is actively involved in: creating (STARS) continued education trainings, working with her community to put a mentoring program together for local in-home providers, and trying to increase communication between preschool and kindergarten teachers.

Ms. Hope’s mission to provide a safe, clean, nurturing, and supportive atmosphere for children to learn and grow into happy healthy adults. She believes we can strengthen children's self-esteem by providing a variety of fun, hands-on educational experiences and pointing out the wonderful attributes we see in them. Children are our most precious gifts. We need to provide the tools they need to grow into their full potential - they are our future.

Mary Ann Johnston, Tacoma Community College
Ms. Johnston has been in the early childhood learning field since 1968 and has held a variety of positions. Currently, she teaches at Tacoma Community College and Shoreline Community College through the City of Seattle’s Comprehensive Child Care Program. She has been a classroom teacher and a Director of a full-day early childhood program. She also presents early childhood seminars at the local, state and national level. In addition to her teaching background, she has served on Advisory/Governing Boards at the local and state level for the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She is the current President of the Washington State AEYC Governing Board. She also is a Validator and Mentor for the NAEYC Accreditation Program. At the national level, she has served on the Ecumenical Child Care Network as the chair for Professional Development.

Garrison Kurtz , Foundation for Early Leanring
Garrison Kurtz joined the Foundation for Early Learning as Director of Programs in September 2001 after managing the State of Washington's comprehensive preschool (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Programs) and Head Start State Match programs. Prior to that, he worked for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services Division of Child Support for 10 years, most recently as Program Administrator.  Before entering state service he held management positions in various settings in private industry. As the father of a teenage daughter and son, Garrison has a particular interest in the development of systems of care and support for children and families. He has been a member of numerous appointed and voluntary state planning and policy committees addressing legal, medical, educational and family support issues.  Garrison holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Washington and has completed post-baccalaureate work in the areas of Facilitation/Negotiation/Mediation, Child Development, Family Support, Child Health, Organizational Development, Resource Development, Process Improvement, Computer Networking and Media/ Political Management.

Jean F. Kelly , Ph, D, University of Washington
Dr. Jean Kelly is a Research Professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing, and Director of the Promoting First Relationships Program. Dr. Kelly is also the Director of NCAST-AVENUW Program, an organization that develops and disseminates research-based practice originating from the Department of Family and Child Nursing and the Center on Human Development and Disability. Dr. Kelly is an affiliate of the Center for Human Development and Disability, as well as its Chair of the Early Intervention Task Force. She is on the faculty of the Center for Infant Mental Health, and is on the Advisory Board to the Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health. She is a past Co-Principal Investigator of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Dr. Kelly is on the governing board of the Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network and is past Chair of the Governor-appointed Advisory Council to the Washington State Infant-Toddler Early Intervention Program. Dr. Kelly has directed research and training programs focused on children's social and emotional health for over two decades, and has published numerous articles and chapters on promoting children's social and emotional development.

Rachael Langen, Department of Social and Health Services
Rachael Langen has been the Director of the Division of Child Care and Early Learning since 2001. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Seattle University and has worked with family support programs in DSHS for nearly 25 years.

Sheau Pyng Li , Child Care Licensor
Ms. Li received her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Central Connecticut State University. She has worked as an Assistant Teacher, Head Teacher, Program Supervisor and Director at 3 non-profit child care centers. She started her current position as a Child Care Licensor with the Division of Child Care and Early Learning in April 2000. When she was a child care provider, she worked directly with families and children from low income and/or refugee communities in the Seattle area. She is an immigrant herself. She gained valuable experience and knowledge from the diverse communities. She is a member of the Asian/Pacific Islander Child Care Task Force and she represented the task force by serving on the Advisory Committee for the Seattle Project Lift-Off (Getting School Ready) briefly in 2002.

Margy Miller, Head Start Training and Assistance
Ms. Miller has worked in early childhood education for over 35 years.  She worked as a Speech/Language Pathologist in early intervention and preschool programs in private practice, clinics, and school districts.  For ten years she directed Head Start and Early Head Start for Skagit Valley College.  In January 2004, she became a contractor for the Administration for Children and Families with Booz Allen Hamilton as a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist. In this position, she supports many of the Washington Head Start and Early Head Start programs in meeting their continuous improvement needs.  Throughout her career she has been interested in inclusive early childhood education services, models of emergent literacy support, and the development of state systems of early childhood education to address the needs of all infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children.

Mary Perkins , Educational Service District 113
Ms. Perkins is currently the Early Childhood Director in the Special Programs Department at Educational Service District 113 in Olympia. Most of her work is through the ESD's agency's contract with OSPI's Special Education Programs in which ESD's provide training and assistance for school districts with a focus on assisting diverse learners. For early learning to work in a community, schools, child care programs, Head Start, ECEAP and other community projects must work together. This makes her work very rewarding in that she is able to work with a variety of agencies and people to help young children succeed in school and in their communities. She also directs the Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program in Grays Harbor County; serves as a Curriculum Developer and Trainer in the state ITEIP program's Family Resources Coordinator Training Project; serves as the Program Chair for the Infant and Early Childhood Conference; chairs the ESD/OSPI Assessment Action Group; and serves as Past President of the Washington Division for Early Childhood/Council for Exceptional Children. She was on the committee that developed the state's Birth to Five Frameworks.

Cheri Raff, Centralia College
Dr. Raff is the Associate Dean of Instruction at Centralia College where she teaches Child and Family Studies.  She has worked at the college as a member of the faculty and an administrator for the last 23 years.  She also is a Certified K-12 teacher.  She finished her Doctorate in October 2003.  Her research dissertation was titled Cognitive Development of Children in Child Care Programs. She was the co-author of the Model Curriculum for Basic Child Care Center Training for the Washington State Training and Registry System (S.T.A.R.S.) and the Model Curriculum for School-Aged Care Training for the Washington State Training and Registry System (S.T.A.R.S.). Currently, she is writing and editing the Adult Sized Guide for Child Care Centers for Washington State and updating and revising the Model Curriculum for Basic Child Care Center Training for the Washington State Training and Registry System (S.T.A.R.S.).   Dr. Raff also works as a consultant to provide statewide coordination, communication and articulation related to higher education in the field of early childhood education.  In addition, she was part of a research team for Washington State University for the Career and Wage Ladder Project.

Marcia Riggers, Assistant Superintendent, OSPI
As Assistant Superintendent, Marcia’s responsibilities include management and oversight for major units related to the learning environment: Pupil Transportation/Traffic Safety, Child Nutrition Services, Learning and Teaching Support, and the Office of Professional Practices. In addition, she facilitates coordinated policy and planning with related state agencies and organizations.

Wendy C. Roedell , Ph.D., Puget Sound Educational Service District
As Puget Sound ESD Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Roedell oversees the ESD's Early Childhood and Family Support Services Department, which includes the state-funded Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and the federally funded Head Start and Early Head Start programs. These comprehensive early childhood programs serve over 3,600 children and families with low incomes in King and Pierce Counties. In addition, the department operates a federal Early Reading First program in Tacoma; offers staff development, facilitation, and technical assistance services on school readiness, early learning, social/emotional development, family friendly schools, and linking K-12 with the early learning community. Puget Sound ESD also hosts a web-site on early literacy; and provides job training and employment support programs for low income families. Dr. Roedell has been at Puget Sound ESD since 1980, and has worked in the early childhood field for 35 years. She has held positions as a Preschool Teacher, University Lecturer and Researcher, and Program Administrator. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Washington in 1975, and is a co-author of three books and numerous articles and presentations related to the education and development of young children. Her most recent book, Early Violence Prevention: Tools for Teachers of Young Children, by R.G. Slaby, W.C. Roedell, D. Arezzo, & K. Hendrix, was published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children in 1995.

Jada Rupley , Educational Service District 112
Ms. Rupley is the Associate Superintendent of Children, Youth, and Family Services for Educational Service District 112. Jada began her educational career as an Elementary Teacher, moving into the role as School Psychologist for ESD 112 in 1984. Twelve years ago, the ESD and it’s partners started the Southwest Washington Child Care Consortium, a network of 25 child care centers serving 1,500 child in Clark and Cowlitz counties, and partnering with ECEAP and Head Start. Additional programs under her direction are Child Care Resource & Referral Services, a child care data bank of all licensed child care in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties also providing child care provider training, alternative school programs for at-risk youth ages 14-21 through partnerships with law enforcement, juvenile courts, schools, and community networks in Clark and Cowlitz counties, and state and federal Community Service/AmeriCorps environmental/educational programs.

Jill Sells , MD
Dr. Jill Sells is a Pediatrician who has reduced her clinical practice over the past few years to focus on her real passion—early childhood. She consults and volunteers in a wide variety of activities with the goal of supporting families and impacting systems of care so all children can reach their full potential. She supports parents as caregivers and first teachers through pediatric practice, and a leadership role with the Washington Parenting Education Network. She strives to increase access to health care as Washington State's CATCH (Community Access to Child Health) Facilitator for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Board Member of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Washington State, and Consultant to Kids Get Care. She believes we must improve cross-discipline collaboration, particularly between health and education. As a consultant to the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) program in the Maternal and Child Health division of the Department of Health, she assists with a strategic planning and implementation process to bring multiple systems together to enhance outcomes for young children. She also works with SRI International on the Statewide Evaluation of First 5 California’s early childhood programs, bringing lessons learned home to Washington State. She understands the need for policy changes to improve outcomes for children, and actively works to increase public awareness of the issues. She works to increase understanding of the fundamental connection between health and school success, and serves on the Advisory Council of the Foundation for Early Learning. Dr. Sells believes a high quality early learning environment should be available to all families who desire it, and she is excited to be co-facilitating Washington State's Early Learning Professional Development and Education Planning Process with the Head Start-State Collaboration Office. She believes that the development of Washington's Early Learning and Development Benchmarks, which include a focus on health, is an important and timely process, and is honored to be part of the Advisory Panel.

Lynne Shanafelt, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development
Lynne Shanafelt is the Managing Director of the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) in the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED). Lynne has over 18 years experience in ECEAP and Head Start programs. She has held a wide range of positions, including Head Start Home Visitor, Social Services Coordinator, Head Start Director, and Project Developer for Head Start Homeless Services, Parent Involvement Coordinator, Human Resources Coordinator, and Family Community Partnership Coordinator. Prior to working in early childhood education, Lynne licensed foster homes for the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), did Child Protective Services intakes, and was a Research Analyst during the Family Independence Project, Washington State’s first welfare reform effort.

Her undergraduate work was at the University of Iowa and the University of Nebraska majoring in psychology with a special emphasis in educational psychology. Lynne then spent almost 11 years as an “at home” mom. She returned to school at The Evergreen State College and studied Computer Science. She has finished a few graduate level courses in management, but has learned most of her knowledge on the job, and is still learning!

Kris Slentz, Western Washington University
Dr. Slentz is currently serving as Department Chair of Special Education for Woodring College of Education, at Western Washington University. Her primary areas of interest have been in the areas of preschool special education, early intervention, assessment, and low incidence disabilities. She teaches a capstone seminar for undergraduates about to enter their student teaching internships, and has recently developed a research methods class for a new masters program at Western. She particularly enjoys working with people in the schools and in community-based services for young children and families. She has had the opportunity to train and write over the years with personnel from various local and state organizations and departments on projects that include:

  • preschool integration/inclusion
  • curriculum-based assessment for early childhood
  • facilitation of caregiver-infant relationships
  • pre and emergent literacy and family literacy
  • assessment for young children who are culturally and linguistically diverse
  • family-centered approaches to early intervention

Additionally, a number of years ago Dr. Slentz worked on the initial development of the “Guidelines” aligning preschool curricula with Washington State EALRs.

Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, Bremerton School District
Ms. Sullivan-Dudzic has worked with the Bremerton community for 23 years, starting with the Head Start program as a Speech-Language Pathologist, transitioning to the Bremerton School District as Early Childhood Coordinator, Assistant to Special Education Director and for the past three years, Special Programs Director. The special programs department includes Title Programs, Assessment, I-728, LAP and the Early Childhood Care and Education Community Literacy efforts. She has served the Bremerton community in a variety of roles to support collaboration and quality early childhood programs including teaching educators at the university level. She has worked with the early childhood community on a number of large-scale projects including partnerships to provide inclusive special education services at Head Starts, private preschools and independent child care providers. In her current role as Special Programs Director, she has the privilege of bringing the preschool together with the elementary school and working with professionals to develop a system of support for our children and families.

Mickey Venn Lahmann, Assistant Superintendent OSPI
Ms. Lahmann brings over 30 years of experience in education to her position as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, where she has served since 2001. Prior to joining OSPI's leadership team, Lahmann was the Director of K-12 Student Learning for the Puyallup School District. She also served as an elementary school principal in three Washington school districts, a classroom teacher and an adjunct professor at St. Martin's College. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Central Washington University and holds education administration credentials.

Karen Walker, Program Supervisor OSPI
Karen is the Early Childhood Special Education Program Supervisor at the Office of the Superintendent Instruction. She works with and provides technical assistance to parents, school district and educational service district preschool staff and administrators in implementing the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 619/Preschool Programs. In this capacity, she serves as the primary state contact with the Federal Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education, in the area of early childhood special education. As an educator, Ms. Walker has had the opportunity to work in many different settings, with various age groups and in a variety of roles. She began her career as an elementary teacher and curriculum (reading and math) specialist but has spent most of her professional life working in early childhood classrooms and settings or supporting and training those who do. Her early childhood experience includes the following roles/settings; preschool teacher, child care center director, before and after school program staff, early childhood intervention teacher, early intervention program director, community college instructor, and State Infant Toddler Program Liaison. She is a member of several interagency groups and/or advisory councils that include the Governor appointed State Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Their Families (SICC), the Washington Integrated Services Enhancement Grant for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Washington TRAIN, Washington State STEPS Team, SICC Personnel Preparation Committee, and Council for Exceptional Children 619/Preschool Advisory Group. She holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Pacific Lutheran University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration-Organizational Leadership from City University.

Janice Yee, Executive Director Head Start Program
Janice Yee has been the Executive Director of Denise Louie Education Center (DLEC) since 1997. DLEC serves 181 low-income children and families enrolled in Head Start at four locations in Seattle including the International District, Beacon Hill, Mt Baker and Rainier Beach neighborhoods. As Executive Director, Janice is responsible for planning, budgeting, human resources, service delivery, and shared governance involving a volunteer board of directors and elected parent body.

Janice is also the president of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, a membership organization representing 72 programs and over 20,000 low-income children and families in Washington. The Association works for the benefit of children and families through advocacy, education and collaboration. She is past president of the Japanese American Citizens League, Seattle Chapter, one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the country.

Janice received her Masters in Education from Seattle University, Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of Washington. She is a Seattle native and is raising two young children.

Joan Yoshitomi , Special Assistant OSPI
Ms. Yoshitomi is the Special Assistant for Family and Community Engagement and State Coordinator of the 21 st Century Community Learning Centers for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. She provides technical assistance to school districts, educators, project directors, families, and communities regarding strategies for engaging families in academic achievement and after school programming. Joan has worked in the public sector for more than 26 years. Prior to working for the state, she managed the agenda of the King County Executive Gary Locke and the executive staff; as well as, coordinated the community outreach activities for the executive office. She worked for the Seattle Public School District as their State Legislative Liaison, developing, monitoring and moving education legislation. She has been actively involved in both local community activities and Asian Pacific American community issues.

Robin Zukoski, Office of the Governor
Robin Zukoski is Governor Locke's policy advisor for child care and early learning. She also served as the Executive Director for the Governor's Commission on Early Learning co-chaired by First Lady Mona Locke and Melinda Gates. Ms Zukoski attended Barnard College and Stanford Law School.