State Leadership Teams
A directory of the ten SpecialQuest State Leadership Teams selected to work with SpecialQuest Birth–Five and consultants through September 2010 is provided. State activity summaries coming soon.
COLORADO
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Cheryl Ducey
SpecialQuest Coaches
Jan Phillips Paulsen
Fernanda Armenta Schmitt
State Leadership Team Liaison
Holly Wilcher
Graduate Community Programs
Eagle County Early Head Start
First Steps Early Head Start/Developmental Opportunities (StarPoint)
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those attending the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Arapahoe Community College
- CDHS-Division for Developmental Disabilities
- Colorado Department of Education
- Division of Child Care, Colorado Department of Human Services
- Eagle County Early Head Start Early Childhood Health / PSD
- First Steps Early Head Start/Developmental Opportunities (StarPoint)
- Fisher Early Learning Center, University of Colorado
- Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Colorado
- PEAK Parent Center
- Smart Start Colorado Office of Professional Development
- Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Colorado Health Sciences Center/JFK Partner
GEORGIA
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Shelly deFosset
SpecialQuest Coaches
Robin Blount
Pat Spratley-Speaks
State Leadership Team Liaison
Jennie Couture
Graduate Community Programs
CDI Head Start Serving Sumter County Georgia
Easter Seals of North Georgia
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- BFTS: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
- DeKalb Schools
- DOE: Division of Exceptional Students
- Georgia Dept. of Education Division for Special Education
- Georgia Head Start Association
- Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities
- Easter Seals of North Georgia
- McIntosh Trail Early Childhood Development Center
- Navigation to Connections/Parent to Parent of Georgia
- Smart Start Georgia
- Southwest Georgia Community Action Council / EHS/HS
- Telamon Corporation, Inc.
LOUISIANA
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Cathy Liles
SpecialQuest Coaches
Toni Ledet
Tamanika Odinga
State Leadership Team Co-Liaison
Mary Hockless
Pam Sund
Graduate Community Programs
St. Charles Parish Public School Board
West Feleciana Schools Family Service Center
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Dept. of Social Services Contractor
- Early Steps
- Excellence for Children, LLC
- First Step LLC SPOE
- Innovations in Education, LLC
- Louisiana Department of Education
- Louisiana Dept. of Social Services
- Louisiana Parent Training and Information Center
- Louisiana State Interagency Coordinating Council
- Regina Coeli Child Development Center
- Region VI Head Start TA Network
- St. Charles Parish Public School Board
- TCA Head Start
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Volunteers of North Louisiana
- West Feleciana Schools Family Service Center
MASSACHUSETTS
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Trish Mengel
SpecialQuest Coaches
Evelyn Hausslein
Linda Ross
State Leadership Team Liaison
Pat Cameron
Graduate Community Programs
Holyoke/Chicopee/Springfield Head Start, Holyoke
Citizens for Citizens Head Start, Fall River
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Cape Cod Child Development Program, EI & Head Start
- Department of Early Education and Care
- Early Education and Care
- EI Parent Leadership Project/ICC Staff
- Lesley University
- MA Department of Public Health
- Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
- Massachusetts Dept. of Early Education and Care / EEC
- Massachusetts Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Project
- Massachusetts Head Start Association, Inc.
- Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
- NECTAC
- North Shore Community College
- P.A.C.E. Inc., Child Care Works
- Thom Western Regional Consultation Program
- University of Massachusetts, Boston
MISSOURI
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Cathy Liles
SpecialQuest Coaches
Laura Brooke
Barb Razer
State Leadership Team Liaison
Stacey Owsley
Graduate Community Programs
Children’s Therapy Center
Missouri Valley Community Action
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Children’s Division/Eary Childhood & Prevention Services, DSS
- Children’s Therapy Center Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
- Department of Health and Senior Services
- Department of Mental Health
- Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Ed.–Special Ed. Compliance
- Human Development and Family Studies
- ICF International - Region VII Technical Assistance
- MHSA
- Missouri Head Start State Collaboration Office
- Missouri Resource & Referral Network
- Missouri Valley Community Action
- Moberly Area Community College
- National Child Care Information & Technical Assistance Center
- UMKC Institute for Human Development
NEW MEXICO
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Cheryl Ducey
SpecialQuest Coaches
Judy Kimmel
Ellen Pope
State Leadership Team Liaison
Sophie Bertrand
Graduate Community Programs
Alamo Navajo Early Childhood Program
La Clinica De Familia Early Head Start
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Alamo Navajo Early Childhood Program
- Child Care Services Bureau
- Christina Kent Day Nursery
- DOH-DDSD
- Eastern New Mexico University
- EPICS (Native American Parent Advocacy)
- Head Start Collaboration Office
- Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico
- La Clinica De Familia Early Head Start
- New Mexico School for the Blind & Visually Impaired
- NM Children, Youth & Families Dept., Family Services Bureau
- NM Governor’s Commission on Disability
- Office of Indian Education, Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Parents Reaching Out
- PED/Special Education Bureau
- Tresco TOTS
- University of New Mexico – PSN/CDD
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
OHIO
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Katy McCullough
SpecialQuest Coaches
Felecia Jordan
Susan Rohrbough
State Leadership Team Co-Liaison
Kim Carlson
James Scott
Graduate Community Programs
Mahoning-Youngstown Area CAP
WSOS CAC, Inc.
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Bureau of Child Care and Devel./Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Services
- Judith Herb College of Ed./Dept. of Early Childhood, Physical and Spec. Ed.
- OCCRRA
- Office of Early Learning & School Readiness
- Ohio Department of Education: Office of Learning & School Readiness
- Ohio Department of Health
- Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
- WSOS CAC, Inc
PENNSYLVANIA
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Katy McCullough
SpecialQuest Coaches
Ann Herbruck
Sheila Alicea Negron
State Leadership Team Liaison
Beth Fairchild
Graduate Community Programs
Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center Early Head Start
Fulton Center for Families Early Head Start
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- ACF Region III Head Start / ICF International
- Bureau of Early Education Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning
- Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center Early Head Start
- Early Intervention Technical Assistance
- Fulton Center for Families Early Head Start
- Special Kids Network
VIRGINIA
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Katy McCullough
SpecialQuest Coaches
Pam Booker
Yash Bhagwanji
State Leadership Team Liaison
Deana Buck
Graduate Community Programs
Gum Springs Children’s Center
Total Action Against Poverty Head Start/Early Head Start
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- Academic Services and Research/Virginia Community College System
- Child Development Resources
- Governor’s Working Group on Early Childhood Initiatives
- Gum Springs Children’s Center
- Infant & Toddler Connection of VA, Department of MH/MR/SA Services
- Partnership for People with Disabilities
- PEATC / Richmond Regional Office
- Region III Head Start TA System
- Stafford County Schools Head Start
- The ARC of Virginia Family Involvement
- Total Action Against Poverty HS/EHS
- VA Commonwealth University VACCRRN
- Virginia Commonwealth Training and Technical Assistance Center
- Virginia Department of Education
- Virginia Department of Services
- Virginia Department of Social Services
WYOMING
SpecialQuest Coordinator
Cheryl Ducey
SpecialQuest Coaches
Evelyn Klimpel
Christy Thompson
State Leadership Team Co-Liaison
Rick Hufnagel
Laurie Westlake
Graduate Community Programs
Wyoming Child and Family Development, Inc.
Shoshone/Arapahoe Head Start
Organizations Represented on State Leadership Team (those represented in attendance at the National Leadership SpecialQuest):
- CNS
- Head Start State Collaboration Office, University of Wyoming
- Laramie County Head Start
- Lincoln Uinta Child Development Association
- Maternal and Family Health, Dept. of Health
- Parent Information Center/Parent Education Network
- Shoshone/Arapahoe Head Start
- Sweetwater County School District #1 Head Start
- The Learning Center EHS
- Wyoming Child and Family Development, Inc.
- Wyoming Department of Education
- Wyoming Department of Family Services
- Wyoming Department of Health, Division of Developmental Disabilities
- Wyoming Institute of Disabilities, University of Wyoming