About Us
About Us
Q.I. Network Members

- ECAP Sonoma
- ECAP Tulsa
- EChelan Douglas, Child Services Association
- EChild Start Inc. / Napa - Solano
- EChild Start, Inc. / Wichita
- EDavis School District Head Start
- EDelta Health Alliance
- EDouglass Community Services Head Start
- EElk Grove USD
- EEpiscopal Children's Services, Inc.
- EFirst Start Partnerships for Children and Families
- EIzzi Early Education
- E Kitsap Community Resources
- ELong Beach Unified School District Head Start
- EMatrix Human Services
- EMerced County Office of Education
- EMercer County Head Start/Early Head Start
- EMission Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
- EMonticello Area Community Action Agency
- ENeighborhood House Association
- ENew St Paul Head Start Agency, Inc.
- ENorthcoast Children's Services
- EPacific Clinics Head Start
- E Placer Community Action Council, Inc.
- ERegion 10 Education Service Center
- ERural Alaska Community Action Program
- ESETA Head Start
- EThe Centers for Families and Children
- EThe Unity Council
- ETri-County Head Start
- EVerner Center for Early Learning
- EWild Plum Center for Young Children
- EWu Yee Children's Services
- EYMCA of the East Bay
EARLY INTEL’S MISSION

Early Intel’s mission is to improve outcomes for young children and families, by supporting program leaders with data and professional development.
We accomplish this through a three part strategy:

Organize the metrics and analytics that enable programs to understand their quality opportunities.

Provide training and support for programs to implement continuous quality improvement.

Facilitate and staff a learning community of program leaders to identify bright spots and advance the practice of CQI.
OUR VALUES


Care
Care and commitment to children, families, and the staff serving them is at the foundation of our work.

Inquiry
Alongside the programs we serve, we are always asking “how can we improve child and family outcomes?”

Equity
We work to ensure that all children and families get the support they need to overcome barriers and close the achievement gap.

Rigor
The only way to know if one is improving is through measurement, thoughtfully and with discipline.
Receive Our Blog
Our “Early Insights” blog offers occasional updates and analysis for early childhood program leaders, at the intersection of data and quality improvement.
OUR TEAM

Our team is composed of seasoned Head Start directors, analytics experts and improvement trainers and coaches with a shared passion for helping program leaders and improving the lives of children and families.
Dr. Shannon Calderone
Improvement Coach
Dr. Shannon Calderone
Improvement Coach
Dr. Calderone’s scholarly work focuses on the importance of social cohesion to school success. To this end, she is most interested in understanding the drivers of trust and risk perceptions among educators and students, as well as the impact of these perceptions on educational decision-making and change efforts.
Dr. Calderone earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. in History from Georgetown University.
Alan Guttman
Writer & Advisor
Alan Guttman
Writer and Advisor
Dr. John Hall
Coaching Lead
John Hall
Coaching Lead
John Hall is an Assistant Professor of Policy, Organizational, and Leadership Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University. Dr. Hall studies the organization of school systems, the development of school system leaders, and the application of design-based approaches in schools and other organizations. His publications include, with Rick Mintrop, Design-based school improvement: A practical guide for education leaders. Dr. Hall also serves as the Chief Academic Officer of bina, a system of online international schools serving children aged 4 to 12. He serves as an advisor to a range of other early-stage school design efforts.
Previously, Dr. Hall led the Oakland Unified School District’s academic redesign team, providing support and guidance to the district’s leaders, developing systems to support the coaching of teachers and principals, and serving as a “boundary spanner” between research and practice. Prior to that, he helped launch a charter school network in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded a support organization for charter and district leaders across the region.
Dr. Hall has been a teacher and an administrator in district schools, charter schools, independent schools, and international schools. Dr. Hall began his career as a research scientist, managing neuroscience laboratories at the University of Washington and at UC San Francisco. Dr. Hall received a BS in Biology and BA in Education from the University of Washington and an MEd and PhD in Education Policy from UC Berkeley.
Kristen Hayes
Management Training Lead
Kristen Hayes
Management Training Lead
Kristen holds a Masters of Public Management in Social Policy from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a Certificate in Data Analytics from Cornell University. She is the Vice President of the Massachusetts Head Start Association Board of Directors and a former member of the Massachusetts Head Start State Collaboration Office Advisory Council.
Dr. Marilyn Hosea
Organizational Learning Lead
Dr. Marilyn Hosea
Organizational Learning Lead
In addition to heading OrgLearning2, she also is an Affiliate Faculty member at Anderson School of Business and Economics at Regis University. Dr. Hosea teaches graduate level courses in leadership, innovation, and change management. She maintains an active research and professional academic profile in her current work and personal interests—including being a founding member of the newly incorporated Denver Black Reparations Council (DBRC). The DBRC works in direct collaboration with City/County of Denver and national philanthropic organizations and individuals to heal and correct systematic inequality in the form of housing discrimination, unequal education, law enforcement brutality, mass incarceration, employment discrimination and wealth/opportunity gaps.
Dr. Hosea received her Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Her studies focused on organizational behavior and nonprofit sector governance/leadership. Dr. Hosea is the
recipient of national and international awards, fellowships, and acknowledgment for her professional accomplishments.
Peter Huffaker
Analytics Lead and Trainer
Peter Huffaker
Partner
Dr. Julie Kallio
Improvement Coach
DR. JULIE KALLIO
Improvement Coach
Julie Kallio is an innovation specialist at the Breck School where she leads participatory design, coaches educators, and provides program and technology support, all with the goal of empowering educators to lead systems change. Julie graduated with her PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, studying how Networked Improvement Communities can build educational systems for innovation and improvement. She was the lead researcher on the Personalization in Practice (PiP) research team and former research director for the PiP-Networked Improvement Community, an IES grant-funded position to bring together teachers to do collaborative design work around emerging practices. Her research interests include research-practice partnerships, design, innovation and improvement, social networks, and physical learning spaces. Julie previously taught in outdoor education and independent schools, leading technology integration, teaching science, and dorm parenting.
Kimberly Leon-Grey
Membership & Program Manager
Kimberly Leon-Grey
Membership & Program Manager
Kimberly earned her B.A. in psychology from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. She will bring her years of experience in human services and logistics to the Early Intel team as the Membership and Program Manager.
Dr. Maritza Lozano
CQI Training Lead
Dr. Maritza Lozano
CQI Training Lead
Dr. Lozano earned her Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds an M.A. in Education with an emphasis in Reading, K-12, from California State University, Los Angeles and a B.A. in Spanish Literary Studies from Occidental College.
Rick Mockler
Principal and Founder
Rick Mockler
Principal and Founder
Rick began his career developing local youth and family programs for Catholic Charities in Oakland, California. He went on to lead Catholic Charities of California and then to start a community development company, CoHousing Partners. He later served as Executive Director of the California Head Start Association, where he oversaw professional development for program directors and managers, launched a Family Development Credential statewide, and championed legislative initiatives that streamlined assessment and licensing requirements.
Rick was introduced to child development while helping his daughter learn baby signs as participants in the first major research on the subject, by UC Davis. He holds a BA in Political Science, MA in liberation theology, MPA in organization change and a certificate from the UCLA Anderson School’s Head Start Management Fellows Program. He loves working on hacks to make life easier for classroom teachers and the line staff who serve families.
April Morris
Analytics Lead and Trainer
April Morris
Analytics Lead and Trainer
Dr. Rebecca Colina Neri
CQI Trainer and Coach
Dr. Rebecca Colina Neri
CQI Trainer and Coach
Pamm Shaw
Engagement Manager
Pamm Shaw
Engagement Manager
She has developed and contributed to numerous articles and curricula specifically to improve the skills of early childhood professionals to meet the needs of all children and families. Pamm and her team have created the Head Start Apprenticeship program – training Head Start and child care parents to become early learning professionals.
Pamm has worked in early education programs for over 40 years as a teacher, administrator, trainer and director.
Rebecca Trivax
Trainer and Coach
Rebecca Trivax
Trainer and Coach
Rebecca holds a Master’s in Public Health and has bilingual fluency in English and Spanish. She is passionate about her work to assist Head Start agencies in all-things data.
Youlanda Upkins
Advisor
Youlanda Upkins
Advisor
During her tenure as an Executive at the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, she assisted in expanding the social impact by investing in and spearheading early learning innovations throughout different eco-systems, leading to continued opportunities for children and families to connect to greater social outcomes. Youlanda’s extensive experience in working with and building partnerships between national, state and local community agencies have yielded positive brand recognition for the agencies and communities that she has partnered.
Her career has been progressive and she has served in roles such as: Vice-President, Head Start Executive, Head Start/Early Head Start Director, Pre-School Director; also she worked as the Education Program Analyst/Program Licensing Specialist with the Georgia Pre-K Program formerly known as Office of School Readiness (currently Bright from the Start/Department of Early Care and Learning).
Recognized on the national level in the early childhood development community, Youlanda has served as the Vice President of the Black Child Development Institute – Atlanta Affiliate and is a founding member of the Head Starter Network Board – Non-profit organization leading innovation. Additionally, Youlanda has served as a Leadership Coach/Trainer (since 2007) at the NIKE sponsored National Head Start Association – Starting Block Emerging Leadership training in Beaverton, Oregon.
She has earned multiple professional certifications, including the University of Georgia (UGA) – Executive Leadership for Nonprofit Organizations, UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA’s New Directors Mentor Initiative and Consultant (Howard Gesbeck-Wipfli) Non-Profit and Government Certification. Currently, she serves as an independent executive consultant, coach, speaker, and trainer with the John Maxwell Team where she is adept at leading and coaching educators, senior administrators, and boards.
Dr. Desiree Del-Zio
Director of Services
Dr. Desiree Del-Zio
Director of Services
Dr. Del-Zio earned a Master of Arts Degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management and an Education Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership. In her years of academic development, Dr. Del-Zio received a lifetime membership in Mu Lambda Nu and Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Societies for academic excellence in public service and education studies. Dr. Del-Zio is certified in Diversity and Inclusion and Nonprofit Management and Leadership.
As the Chief Executive Officer and Principal Consultant for D.E.&C Consulting, Dr. Del-Zio offers services such as Federal Monitoring Review Preparation, Gap Analysis and Change Implementation, Leadership Coaching, Training and Technical Assistance, and customized services that meet organization's unique learning and growth development needs.
Dr. Marissa
Kalu-Thompson
Improvement Coach
Dr. Marissa Kalu-Thompson
Improvement Coach
Dr. Kalu-Thompson earned a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario), an Honors Bachelor of Social Work from York University (North York, Ontario), a Master’s in Education in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from the University of Toronto/OISE, (Toronto, Ontario), and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership that researched the impact Emotional Intelligence may have on the leadership of K-5 Principals), from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. In her spare time, reading (for pleasure), creative writing, visiting new restaurants and traveling keep her cup(s) of happiness filled!
Dr. Carlos Sandoval
Improvement Coach
Dr. Carlos Sandoval
Improvement Coach
Dr. Sandoval received his Ph.D. and Master's in education from the University of California, Irvine. His dissertation focused on an improvement network of teacher preparation programs across the University of California system. Prior to graduate school, Dr. Sandoval received training in improvement science at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Linda Sheriff
Improvement Coach
Linda Sheriff
Improvement Coach
Susan Johnston Taylor
Communications Manager
Susan Johnston Taylor
Communications Manager
Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.
~ Mark Twain