Dr. Shannon Calderone

Improvement Coach

Dr. Shannon Calderone is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Sport Management at Washington State University. In this role, she has taught classes on leading for school and organizational improvement, human resource and fiscal management, as well as research methodology and practice-based inquiry. She has likewise worked with a number of districts within the state of Washington on an assortment of improvement initiatives as well as led statewide workshops for education leaders on the implementation of improvement science and design-based principles within their respective schools and districts.

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 and Advisor

Alan Guttman is the Principal Consultant at Alan Guttman Consulting. He earned an M.A. degree in early childhood education from New York University and has served children birth to 12 years old and their families for over 40 years as a Head Start director, public school district child development program administrator, education specialist, teacher, parent educator, and college adjunct faculty member. Alan is the former Project Director of Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) Head Start in Los Angeles. He also served and supported Head Start programs with the Los Angeles and Riverside County Offices of Education. Alan is a frequent presenter at National Head Start Association conferences, and he revised NHSA's Programs of Excellence Accreditation initiative. Most recently Alan was the Director of Early Childhood Policy & Systems at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education.

Dr. Marilyn Hosea

Organizational Learning Lead

Dr. Marilyn Hosea resides in Denver with her beloved COVID-19 companion, Berkeley, the Goldendoodle. She is a fourth-generation African American Coloradoan—with family roots and ties in Denver, Pueblo, and Walsenburg, Colorado. Her life story centers around equal access to education, community engagement, and social justice. Her career includes over thirty years of administration and management of federally funded Head Start and public sector organizations in California and Colorado. In 2014, Dr. Hosea founded OrgLearning2 | LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in research, innovation, and consultation on how to create space for storytelling and change within organizations.

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

Partner

Peter Huffaker is a founding partner of CCR Analytics, a company that specializes in helping early education agencies get the most value from the data they collect. He has a broad background spanning both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. He specializes in the use of data and analysis to inform management decisions. He holds an MBA and an MSW, from the University of Chicago.

Cathe Kuker

Engagement Manager

Cathe Kuker currently serves as an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Adjunct Professor at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, teaching, guiding, and supporting cohorts of non-traditional students in on-line settings to obtain their CDA credentials.

Cathe has 32 years’ experience in the Head Start community including serving as a Director, working with the Pennsylvania Head Start State Collaboration Project, serving as grant reader, and providing Program Management software training to ensure programs can effectively show program strengths, areas of need and to accurately report to funders.

Cathe spent 4 years as part of the Federal Head Start Monitoring Project. Serving as a consultant reviewer, then as an employee; first as the Process Reliability Specialist, providing content area expertise and analysis to support the timely delivery of accurate Head Start monitoring review reports then as a Comprehensive Services and School Readiness Content Area Lead, working with review teams virtually and on-site to ensure Head Start and Early Head Start programs were in compliance with Head Start performance standards specific to child development, family services, health and disability services.

Cathe earned a Master of Science in Education at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. Through her work with Early Intel, Cathe hopes to continue to promote quality education experiences for children and families through the provision of quality training, technical assistance, coaching, monitoring, and feedback.

Kimberly Leon-Grey

Membership & Program Manager

Kimberly Leon-Grey currently works in program management and logistics but has formerly served as a case manager and training coordinator in the mental health arena. She has experience working with mentally ill and chemically addicted adults in day programs, and shelters in Brooklyn, NY and Atlanta, GA. She has worked as an after-school Group Leader and was previously certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Most recently, she worked as the Logistics Coordinator for ChildPlus Software where she was responsible for planning and coordinating events such as the Training Scramble!!.

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 is a researcher and educator committed to the design of environments that support equitable learning for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Currently an Assistant Professor in the Educational Leadership Department at California State University, Fullerton, Dr. Lozano teaches courses in instructional leadership where principal candidates learn to use improvement science to bring about change within their own organizations. Dedicated to working in partnership, Dr. Lozano regularly collaborates with leaders, instructional teams, and scholars, in an effort to impact students’ learning trajectories and improve school-based learning experiences. Dr. Lozano brings 23+ years of professional experience working with school communities across the United States to her work with the Q.I. Network.

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 launched Early Intel after serving as Chief Quality Improvement Officer for the National Head Start Association. At NHSA he staffed the Monitoring Redesign Task Force which informed the overhaul of the Aligned Monitoring System. While at NHSA, he also partnered with the University of Chicago to develop an assessment for family engagement, and oversaw planning and content for the Early Childhood Innovation Summit and Manager & Director Academy.

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 is a founding partner of CCR Analytics. Prior to starting CCR Analytics in 2006, April was a Senior Data Analyst at child care non-profits Crystal Stairs and Child Development Resources of Ventura County. She specializes in quantitative and statistical analysis for the child care sector. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Economics, with an emphasis in Quantitative Analysis and undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Economics from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Dr. Rebecca Colina Neri

CQI Trainer and Coach

Dr. Rebecca Colina Neri is an educational consultant and Assistant Professor of the Learning Sciences at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her work focuses on the intersections of race, culture, trauma, and learning across K-16 learning contexts. Rebecca utilizes an equity-centered, data-driven, and practice-oriented approach to building research-practice partnerships with schools focused on improving students’ educational, career, and life trajectories. Her approach to both research and educational consulting is founded on the belief that the pursuit of robust justice in education requires both centering the voices and experiences of minoritized students and examining, to redress, the practical realities and context-specific demands of the complex systems students navigate. As such, Rebecca’s approach integrates conceptual and pragmatic tools from asset-based frameworks (e.g., Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Funds of Knowledge) with the study of how complex systems, like schools, produce “wicked” problems of practice and influence the implementation of practice-based interventions (e.g., Improvement Science). In her consulting work, Rebecca also combines her training and expertise in improvement science, critical race theory, and culturally sustaining pedagogies with her practitioner experience as a mathematics teacher and instructional coach. As a mathematics teacher and instructional coach for 12+ years across K-16 contexts, Rebecca developed a deep understanding of how content, pedagogical, and racial/cultural know-how interact with systemic factors (e.g., institutional barriers, conflicting responsibilities, lack of quality support and resources, etc.) in ways that can either empower or hinder student learning and well-being. Rebecca’s lived experiences supporting family members and students in the navigation of multiple systems related to schooling, foster care, mental health, incarceration, and healthcare have also greatly inspired her work. She has learned that addressing complex problems of schooling (i.e. trauma, gaps in learning, teacher-student relationships, school culture, family partnerships, etc.) requires finding, or designing, opportunities to learn and collaborate across communities, sectors, disciplines, and systems.

Pamm Shaw

Engagement Manager

Pamm Shaw is the Vice President of Strategic Funding and Partnerships for the YMCA of the East Bay. Formerly the Director of their early childhood programs (Head Start, Early Head Start, and subsidized Child Development). Pamm has extensive experience in successfully implementing programs, professional development and managing multiple funding sources and is known for her innovative and creative programs. Pamm has directed statewide training and technical assistance projects, with a focus on traditionally underserved populations.

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’s specialty is data management and quality assurance for early learning and Community Action agencies. Her background includes contract management, compliance, and system design. She is the founder of TRIBECCA SYSTEMS, where she and her team offer solutions for organizational management, identify funding opportunities and engagement, assist in data and database management, design policy and procedure, implement new agency programs, produce community assessments, annual and funder-related reporting and quality assurance systems.

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

As a seasoned Early Childhood Development professional, Youlanda combines her passion and talents for connecting people to learning and pathways to thrive. She has worked in grassroots community organizations serving children and families directly and indirectly. She strongly believes all children should have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

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 is a proven management systems and operations leader with a track record for creating high-functioning teams. Her professional development is grounded in organizations serving children and families. Notable leadership roles include operations management, regional management, evaluation and monitoring, program design and improvement, and federal oversight. Dr. Del-Zio's most recent professional work was with the Office of Head Start Federal Monitoring contract. During her service to the contract, she facilitated or managed approximately 400 federal reviews.

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. Kalu-Thompson brings over 20 years of teaching, instructional and improvement coaching, and educational leadership to her role as an Improvement Coach at Early Intel. Her educational career began in Toronto, Ontario Canada as a 4th/5th grade teacher, and has spanned to the United States, in Atlanta, Georgia, San Francisco/Oakland, California, and currently Seattle, Washington. During her dynamic career in education, Marissa has had the opportunity to hold several roles in the service of children, teachers, and community members: specifically, a classroom teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, principal and most recently a Senior improvement coach within both urban and suburban school districts. Believing in the power of continuous improvement as a practice for growth and development for both students and educators, Marissa continues to strive for full equity for all students, but particularly those that continue to be harmed by inequitable systemic practices and beliefs.

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 is an improvement practitioner and researcher whose professional and scholarly work sits at the intersection of justice, equity, learning, teaching, and improvement. Dr. Sandoval is currently an Improvement Specialist at WestEd, where he leads and supports projects focused on developing the capacity of educators and other stakeholders in the education sector to use improvement for systems transformation. Dr. Sandoval is also currently an adjunct lecturer at Cal State Fullerton, where he teaches improvement research methods to Ed.D. students.

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

For the last 15 years, Linda has provided guidance and technical assistance to school and community leaders on projects that improve the education, health, and well-being of students and staff. Most recently, she was the Deputy Director of the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, the George Washington University where she directed projects that advanced school-community collaboration, led Communities of Practice and provided technical assistance to school staff on improving family engagement efforts and school behavioral health supports, and supported district-wide CQI efforts for improving school mental health systems. Her experiences span school health, education, nonprofit communication, publishing, teaching English in Slovakia, and developing educational products for the Smithsonian Institution. Linda has a B.A. in English Literature from Colgate University and an MEd from the University of Virginia. She is currently working on her dissertation on school leadership for the whole child for her EDD in Administration and Supervision at the University of Virginia.

Susan Johnston Taylor

Communications Manager

Susan Johnston Taylor has over a decade of experience in writing and communications, covering topics including literacy, education, and kids making a difference in their communities. In addition to contributing to Highlights for Children and Scout Life, she has written leveled readers for several educational publishers including Teacher Created Materials. Her debut picture book, Animals in Surprising Shades: Poems About Earth’s Colorful Creatures, releases in March 2023 with Gnome Road Publishing. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Boston University's College of Communications.