Our file of experts is organized into the following categories: Advocates, Academics, Preschool-K-12 Connection, Economic Benefits, Preschool Implementation, Business Supporters, High-Profile Supporters, including law enforcement and legislative leaders, and Organizational Leaders.
A growing number of academics, researchers, advocates, economists, law-enforcement leaders, business people and others are well positioned to comment on the importance of quality preschool. If you need help contacting any of the individuals listed below, please call Michele Stillwell-Parvensky, Communications and Internet Advocacy Associate, at (510) 271-0075 x317.
Advocates
Maryann O'Sullivan, J.D.
mosullivan@preschoolcalifornia.org
By telephone contact Michele Stillwell-Parvensky at (510) 271-0075 x317
Maryann O’Sullivan is Founder and CEO of Preschool California and a 20-year veteran of children’s and health policy advocacy in California. She was the founding State Director for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California and has served as a consultant to health policy advocates seeking to influence the newly democratic government of South Africa. Her areas of expertise include the California preschool landscape, teacher quality, education and economic benefits, and making the case for a “universal” preschool system in California. Read her November 2004 op-ed in the Fresno Bee.
Libby Doggett, Ph.D
ldoggett@preknow.org
By telephone contact DeDe Dunevant: (202) 862-9862
Libby Doggett is executive director of Pre-K Now, a national advocacy and public education organization that collaborates with state advocates to inform policy makers, the media and the general public about the potential of pre-kindergarten to improve outcomes for America’s young children. Prior to joining Pre-K Now, she directed the HeadsUp! reading program at the National Head Start Association. Her areas of expertise include the national preschool landscape; state efforts to expand preschool access; and teacher quality.
David Lawrence, Jr.
dlawrence@childreadiness.org
(305) 646-7229
Dave Lawrence is president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and former publisher of The Miami Herald. He played a key role in the passage of Florida’s 2004 constitutional amendment to provide preschool for all 4 year olds statewide. He has also been a leader in The Children’s Trust, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe and the Florida Partnership for School Readiness. In June 2005, Lawrence gave a powerful presentation to members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly on the importance of preschool opportunity for all and how to make it happen in Pennsylvania.
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Academics
Steve Barnett
sbarnett@nieer.org
(732) 932-4350
Steve Barnett is Director of the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) and professor of education economics and public policy at Rutgers University. Recent publications include Lives in the Balance, a benefit-cost analysis of preschool education based on a 25-year study. His areas of expertise include the economic and educational benefits of preschool; the national preschool landscape; and teacher qualifications.
Lucy Crain, M.D.
lcrain@itsa.ucsf.edu
By telephone through San Francisco FIRST 5: (415) 934-4849
Dr. Lucy Crain was the founding director of the UCSF Pediatric Disabilities and Down Syndrome Clinic and is a past regional chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She chairs the San Francisco FIRST 5 Commission, as well as on the California Children’s Partnership Health Policy Board and High Risk Infant Advisory Committee. Her areas of expertise include the importance of quality preschool and preventive health measures for children. Read her June 2005 letter to the editor of the San Francisco Examiner.
Linda Espinosa
espinosal@missouri.edu
(573) 882-2659
Linda Espinosa is Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and former Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. She is a former preschool teacher and elementary school principal. Her areas of expertise include preschool teacher training and quality, effective preschool programs for at-risk children, and the design of effective curriculum and assessment for English language learners.
Eugene Garcia
Eugene.garcia@asu.edu
(480) 965-1329
Eugene Garcia is Dean of the College of Education at Arizona State University. He chairs the National Task Force on Early Childhood Education of Hispanics. He is author of Hispanic Education in the US: Raices y Alas. His areas of expertise include the early learning needs of English language learners and the underrepresentation of Latino children in preschool programs.
William Gormley
gormleyw@georgetown.edu
(202) 687-6817
William Gormley is co-director of the Center for Research on Children in the U.S. (CROCUS) at Georgetown University. He is also principal investigator for Georgetown University's evaluation of Oklahoma's universal preschool program, which has a higher participation rate than any other preschool program in the country. His areas of expertise include the impact of preschool on children as they enter K-12.
Gormley is extensively interviewed in a great NPR piece on Oklahoma's universal preschool system. Listen.
Read his Gerogetown University article, The Universal Pre-K Bandwagon.
You can also read an article by William Gormley et al, recently published in the journal Developmental Psychology.
Suzanne Helburn
snhelburn@earthlink.net
(303) 443-2408
Suzanne Helburn is Professor Emerita of Economics at the University of Colorado, Denver. She was the principle investigator of the landmark Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers which brought together a team of researchers from four universities to complete the most comprehensive study to date of U.S. child care centers and their impact on children. She is co-author of America’s Child Care Problem and of the recently published The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America, a primer on U.S. politics. Her areas of preschool expertise include program quality, the economics of child care/preschool, and the status of the preschool workforce.
Carollee Howes
howes@gseis.ucla.edu
(310) 825-8336
Carollee Howes is Professor of Psychological Studies in Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research primarily revolves around the social and emotional development of young children. She co-authored, with Suzanne Helburn, Child Care Cost and Quality. Her areas of expertise include child care and preschool program and teacher quality.
David Kirp
kirp@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-7531
David Kirp is a Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the founding director of the Center for Law and Education and has also worked as a journalist. He has written about preschool for national publications, and is at work on a new book about the national movement to establish preschool for all. His most recent book is titled, Shakespeare, Einstein, and the Bottom Line: Higher Education Goes to Market. Read his November 2004 article on the Perry Preschool study in the New York Times Magazine and his July 2005 article in the Times’ Education Life supplement.
Deborah Stipek
stipek@stanford.edu
(650) 725-9090
Deborah Stipek is the Dean of the School of Education at Stanford University. She worked as a legislative assistant in the Office of U.S. Senator Bill Bradley and served for five years on the Board on Children, Youth and Families at the National Research Council. Her areas of expertise include: early childhood development, achievement and motivation, classroom instruction and issues related to child and family policy.
Ross Thompson, Ph.D
rathompson@ucdavis.edu
(510) 754-6663
Ross A. Thompson is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is a founding member of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences committee that produced the landmark report, From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. His expertise includes early parent-child relationships, the development of emotion understanding, emotion regulation, conscience, and self-understanding, and children’s brain development prior to kindergarten. Read his July 2005 interview in the Sacramento Bee.
Marcy Whitebook
mwhbk@uclink.berkeley.edu
(510) 643-7091
Marcy Whitebook is director and senior researcher at the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California, Berkeley. She has served as project director for several large-scale child care studies and has developed a program designed to encourage professional development and retention of early childhood educators. Her latest book is By a Thread: How Centers Hold Onto Teachers; How Teachers Build Lasting Careers. Her areas of expertise include teacher and program quality, and teacher preparation programs.
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Preschool--K-12 Education
Armando Argandoña
awa1540@lausd.k12.ca.us
(916) 780-5331
Armando Argandoña is President of the California Kindergarten Association, a statewide professional association of kindergarten teachers. He is a nationally certified Early Childhood Generalist and taught kindergarten in the L.A. Unified School District for 10 years. He now works as a district primary school literacy coach, focusing on preschool through second grade. He speaks from experience about the difference quality preschool can make in children’s ability to succeed in school, both socially and academically.
David Gordon
dgordon@scoe.net
(916) 228-2500
David Gordon is Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools. Prior to joining the Sacramento County Office of Education, he served as Superintendent of the Elk Grove Unified School District, a pioneer in the effort to expand preschool programs for 4-year-olds. His areas of expertise include the connection between preschool and K-12 success, and the challenges and benefits of expanding access to preschool. Read his July 2005 op-ed in the Sacramento Bee.
Magdalena Carillo Mejia
Maggie Mejia is Superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District, a diverse, urban district of 50,000 students. She is the former superintendent of the Montebello Unified School District, and a former high school principal and classroom teacher. In 2004, she addressed a California legislative hearing on the importance of quality preschool.
Jack O'Connell
Go through Hillary McLean: hmclean@cde.ca.gov
(916) 319-0818
Jack O’Connell is California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He represented the Central Coast for 2 decades in the State Legislature, where he chaired policy committees including Senate Education and authored numerous landmark education bills, including legislation to establish a high school exit exam and California’s successful class-size reduction program. In 2004, O’Connell convened a new statewide P-16 Council, whose purpose is to better coordinate and integrate education in California, from preschool to college. In his 2005 “State of Education” speech, he called for California to make quality preschool available to all 4-year-olds statewide.
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Economic Benefits
Rob Grunewald
Rob.Grunewald@mpls.frb.org
(612) 204-5000
Rob Grunewald is Economic Analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, for which he conducts regional economic research and co-authors the Minneapolis Fed’s report on current economic conditions. In 2004, he testified before the California Legislature about the economic benefits of preschool. He is co-author of an economic policy paper, Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return (January 2003). His areas of expertise include the economic benefits of quality preschool.
James Heckman
j-heckman@uchicago.edu
(773) 702-3478
James Heckman is a Nobel laureate in economics and the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He is director of the University’s Economics Research Center and of its Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School of Public Policy. His paper, Invest in the Very Young, argues for the economic returns of investing in quality preschool opportunity for all. His areas of expertise include the economic benefits of quality preschool.
Lynn Karoly
Lynn_Karoly@rand.org
Go through RAND communications (310) 451-6913 or (703) 413-1100 x5117
Lynn Karoly is Director of Research Quality Assurance, Senior Economist and Professor of Economics at the RAND Graduate School. She is co-author of RAND’s 2005 report, The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California, which projected a return of $2.62 for every public dollar invested in quality preschool. Her areas of expertise include the benefits of quality preschool to the economy and the K-12 system.
Arthur Reynolds
areynolds@Waisman.Wisc.Edu
(608) 263-1847
Arthur Reynolds is a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is the director of the ongoing Chicago Longitudinal Study (pdf), which traces 1,500 low-income children born in 1980 who participated in the Chicago Child-Parent Center preschool program. His areas of expertise include the educational and economic benefits of preschool.
Arthur Rolnick
art.rolnick@mpls.frb.org
(612) 204-5441
Arthur J. Rolnick is senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and an associate economist with the Federal Open Market Committee. He has been a visiting professor of economics at Boston College, the University of Chicago, and the University of Minnesota. Most recently he was an adjunct professor of economics, MBA program, Lingnan College, Guangzhou, China and the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Recent papers include Early Childhood Development = Economic Development with a High Public Return. His areas of expertise include the economic benefits of quality preschool.
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Preschool Implementation
Karen Hill Scott
khs@karenhillscott.com
(310) 216-2928
Karen Hill Scott is President of the consulting firm Karen Hill-Scott & Company. She was the lead consultant to First 5 LA for the development of Universal Preschool in Los Angeles County. She chaired the California Legislature’s Master Plan subcommittee on school readiness, as well as the state superintendent’s 1998 Universal Preschool Taskforce. She sits on the board of the Foundation for Child Development. Her expertise includes teacher and program quality and the challenges of implementing large-scale programs on the local level.
Beth Lowe
elowe@LOWEENTERPRISES.com
Beth Lowe is chair of the Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) Board of Directors. She is a former member of the First 5 LA Commission, which allocated $600 million over 6 years to insure access to preschool for all LA County 4-year-olds. She chaired for two terms the Los Angleles County Commission for Children and Families. In addition, Lowe is a former member and Chair of the State Child Development Policy Advisory Committee as well as past president of Children’s Institute International. She was a member of the exploratory committee for the Preschool for All ballot initiative.
“We have the facts: So much brain growth occurs before children enter kindergarten. Children develop skills in preschool that prepare them to do better in K-12 and in life. Yet, the majority of our 4-year-olds in California go without quality preschool. We have to help them take full advantage of this critical time in their lives.”
--Beth Lowe
Kris Perry
Go through Elisa Bupara: ebupara@ccfc.ca.gov
Kris Perry is Executive Director of FIRST 5 California, the state agency that distributes a portion of the Prop. 10 tobacco tax funds for programs devoted to children from birth to age 5. She is former Executive Director of FIRST 5 San Mateo County, which committed significant funds to increase local access to quality preschool. Her areas of expertise include the benefits of preschool, and the challenges and rewards of expanding access at the local level.
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Business Supporters
Phil Halperin
phil@silvergiving.org
Phil Halperin is a former venture capitalist and president of the Silver Giving Foundation, a San Francisco-based philanthropy that supports children’s and education causes. He was a member of the exploratory committee that drafted the Preschool for All ballot initiative.
“A universal program stands the best chance of reaching not just poor but middle-income children, whose parents cannot afford private preschool fees that run twice as much as tuition to the state university system. It would give a huge and needed shot in the arm to our K-12 schools by getting many more children ready to succeed. Our state, our economy and — most importantly — our kids will be stronger for it.”
--Phil Halperin
Russell Hammer
rhammer@lachamber.org
(213) 580-7525
Rusty Hammer is President and CEO of the 1400-member Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which formally endorsed the Preschool for All initiative in July, 2005. He is the former President and CEO of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the former mayor of the city of Campbell, CA.
“After several months of review, our board of directors concluded that the benefits of the Preschool for All initiative will significantly improve the quality of our workforce, our education system and our quality of life. There is no one single fix in reforming our state’s public education system, but we are certain that the Preschool for All Act is one of the most important fixes.”
--Russell Hammer
Jerri Hemsworth
Go through Paul Kradin: pkradin@calstrat.com
(310) 843-9600
Jerri Hemsworth is founder and creative director of Newman Grace, an advertising and graphic design firm in Woodland Hills. She is president of the National Association of Women Business Owners-California. Read her 2005 op-ed in the Los Angeles Daily News.
“Our society has learned that early education for children is not an ‘experiment.’ The results are in: Preschool for all children will make a difference for all California.”
--Jerri Hemsworth
Al Jerome
Go through Paul Kradin: pkradin@calstrat.com
(310) 843-9600
Al Jerome is President and Chief Executive Officer of KCET, the public television station in Los Angeles. KCET produces two daily television series – “A Place of Our Own” and “Los Ninos en su Casa” – for parents and others who care for young children.
“We know the returns on investment in good preschool programs are substantial. If we make a smart investment in preschool for all, our kids, our workforce and our economy will reap the benefits.”
--Al Jerome
Dick Schlosberg
Go through Paul Kradin: pkradin@calstrat.com
(310) 843-9600
Dick Schlosberg is former publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times and a vocal proponent of preschool for all. A former Air Force pilot, he is a past campaign chairman of the Los Angeles and Denver United Way. He serves on the board of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Read his 2004 speech on preschool to the California Business Roundtable>>.
“For the sake of our state’s long-term economic health, we have to consider how California is going to prepare its future generations for the rigors of a global workspace. Sooner than you think, these students will become the labor pool from which you must recruit your workforce. And while it may seem like a long way off, your fortunes are closely linked with the achievements of these children—beginning with their preschool years.”
--Dick Schlosberg
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High-Profile Supporters
Lee Baca
Go through Erica Derryck: ederryck@calfightcrime.org
(510) 836-2050
Lee Baca is Los Angeles County Sheriff, commanding the largest sheriff’s department in the United States. He is the Director of Homeland Security-Mutual Aid for California Region and manages four nonprofit Youth Athletic League Centers serving at-risk youth in after-school programs. He is a longtime advocate for quality early childhood education.
“I’ve been involved in law enforcement for 40 years and I’ve seen the generations of children grow up. Many don’t succeed because they didn’t get a great start. When kids go to preschool, law enforcement benefits because those kids are less likely to drop out of school and then when they become adults, less likely to commit crime. Essentially, it’s a crime prevention tool.”
--Lee Baca
Wilma Chan
assemblymember.Chan@assembly.ca.gov
(510) 286-1670
Assemblymember Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) chairs the Assembly Committee on Health. She also served as the Assembly Majority Leader from 2002-2004 and as Majority Whip from 2001-2002. In January, 2005, Chan introduced AB 172, preschool-for-all legislation that declares the legislature’s support for publicly-funded, quality preschool for all 4-year olds in California. Previously, Chan chaired the Select Committee on California Children’s School Readiness and Health. Read her February 2005 op-ed in the Fresno Bee.
“Convincing research shows how much of the learning foundation is built before children ever get to kindergarten. A quality preschool can capitalize on this time, when 4-year-olds are primed and eager for discovery.”
--Wilma Chan
Sherry Lansing
info@sherrylansingfoundation.org
(510) 286-1670
Sherry Lansing is Chairman Emeritus of Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and a former teacher. She became the first female president of production for a Hollywood studio at 20th Century Fox Productions. She is a University of California regent and serves on the boards of Friends of Cancer Research, The University of Chicago, The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Teach for America. Lansing served on the exploratory committee for the Preschool for All ballot initiative.
“There’s no question that preschool for all is worth the investment. So much of children’s brain growth takes place before they enter kindergarten. The benefits of quality preschool should be in reach of every California child. We know it helps them do better in school and beyond, and that’s good for all of us.”
--Sherry Lansing
Paul Orfalea
Go through Lois Mitchell: lois@orfalea.org
(805) 565-7550
Paul Orfalea founded Kinko’s Inc. in 1970 and retired in the year 2000. The Orfalea Foundations focus on early care and education, caregiver training, learning differences and intergenerational programs, primarily in the Santa Barbara tri-county region. The foundation primarily supports child development facilities on college campuses, along with other children’s centers and programs for underprivileged youth. Orfalea also advocates on the importance for corporate responsibility by businesses to support “family-friendly” work/life policies including quality early care for children of working parents.
“Quality preschool helps children learn through creativity and play, fostering a love of learning that will serve them for the rest of their lives. All children deserve the chance to develop their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and to meet their full potential in school and in life.”
--Paul Orfalea
Camerino Sanchez
Go through Erica Derryck: ederryck@calfightcrime.org
(510) 836-2050
Camerino Sanchez is Chief of Police in Santa Barbara and has served as Chief of Police in the cities of San Rafael and Hollister. He is immediate past president of the California Police Chief’s Association. He has also served with the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Throughout his career, Chief Sanchez has pursued avenues for improving the lives of the youth in the communities in which he has served.
“If we really want to prevent crime, we have to be as ready to guarantee youngsters space in a quality preschool program as we are to guarantee criminals room and board in a prison cell.”
--Camerino Sanchez
Darrell Steinberg
dsteinberg@hansonbridgett.com
(916) 442-3333
Darrell Steinberg is a longtime preschool advocate who represented Sacramento for three terms in the California Assembly, where he chaired the Appropriations Committee. He chaired the successful 2004 campaign for Prop. 63, which expands mental health care for children and adults. He is now a leader of the government ethics and government relations practice of the Hanson Bridgett law firm.
“When I was in the Legislature, I fought for preschool opportunity for all California children. I believe it is the fair, responsible and smart thing to do. All of California will be better off when every California child has the chance to do his or her best in school. We need to get this done.”
--Darrell Steinberg
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Organizational Leaders
Catherine Atkin
catkin@preschoolcalifornia.org
Go through Michele Stillwell-Parvensky at (510) 271-0075 x317
Catherine Atkin is President of Preschool California. She is an attorney with legal and policy expertise in the area of early care and education and more than a decade of professional legislative and advocacy experience on domestic policy issues. Atkin worked as minority subcommittee counsel for the Banking and Financial Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives. Her areas of expertise include the California preschool landscape; teacher quality; education and economic benefits; and making the case for a “universal” preschool system in California. Read her February 2005 op-ed in the Fresno Bee.
Barrie Becker
bbecker@calfightcrime.org
(510) 836-2050
Barrie Becker is Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, which advocates for crime-prevention programs such as early care and education programs for preschoolers and young children, after school programs, mental health services for youth and child abuse prevention programs. She previously served as Executive Director of Legal Community Against Violence.
“We know so much now about the direct connection between staying on track in school and staying out of trouble with the law. We also know that preschool launches kids on the path to success in school. We’d have a safer society if we invested in preschool for all.”
--Barrie Becker
Alice Huffman
alicehuffman@sbcglobal.net
(916) 498-1898
Alice Huffman is former President of the California chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and serves on the organization’s Board of Directors in California. Huffman has served as president of the Black American Political Association of California and as former associate executive director of the California Teachers Association.
“All California's children deserve the chance to excel in school and in life. An essential step toward success is making sure they all have the chance to become proficient readers in elementary school. Quality preschool would put them on a direct path to becoming successful readers.”
--Alice Huffman
Ted Lempert
tlempert@childrennow.org
(510) 763-2444
Ted Lempert is President of Children Now, a national research and advocacy organization. He was the founding CEO of EdVoice, a California grassroots organization advocating for education reform and support for public education. He currently serves on the San Mateo County Board of Education. Earlier in his career, Lempert represented San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in the California Assembly.
“California hasn’t fully realized the incredible opportunity to reach all young children at such a critical stage in their development. Quality preschool can help 4-year-olds lay the learning foundation they all deserve to have when they enter kindergarten. We need to be smart and invest in early childhood programs now.”
--Ted Lempert
Janet Murguia
opi@nclr.org
By telephone contact Ellie Klerlein: (202) 776-1732
Janet Murguia is President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. NCLR’s mission is to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans. She has served as Deputy Assistant to former President Clinton and as his deputy director of legislative affairs; Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations at the University of Kansas; and legislative counsel to former Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery.
“If Latino kids are not succeeding in school, then the school system in California is not succeeding. Key to reversing that trend is a preschool system that works for all children. NCLR and its affiliates are dedicated to helping the California preschool system become a success story that can serve as a model for other states.”
--Janet Murguia
Diane Ujiiye
apiscandiane@sbcglobal.net
(310) 532-6111
Diane Ujiiye is Chair of the Asian and Pacific Islanders California Action Network. APIsCAN is a catalyst for public policy and community development that promotes health, social, economic, and political equity for the diverse Asian and Pacific Islander communities through organizing, collaboration, leadership development and education. Their 2005 legislative advocacy day included a focus on preschool opportunity. Ms. Ujiiye is also a member of the California Commission on API Affairs.
“Research has shown how much children can benefit from quality preschool, but too many families don’t have access. We should make the opportunity available to every child in California whose parents want to send them.”
--Diane Ujiiye
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