• Investing  in early childhood  makes solid economic sense.  A study by the Federal Reserve Bank reports that every $1 we spend on quality early learning education pays returns of $7-$17.   
  • 85% of the human brain is developed by age 5. 
  • 20% of today’s workers are functionally illiterate.  Early childhood development programs prepare our children to become adults who are literate, employable, and productive citizens. 
  • Virginia spends approximately $90 million annually on children who repeat grades K-3.
  • 1 in 4 children in the Shenandoah Valley enter school not ready to learn.

Leadership Council

Ms. Sharon Baroncelli
Board of Supervisors, Shenandoah County Executive Director, Red Cross Shenandoah Chapter

Mr. Travis Clark
Chief Executive Officer                                                 
Page Memorial Hospital 
                                                                                              
Mr. Patrick Coffield
County Administrator
Augusta County

Dr. Robin Crowder
Superintendent                                                                               
Waynesboro City Public Schools     
                                                          
Ms. Missie Deibert
Page County School Board, Member                      
 Valley Eye Clinic, Owner  
                                                            
Dr. Donald Ford
Superintendent                                                                               
Harrisonburg City Public Schools

Dr. Robert Gunther
President, American Academy of Pediatrics
Virginia Chapter, Augusta County  
                                                                                                          
Mr. William Holtzman
President
Holtzman Oil Corporation

Ms. Tracey Jones
Regional Vice President
WHSV TV3

The Honorable William Logan
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Circuit Court
Shenandoah County

Ms. Elizabeth Middleton
Director, Department of Social Services
Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro

Dr. Steven Nichols
Superintendent                                                                               
Staunton City Public Schools     
                                                                 
Ms. Mary T. Price
Assistant County Administrator
Shenandoah County

Ms. Karen Riddle
President
Page County Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Thomas Rosazza
President
Pioneer Bank

Dr. Keith Rowland
Superintendent
Shenandoah County Public Schools

Mr. Alan Shelton
Senior Food Scientist
Cargill

Mr. Brian Shull
Director of Economic Development                        
City of Harrisonburg

Dr. Rhonda Zingraff
Associate Dean, CISAT Director of IIHHS
James Madison University, Harrisonburg