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Founding CEO & Vice President
Stephanie’s goal is to use applied developmental psychology research strives to inform policy making and improve practice in education and health for young children. Her passion lies in promoting the health and education of young children by using research to inform culturally responsive teaching practices and socially equitable public policies. Stephanie specializes in researching the healthy growth and development of Black children as well as other children who are socially marginalized due to their language, identity, or geographic location, and she has expertise in early childhood education and policy and children’s language and literacy development.
Strategic Advisor
Executive Assistant
Tiffanie is our dedicated Executive Assistant, bringing valuable experience from her extensive background in the healthcare and service industries. With years of expertise in managing high-level administrative tasks, she serves as the primary contact for all ACSES registrations, ensuring smooth coordination and support for both current and prospective participants.
Tiffanie also manages our general email communications and oversees our website, making sure that information is always accessible and up-to-date. Her attention to detail and commitment to service make her an essential part of our team.
Lead ACSES Rater Trainer
Sara is our expert ACSES Trainer, bringing a wealth of knowledge and years of experience to her role. She is highly skilled in the functions of the ACSES tool and is dedicated to helping others gain confidence and proficiency in using it.
Sara received her bachelor’s degree with distinction in psychology from the University of Virginia in 2022, as well as a master’s degree in research methods from the same university in 2023. Her primary research interests include identifying effective ways to foster a growth mindset and resilience among at-risk youth. She plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.
Coaching Consultant
Sandy is a bilingual, bicultural Early Childhood Consultant and Project Manager with expertise in designing and implementing coaching systems and professional development services. With over two decades of experience across early care and education, she has served as a teacher, coach, and leader—including roles as Early Head Start Director, Higher Education Adjunct Faculty, and Director of Washington’s QRIS TA/Coach and Professional Development system. Sandy is a current member of Child Care Aware of America’s Board of Directors.
Her background as a first-generation college graduate and woman of color grounds her commitment to advancing anti-racist policy, practice, and workforce development. She is skilled at creating and leading diverse teams, guiding them toward positive, impactful outcomes that strengthen equity and access in early learning. Her ability to lead through relationships has made her consulting services a catalyst for organizational growth and transformation. Dedicated to fostering leadership across systems, she excels at building inclusive partnerships with families, educators, and community and system partners. She brings human-centered design, collaborative team building, and culturally affirming approaches to every project.
President of the Board
Yvette Sanchez Fuentes leads Start Early’s national strategy to advance both Start Early and Educare Learning Network policy agendas and strengthen partnerships with peer organizations and federal agency staff. She also oversees the National Center for Parent, Family, and Community Engagement, one of four National Centers that develop evidence-based best practices for Early Head Start and Head Start programs across the country.
A nationally recognized early childhood expert, Yvette has been influential in driving effective policy and practice change in areas of Head Start, child care and the workforce through intentional engagement of stakeholders. Yvette has dedicated her professional career to understanding how policy, research and implementation impact lifelong outcomes for young children and their families struggling with adversities (low-income households, migrant and seasonal farm workers, immigrant communities, American Indian and Alaska Native populations, and dual language learners).
Prior to joining Start Early, she served as Director of the Office of Head Start, a Presidential Political Appointee, where she shepherded sweeping reforms including the release of the Head Start Roadmap and the creation and rollout of the Parent, Family and Community Engagement Framework. She also steered the launch of a pilot program that allowed spending flexibility for creating additional early learning programs, which led to the implementation of Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships.
Yvette began her career at Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo, Inc. She received her B.A. in liberal arts from California State Polytechnic University.
Treasurer
Tom is an author and consultant focusing on early childhood education. He is the author of two books and numerous articles on a variety topics from children’s creativity and play to state level early childhood systems, governance, collaboration efforts, social emotional development and equity. He also consults with two national Head Start technical assistance centers, the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health and Safety the National Center for Parent, Family and Community Engagement.
Board Member
Gabe Hakim is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Promise Venture Studio–a national nonprofit with a mission to support innovators and accelerate innovations for equity in early childhood development and education. He has spent his career serving and leading in mission-driven organizations focused on advocacy and support for families with children with disabilities, interfaith leadership and organizing for community action, workforce development and up-skilling to improve family stability, and–for the last decade–equity-driven innovation in early childhood development and education.
Board Member
Dr. Rosemarie Allen has served as an educational leader for over 40 years. Her life’s work is centered on ensuring ALL children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are developmentally appropriate and culturally sustaining. She is currently a Professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her classes are focused on ensuring teachers are aware of how issues of equity, power and justice impact teaching practices. Rosemarie has served in directorship roles with the Colorado Department of Human Services as the Director of the Division of Early Learning and in Youth Corrections. In Early Learning, she oversaw the State’s child care licensing program, the federal child care assistance program, the redesign of the State’s quality rating and improvement system, the implementation of the State’s professional development plan, and assisted in the creation of Colorado’s early learning guidelines.
