Early Learning Leadership Board
Mid-America Regional Council chartered the Early Learning Leadership Board in 2002 to create a focused and coordinated point of accountability and leadership for the implementation of an early learning system in Greater Kansas City. The primary role of the Board is to lead and coordinate community efforts to increase public investment in early learning.
Additional functions of the Board include:
- Advance community vision for building an early learning system
- Develop and promote strategies to ensure the financial sustainability of the community system
- Provide mechanism for coordinated research and formulation of early learning public policy; support legislative initiatives to increase public funding
- Allocate resources from the public and private sectors that are contributed for the early learning system
- Coordinate key community initiatives to maximize investment of public and private funds
- Oversee evaluation of progress of early learning system, to include the dissemination of outcomes of community investments to inform public and private sectors’ decision making
- Guide research into other local and state models to inform development and implementation of aspects of the early learning system
The Board is not responsible for program operations, such as securing financial resources for the Metropolitan Council on Early Learning, staff supervision, and program administration.
Leadership Board Members :
- Bill Nelson, Chairman, George K. Baum Asset Management
- Karen Bartz, Community Development Manager, Hallmark Cards
- Bill Berkley, President and CEO, Tension Envelopes
- Jim Caccamo, Director, Metropolitan Council on Child Care
- Mike Chesser, Chairman and CEO, Great Plains Energy
- James Corwin, Chief of Police, Kansas City, Missouri
- Laura Cray, Community Volunteer
- Frank Ellis, Chairman, Swope Parkway Health Center
- Brian Gardner, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Hallmark Cards
- Audrey Langworthy, Community Volunteer
- Marlene Nagel, Director, Community Development, Mid-America Regional Council
- David Oliver, Berkowitz, Oliver, Williams Shaw & Eisenbrandt, LLP
- Juan Rangel, Executive Director, National Conference for Community and Justice
- Abby Thorman, Senior Strategic Advisor on Children, Youth and Families, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
- David Warm, Executive Director, Mid-America Regional Council
- James White, Assistant Superintendent, Kansas City, Kansas, School District
- Yvonne Wilson, Missouri State Representative