Overview
I am the Enrollment Assistance Project (EAP) Quality Assurance Manager for Cognosante. I am a results-oriented professional, dedicated to aligning agency mission and goals with optimal program and individual outcomes that effectively serve children, families and communities.
Key Qualifications
Visionary leadership and innovation
Excellent critical thinking, analysis and problem solving
Successful proposal writing and procurement
Professional training and resource development
Effective project management
Experienced in community outreach, capacity building and collaboration
Effective strategic planning
Quality supervision and mentoring
Proficient in Spanish
Employment Summary
Organization
Position
Dates
Cognosante LLC., Enrollment Assistance Project (EAP), McLean, VA
EAP Quality Assurance Manager
EAP Senior Business Analyst, Policy Team
EAP Supervisor
2/2015 to present
2014-2015
2013-2014
Dane County Parent Council, Inc., Madison, WI
Early Head Start and Family Services Director
2003-2013
University of Wisconsin Infant and Family Mental Health Post Graduate Certificate, Madison, WI
Advisory Board Member and Mentor Faculty
2010-2012
The Portage Project, Portage, WI
Training Specialist
1995-2003
Drake University Head Start, Des Moines, IA
Birth to Three Program Coordinator
1989-1995
Waukegan Community School District #60, Waukegan, IL
Bilingual Elementary and Preschool Teacher
1985-1989
Memorial Elementary School, Houston, Texas
Bilingual Kindergarten and Elementary Teacher
1982-1984
Work History
Cognosante
Serves as the Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, responsible for the development, planning, and implementation of QA activities and deliverables; Plans, monitors and analyzes trends and activities that affect quality of services provided and client deliverables; Trains and supervises QA Auditors; Serves as a member of the EAP Leadership Team with all associated duties. Completed Cognosante’s TOPDAWG proposal writing program
Serves as Point of Contact for planning, implementation and evaluation of the EAP Annual National Trainings
Serves as the Site Supervisor for Wisconsin EAP Project, supervising staff training, monitoring and performance, daily operations, community outreach and partnerships, and data collection and reporting
Dane County Parent Council, Inc.
Development and administration of federal, state and private funded programs including Early Head Start home visiting; ten infant and toddler child care centers; the Dane County Early Childhood Initiative; the Wisconsin Family Foundations Home Visitation program and evaluation; Federal Child Welfare Evaluation Project; Hope House, a transitional housing program for first time mothers; and strategic planning, over site, professional development and enhanced monitoring of for all of DCPC’s family services programs, including reporting and metrics for health and development services for pregnant women, infants and toddlers
Provide content expertise and leadership in grant writing, procurement, implementation and management of new funding for DCPC including the Early Childhood Initiative; Federal ARRA Early Head Start expansion; the Family Foundations Home Visiting program for Green County; and state funded grants from the Department of Health; and locally funded initiatives
Provide leadership for Head Start programing and several federal and state projects including a federal evaluation project designed to enhance collaborative services between Early Head Start and Child Protection Services, and a federal Maternal and Child Health grant to evaluate child and pregnant women’s health and development; served as supervisor and Advisory Committee member of the Dane County Early Childhood Initiative; serve as project leader for a four year Special Quest/Early Intervention training and program improvement project; and serving as a Preceptor for supervision of MSW interns through the University of WI, Madison
Conduct community engagement and collaboration leadership including: serving on the steering committee for the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Launching into Literacy Training Network; serving on the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health state endorsement and conference committees; and serving as mentoring faculty for the University of Wisconsin Infant and Family Mental Health Certificate.
Collaborate with Executive Director and Fiscal Director to provide fiscal oversight budgets of more than $2.4 million, agency Leadership, and metrics reporting for federal Early Head Start, child care and other infant and toddler programs
Oversee the development of data base systems for monitoring, analyzing family services data for the agency and Early Head Start program data and reporting of program outcomes
University of Wisconsin Infant and Family Mental Health Post Graduate Certificate
Serve as a founding member of the Certificate Advisory Board
Serve as Mentor Faculty supervising non-clinical Certificate Fellows
The Portage Project, Portage, WI
Provide training and technical assistance to Early Intervention and community based early childhood programs in state, national and international settings for the Portage Project and Federal Q-Net/Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network and was a member of the Federal Head Start Region Va training team for CSEFL social/emotional development training for Head Start programs
Consult with community based programs, assisting supervisors and direct service staff in the study and implementation of relationship-based practice, reflective supervision and program development
Serve as investigator for a federal demonstration project, coordinate data collection, services for field sites, and conduct and write evaluation reports
Curriculum, media and publication development, including distance video and internet training modules, child development curriculum and editing of Spanish language translations
Provide home visitation Early Intervention services in rural communities. Serve as the WEST ED (Program for Infant and Toddler Caregivers) consultant to Head Start Region Va and as the Portage Project team liaison to the Zero to Three’s National Center for Program Excellence
Instructor, Madison Area Technical College for Wisconsin Infant and Toddler Credential courses
Serve as a startup consultant for newly funded Early Head Start programs in Wisconsin
Co-authored two articles for national publication through the Zero to Three journal and was an invited speaker to national and international conferences
Drake University Head Start, Des Moines, IA
Coordinate federal, state and privately funded programs for at risk pregnant and parenting families with children from birth to three years including the Head Start Parent and Child Center and a state funded early intervention program; Manage daily operation of home visitation services, a high quality child care facility; Develop and monitor budgets for state, federal and private funding sources and successfully wrote proposals for continuing and enhancing program services; Manage all aspects of staff selection, supervision and professional development, and volunteer programming; Provide presentations at local, regional and federal conferences; and conduct collaborative community planning and development and advocacy initiatives for women, children, families, and Head Start
Project manager for development of program childcare, community center, adult education, computer lab, library and nutritional facilities
Serve on School of Education faculty committees to establish strategic plans for program development and
research, and teacher education and family support education programs
Additional Professional Experiences and Awards:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work, Preceptor/Field Supervisor
Madison Metropolitan School District, Launching Into Literacy and Math Steering Committee
State of Wisconsin Early Learning Standards Revision, Committee member
Keynote speaker (invited) Portage Conference, Helsinki, Finland and FASINARM 30th Anniversary Seminar, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Madison Area Technical College, Infant and Toddler Credential Instructor
Zero to Three National Center for Program Excellence Committee member, Washington, D.C.
Respite Center Board of Directors, Madison, WI
Houston Independent School District Young Teacher of the Year Award
Education
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Post Graduate Certificate in Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health
Drake University, Des Moines, IA
Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and course work for Early Childhood Endorsement
Houston Baptist University, Houston, TX
Bilingual Elementary Education Endorsement
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI
-Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Cum Laude
-Exchange Student, Instituto Technologico y de Estudios Superiores, Monterrey, Mexico
Publications and Media Development
Promoting Professional and Organizational Development: A Reflective Practice Model. The Portage Project, Portage, Wisconsin, by A. Copa, L. Lucinski, E. Olsen, and K. Wollenburg, Zero to Three, August/September,1999.
“Supporting Individuals in Their Work: Advantages of a Reflective Approach,” with Lori Witteman, Zero to Three, June/July, 2000
Growing: Birth to Three, 1999 Revision, CESA 5, Portage, WI.
Growing: Birth to Three, Spanish Edition, Editor, 2001, Portage Project, CESA 5, Portage, WI.
The Portage Guide to Early Education: An Overview (Video), 2002, Portage Project, CESA 5, Portage, WI.
“Being In Charge: Reflective Leadership in Infant/Family Programs”, 2001, Zero to Three Press (Pre-publication reviewer)
Portage Guide Birth to Six, Portage Project, CESA 5, Portage, WI (Contributing author)
Family Service Credential, Portage Project, CESA 5, Portage, WI (Contributing author)
State of Wisconsin Early Learning Standards Revision (2003), (Committee member)
Professional Presentations
Empowerment Emphasis: Working with Parents with Intellectual Disabilities, Zero to Three Early Head Start National Resource Center, national teleconference, (invited panelist) (January 2005)
“Introduction to Reflective Practices: A Model of Professional and Organizational Change,” GCAPP Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, three day learning intensive, (Invited) (March 2002)
“Introduction to Reflective Practices: A Model of Professional and Organizational Change.” National Zero to Three Child Care Conference, Washington, D.C., with Velez, M., (Portage Project invited) (February 2001)
“Developing a Reflective Practice Model,” Zero to Three Child Care Conference, Washington, D.C., (Portage Project invited) (February 2000)
“Relationship Based Intervention,” Keynote speaker, Second Annual Nordic Portage Conference, Helsinki, Finland. (Invited) (January 1999)
“Developing a Model for Mentoring and Reflective Supervision,” poster presentation, Zero to Three National Training Institute, Washington, D. C., (December 1998)
“Growing Birth to Three: Relationship Based Intervention,” week long training intensive, FASINARM, Guayaquil, Ecuador, (Invited) (May, 1996)