2016 IHSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE KEYNOTES

AND SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS!

OPENING KEYNOTE, "Educate, Advocate, Collaborate and Innovate"
with Ron Herndon!

Ronald D. Herndon, Chairman of the Board, National Head Start Association

Ron Herndon served as chairman of the National Head Start Association from 1993 - 2013. As
chairman, he served as an ambassador representing the needs of the Head Start community to
members of Congress, the administration, and the general public. He also provided guidance
and leadership to the 49- member board that sets policy and determines direction for the
association. Under his leadership, NHSAprogressed immensely. Major accomplishments
include: major legislative gains; improvements in technology for Head Start children, parents,
and staff; creation of the NHSA Academy; establishment of important business partnerships;
and maintenance of a sound financial base. Since 1975, Ron Herndon has been director of the
Albina Head Start program in Portland, Oregon. Under his direction, the program is the recipient
of numerous federal grants in support of local Head Start projects. These grants have been
used for major building projects and the development of programming for Head Start parents
and staff in Portland and surrounding communities. The program Mr. Herndon oversees
provides comprehensive full day service to more than 1,000 Head Start children from the areas
surrounding Portland.

BREAKFAST KEYNOTE, Pam Schiller, Ph.D.

Pam Schiller is a curriculum specialist and freelance author and speaker. Dr.
Schiller has worked as a childcare administrator and has also taught in the public schools. She
served as Head of the Early Childhood Department at the University of Houston, where she also
directed the Lab School. Dr. Schiller shares her extensive knowledge in workshops, radio, and
television interviews, and as a popular keynote speaker and author. She is the author of nine early
childhood curriculums, including the internationally acclaimed, Frog Street Pre-K, Frog Street
Threes, Frog Street Toddler and Frog Street Infant programs. In addition, she has authored thirtysix childrens books, more than thirty teacher and parent resource books and a number of other
creative projects such as activity books, DVDs and CDs. Pam lives in Cypress, Texas.

CLOSING KEYNOTE, "HATS OFF TO YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE:

STAYING FIRED UP WHEN BURN-OUT BECKONS!" With HOLLY ELISSA
BRUNO

Holly Elissa Bruno, MA, JD, is a best-selling author, international

keynote speaker, ground-breaking radio host and seasoned team builder. She served as
Assistant Attorney General for the state of Maine and Assistant Dean at the University of Maine
School of Law. While working as Associate Professor and Dean of Faculty at the University of
Maine-Augusta, Holly Elissa was selected Outstanding Professor. An alumna of Harvard
Universitys Institute for Educational Management, she teaches leadership courses for The
McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership and Wheelock College. Holly Elissas books
include the best-selling, What You Need to Lead an Early Childhood Program: Emotional
Intelligence in Practice (NAEYC, 2012), Managing Legal Risks in Early Childhood Programs
(Columbia Universitys Teachers College Press, November 2012) and Learning from the Bumps
in the Road (Redleaf Press, 2013). Her first book, Leading on Purpose was published
by McGraw-Hill in 2008. The Comfort of Little Things: An Educators Guide to Second Chances,
was released in June to rave reviews from both within and outside the early childhood field.
iTunes has ranked Holly Elissas radio programs in its top 200 k-12 podcasts. Tune in to Holly
Elissas online radio program, Heart to heart Conversations on Leadership: Your guide to
making a difference at BAMRadioNetwork.com. You can also listen to Holly Elissa being
interviewed on NAEYC Radio, National Head Start Association Radio, and National Association
of School Principals Radio. Holly Elissas keynotes receive stellar audience reviews
internationally and across America. To recovering attorney Holly Elissa, life is too short to
anything but enjoy it daily.

Yasmina Vinci, MA, MPA / National Head Start Association Executive

Director

YASMINA VINCI, MA, MPA As a seasoned leader in both executive and policy
roles, Yasmina Vinci's professional experience and capabilities have delivered improvements in the lives
of children at the national, state, and local levels. She is now Executive Director of the National Head
Start Association (NHSA). Yasmina came to the National Head Start Association after several years as
principal and founder of EDGE Consulting Partners. At EDGE, Yasmina pursued local, national and
global projects that utilized the knowledge, experience, and connections of her years in human services
and early education, to enhance the capacity of organizations to thrive as competent, strategic entities
capable of influencing policy. Yasminafounded EDGE after receiving her Master in Public Administration
degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.Yasmina brought to her NHSA role over ten years
of executive director experience at another national organization. As the first Executive Director of the
National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (now Child Care Aware America) she
led NACCRRA's transition from an all-volunteer association of fewer than 200 child care resource and
referral agencies to a powerful national network of 860+ community-based organizations. In this role, she
worked with affiliate organizations, other national advocacy and research organizations, the press, federal
and state governments, and the US Congress to implement NACCRRA's system-building public policy
agenda on early care and education. Under her leadership,NACCRRA organized the national grassroots
campaign that was instrumental to securing the funding for child care in the welfare reform legislation.
Yasminas portfolio of experience is grounded in service as executive director of an early care and
education program serving low-income families and as development director for a cluster of non-profit
child care centers. In State government, she had the opportunity to supervise Head Start research,
administer the federal Dependent Care Grant and plan for New Jerseys implementation of the very first
Child Care and Development Block Grant. Yasmina currently serves on numerous advisory boards and is
a member of the International Organizing Committee for the World Forum on Early Care and Education.

Kay Willmoth / Regional Program Manager, Office of Head Start

Ms. Willmoth has over twenty-five years of managerial experience in

administering a variety of human services and income assistance programs. As the Regional
Program Manager, she provides leadership and direction to 239 Head Start and Early Head
Start programs in the Region V States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and
Wisconsin. She manages an annual budget of over $1.1 billion that provides comprehensive,
quality services to approximately 140,000 preschool children in the Head Start program and
17,000 infants, toddlers and pregnant women in the Early Head Start program. During her
career, Ms. Willmoth played a key leadership role in the implementation of welfare reform,
including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant and the Child Care and
Development Fund, and in the operation of the Child Welfare and Child Support Enforcement
programs. Through the delivery of technical assistance and direction, she supports grantees in
meeting Head Starts core mission to promote the school readiness of low income children by
enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Tommy Sheridan / Director of Government Affairs, National Head Start

Association

Thomas Sheridan, NHSA, is the Senior Manager of Government Affairs for

the National Head Start Association (NHSA) in Alexandria, VA. He came to NHSA in June 2009
and has been in his current role since 2012. In this role, Tommy works with the Head Start
community to lobby, advocate, educate, and inform Congress, the White House, and the
Federal Administration about Head Start and early learning. Tommy is NHSAs representative to
Congress, the Administration, and national coalitions and organizations. He also plays a

significant role in developing, strategizing, coordinating and implementing the Head Start

communitys vision for the future of early learning. Prior to his career at NHSA, Tommy
worked in the Minnesota State Senate, on several political campaigns, and as a sales
manager. Tommy received an Honors Bachelor of Arts from Saint Louis University and
will complete his Masters of Public Administration degree in the summer of 2014 from
George Washington University.

Emmalie Dropkin / Director of Policy, Data and Research, National Head

Start Association

Emmalie Dropkin leads the Center on Policy, Data, and Research and
NHSA's work on topics ranging from Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships to twogeneration efforts in Head Start to developmental neuroscience. Prior to joining NHSA in 2011,
Emmalie taught elementary and middle school special education in the Baltimore City Public
Schools. She holds a BA from Amherst College, an MA from the College of Notre Dame of
Maryland and a Certificate of Mind, Brain and Teaching from the Johns Hopkins University
School of Education.