Whitcomb Hayslip
LAUSD Assistant Superintendent

Whit Hayslip has worked in the field of early childhood education for over forty years. He is currently serving as a consultant through the David and Lucille Packard Foundation on various projects including California's Transitional Kindergarten and Educare Los Angeles. Whit recently retired from his position as the Assistant Superintendent, Early Childhood Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District where he was responsible for programs serving over 35,000 children between birth and five years of age. Whit has a Masters Degree in Human Development with graduate training in both Child Development and Special Education. Throughout his career, he has worked as a teacher of infants and toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten-age children. He has also participated in numerous local, state and federal advisory groups including current membership on the Secretary of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation. Whit is especially interested in the development and support of inclusive early childhood programs and has delivered numerous keynote addresses and workshops on this topic at conferences throughout the world.

Dr. Fitzharris is the Legislative Advocate for the Child Development Policy Institute (CDPI), the California Child Development Administrators Association (CCDAA), and the Professional Association for Childhood Education (PACE). He has lobbied for children's issues in Sacramento for 39 years and is responsible for over 100 successful bills and appropriations. Dr. Fitzharris has been a full time, legislative committee consultant for the California Assembly, and the executive director of two statewide organizations – the California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association and the California Association of Services for Children – for 11 and 14 years, respectively.

Jan Len
Regional Program Manager Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families

Ms. Len will be providing an update on the latest federal developments affecting programs. Following her update there will be a brief question and answer session.

Yasmina Vinci
Executive Director, National Head Start Association

Executive Director, National Head Start Association Ms. Vinci previously served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) where she served for 11 years. Most recently, Vinci has been a founding director at EDGE Consulting Partners and over the years has held key positions in the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services, and in child care centers.

She has also served in leadership positions on the Boards of a number of local, state and national organizations, including the Council for Professional Recognition.