Board of Directors
Chair: Meghan Siembor, Community Teamwork Division Director, Child & Family Services
Vice Chair: Flossy Calderon, ABCD Head Start Deputy Director, Children & Families Services
Treasurer: Nicole Blais, Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start CEO
Secretary: Nancy Mahoney, MOC Head Start Director
Justine Donovan, Greater Lawrence Community Action Council Inc. (GLCAC) Head Start
Sherri DiPippo, Self Help Head Start Early Head Start Director
Dianne Curtin, CAPIC Head Start Director
Aditi Subramaniam, Associate Director of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC)
Chris Hosman, Friend of Head Start
Mariel Silverio, Greater Lawrence Community Action Council Parent
Staff
Michelle Haimowitz serves as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association (MHSA), leading the organization’s work in supporting Massachusetts’ 29 Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. The Association represents Head Start and Early Head Start at the Massachusetts State House and with state and federal partners. Prior to MHSA, Michelle worked in Policy and Government Relations at Jumpstart for Young Children, helping to found Jumpstart’s early childhood and higher education policy and advocacy work in Massachusetts and on Capitol Hill. Michelle joined Jumpstart when she moved to Massachusetts from Washington, DC, where she worked on education and healthcare policy for U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. She earned a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Michelle lives in Boston with her husband Danny and children Jonah and Lila.
Michelle Haimowitz, Executive Director
mhaimowitz@massheadstart.org
(413) 270-0809
Shannon Bell, Member Services and Professional Development Coordinator
sbell@massheadstart.org
Shannon Bell is joining MHSA as the first Member Service and Professional Development Coordinator, working closely with Head Start programs and staff. Shannon has spent her career working with young children, families, and early education programs on Nantucket. She spent 17 years serving as the Developmental Specialist and Intake Coordinator for Cape and Islands Early Intervention, at times serving as a “one woman show,” working with families, teachers, and community partners to find solutions that meet the needs of young children. Shannon has served as an independent education consultant and parent coach on Nantucket and most recently as the Student Success Coordinator at the Nantucket Lighthouse School where she coordinated professional learning, community outreach, and family partnerships. Shannon is not new to Head Start; her mother was a Head Start director and she grew up surrounded by the Head Start model. Shannon is the mother of three children, ages 7, 13, and 16. She has recently relocated to the Cape with her family and is excited to build relationships with Head Start across the state.
Amber Cichowski, Operations Coordinator
acichowski@massheadstart.org