Meet the Panel

With collective experience of over 80 years in Head Start, our panelists will bring all of the days learning together in an engaging and exciting exercise.


  • CEO, Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start, Inc.

    Nicole Blais is the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer for Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start, Inc. located in Western Massachusetts. Nicole has over 27 years of experience in the non-profit sector, managing early education and care programs, she has served on various community and state committees, helped to establish strategic community collaborations, and is member of the MHSA Board of Directors currently serving as Treasurer. She is also a 2020 Rennie Center Education Policy Fellow. Nicole holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and earned a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management and Philanthropy from Bay Path University.

  • Anne Borges is an Early Head Start Home Visitor for CFC Head Start in Fall River. Anne began her journey with Head Start as a parent to 2 children who have since graduated from either the Head Start and/or Early Head Start programs within the program that she now works. During those years as a parent, Anne has taken the Head Start model to heart and chose to throw herself into as much as the program could offer her as a parent and as a future leader; over the years she chaired Policy Council and Parent Activity Committee, created a Parent Support Network, attended the Parent Leadership Academy, and Advocacy Day and beyond, and was honored by the MHSA as Parent/Caregiver of the year in 2022. Anne feels strongly that change is necessary in life, but the important thing is that we choose to evolve in a positive and healthy way; to this end, she is pursuing a Masters in Organization Development and Change. Anne strongly believes in Head Start and in the growth potential that Head Start embodies.

  • Ron serves as Vice President of Workforce Development and Alternative Education with Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. In this role, he oversees the development and delivery of workforce development, educational, and supportive services through programs that serve adults, young adults, and youth, which includes the operation of ESOL programming; two alternative education high schools, and the MassHire Metro North Career Centers.

    Before joining ABCD, Inc., Ron served as vice president for workforce development with the National Urban League. In this role, he was responsible for workforce development programs funded by the National Urban League but delivered locally by Urban League affiliates across the United States. Prior to the National Urban League, Marlow served as undersecretary for workforce development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. During his tenure, he brought forward the Executive Order that institutionalized the Workforce Skills Cabinet. Additionally, he brought a specific focus on populations that historically have disparate employment outcomes and pushed for the creation of a state Task Force to examine the systemic barriers that lead to such disparate employment outcomes and to make recommendations to mitigate them.

    Committed to public/community service, Marlow serves on the boards of Greater Boston Legal Services and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Previously, he served on the boards of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, the Center for Women Enterprise, the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, and the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation, among others. Marlow is the recipient of numerous awards including the NAACP’s distinguished “Keeper of the Flame” award and the Small Business Administration’s Minority Business Champion award for both the state of Massachusetts and the New England Region.

    Born and raised in Boston, Marlow is a proud alumnus of the Head Start program. Marlow earned his master’s degree in law, policy, and society from Northeastern University and his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.

  • Lead Teacher, Community Teamwork, Inc., Child & Family Services, Head Start, 1978-2021; retired

    Teacher Mentor, CTI C&FS Head Start 2022-2023

    Teacher Mentor, Lowell Day Nursery, 2022-present

    Pat arrived in Early Childhood Education by accident; she was studying Elementary Ed at Lowell State College (later UMass Lowell) when a friend asked her to substitute for a teacher on leave at a local day care center. After she completed that 6-week duty, Pat was hooked. She moved on to another day care position at another center, and after 3 years there, working with 2s, 3s, and 4s, she learned that the Head Start program in Lowell was expanding, and joined the ranks in the fall of 1978. Pat began her educational journey through the world of Early Childhood Development and Education at Wheelock College, continued at Lesley University, Northeastern University, Salem State College, and finally Rivier College.

    As an educator devoted to the concept of teaching holistic developmentally appropriate curriculum while involving families in the process, Head Start was a good fit for Pat. She remained a dedicated classroom teacher for 43 years, retiring in December 2021. In 2022, she returned to CTI as a Mentor, working with new teaching staff less experienced with the Head Start model. She also mentors at another local early ed program.

    Pat has always been a strong advocate for Early Education and Care in Massachusetts, serving on the Board of the Essex County AEYC between 2016 and 2023. She has enjoyed presenting many Professional Development opportunities through the years, including as a member of an Effective Educators STEM panel at the STEM Summit in 2014, and workshops at MAEYC Conferences, ECAEYC events, CTI peer-to-peer trainings, and as a CDA trainer.