Board of Directors
The Coalition’s board of directors is comprised of individuals who offer unique expertise in the early childhood community, as well as private and business sectors. The board creates and oversees early care and education programs, as well as policies affecting best-practice.
Officers
- Octavio A. Verdeja Jr., Board Chair
Verdeja & De Armas, LLP
- Yvonne T. Johnson, M.D., Vice Chair
South Miami Hospital - Yesenia Perkins, Treasurer
Conch Republic Seafood Company
- Gerald K. Schwartz, Esq., Secretary
Beloff & Schwartz
Required Members
- Daniel Armstrong, Ph.D.
Pediatrics, Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami - Roderick E. Beasley
South Florida Workforce - Magaly Abrahante, Ed.D.
Miami Dade School Board
- Connie Chapell
Independent Educational Consultant
- Jacqui B. Colyer
Department of Children and Families
- Gina Cortes-Suarez, Ed.D.
InterAmerican Campus, Miami Dade College - P. Morgan Hill
EXIT Realty Florida Keys - Silvia La Villa, Ed.D.
Kidco Child Care, Inc. - Jane W. McQueen
Miami Dade County CAA Head Start/Early Head Start Program - The Hon. Natacha Seijas
Commissioner District 11 - Ann-Karen Weller, R.N., B.S.N.
Chronic Disease Prevention, Miami Dade County Health Dept.
Conditional Members
- Modesto E. Abety
The Children's Trust - Irene Taylor-Wooten
Miami-Dade County, County Executive Office
Optional Members
- The Hon. Cindy S. Lederman, J.D.
11th Judicial Circuit Court - David Williams Jr.
Informed Families: The Florida Family Partnership
Private Sector Business Members
- Alan Eckstein, Esq.
Attorney at Law - David Lawrence Jr.
The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation - Harve A. Mogul
United Way of Miami-Dade - Dabney G. Park Jr., Ph.D.
Performance Executive Search - Lucy C. Piñeiro, Esq.
Lucy C. Piñeiro and Associates
