Melody Hedden, Family and Community Services Manager at Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (Head Start, Child & Family Programs) in Crookston recently completed training at University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) 
Head Start Management Fellows Program. She was one of 38 graduates from UCLA’s intensive leadership program. “The Head Start Management Fellows Program played a vital role in moving me from a “shouldn’t have been to a look at me now.” I was a Head Start child who transitioned into a Head Start parent and later a Head Start staff person,” states Hedden. “Head Start has been loyal in supporting and encouraging my professional development, which led to applying to the fellowship program. Through the classes at UCLA, I developed and sharpened skills that will be vital in supporting children and families,” Hedden adds.
Throughout the program, participants are taught how to lead effectively and deliver developmental services in changing environments, secure funding, implement programs and network with other Head Start executives across the nation. Since the program’s inception, 1,560 executives have graduated with enhanced management and leadership abilities.
Designed from a strategic planning perspective, the UCLA Head Start Management Fellows Program provides a unique opportunity for Head Start executives to participate in a 12-day, intensive leadership and management development training session at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Since 1991, the program has trained over 1,400 Head Start directors and managers who provide comprehensive services to nearly 1 million economically disadvantaged children and their families each day.
Tags:
