Kathy Hollowell-Makle is the Executive Director of the District of Columbia Association for the Education of Young Children (DCAEYC). Prior to her role at DCAEYC, she was an early childhood educator for 22 years at  DC Public Schools, where her students achieved consistently at high levels. In addition to her work in the classroom, Kathy served as a mentor teacher, trainer, and policy advisor.

 

Over the course of her work in education, she has been recognized for her excellence in early childhood teaching and learning and advocacy. In 2013, Kathy was named DC Public Schools Teacher of the year, Teach for America Excellent in Teaching Recipient, Congress Heights Association’s Outstanding Educator, DC Government’s Employee of the Year finalist and a  2014 State of The Union guest of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden.

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Kathy provides early childhood expertise to advise policy and programming. Recently she has served as a member of several committees, including the Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators Committee at the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Washington Teachers’ Union and DCAEYC ECE Task Force, State of the Black Child Advisory Committee at Metro National Black Child Development Institute and is a  former Board Member at the DC Association for the Education of Young Children.

 

Kathy earned a Bachelor of Arts in African Studies with a Concentration in Community Involvement at the University of Maryland at Baltimore and a Master’s of Teaching at Trinity University Washington. When Kathy is not working to improve early education outcomes for young children, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and reading.

Ian Whittington is the Communications Director of the District of Columbia Association for the Education of Young Children (DCAEYC). Prior to his role at DCAEYC, he was a Healthy Market Leader with the Joyful Food Market program at Martha's Table for three years. As a Healthy Market Leader, Ian worked directly with elementary schools in Wards 7 and 8, introducing him to the world of early childhood education.

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For the past decade, Ian has been committed to learning about food systems and helping to increase access to healthy foods. Based on his experience in various roles throughout the community, he has learned the value of effective communication to ensure the public is well informed.

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Ian earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at Virginia Tech.  In his spare time Ian enjoys cooking, photography, and finding new places in the area to eat.

As Outreach Coordinator, Denise will help DCAEYC spread the word about HealthCare4ChildCare, a program offering affordable health coverage for early childhood providers and their teams through DC Health Link.

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Learn more about Denise in the Staff Spotlight section of our Summer 2023 Newsletter.