Children First, Inc., the exclusive provider of Head Start and Early Head Start services for Sarasota County, is proud to announce its slate of board leadership for 2023, and the addition of three new directors.

At the agency’s annual board reception on January 24, the Reverend Brock H. Leach was formally welcomed as Board Chair. Keith G. Johnson, VP at Truist Private Wealth, was welcomed as Vice Chair, Elizabeth Stamoulis, Esq., Partner at Williams Parker Attorneys at Law, was welcomed as Treasurer, and Lisa Giglio, former Director of Education at Sylvan Learning Center, was welcomed as Secretary.

Jacqueline W. Ray, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and former higher education administrator and psychologist, was thanked for her service throughout 2022 as she steps into her new role as Chair Emeritus.

Rev. Brock H. Leach is a former executive for PepsiCo, serving as CEO of its Frito-Lay North America and Tropicana Products divisions, and then as the corporation’s Chief Innovation Officer before attending seminary and becoming an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. This will be his second time taking the helm as Board Chair, having also served in this capacity in 2014.

New directors joining the board for a three-year term are Kenneth Hughes, former Children First Policy Council Liaison and Route Sales Representative for Frito-Lay, Rebecca M. Lieberher, Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase, and Robert L. Moulds, Vice President of Talent & Strategic Learning at PGT Innovations.

Other directors on the board include Barbara G. Benson, Howard Berman, Andrea Johnson, Elenor Maxheim, Linda Monda, Joe Stephan, and Michael K. Suarez. The Children First Board of Directors is comprised of community members and leaders from the human services, corporate, investment, and philanthropic sectors of our region. To learn more, visit childrenfirst.net.

About Children First:
Founded in 1961 and ranked in the top 1% out of over 1,800 Head Starts nationwide, Children First strengthens children and families by improving the quality of their lives through a comprehensive approach to development, education, health, and well-being. At 15 sites throughout Sarasota County, Children First offers full-day preschool, infant and toddler care, and nutrition and health care assistance to children ages birth to five years old from low-income families. Through Children First, the children receive the social and cognitive skills needed to enter kindergarten and elementary school on track. For more information, call (941) 953-3877 or go to childrenfirst.net.
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