When Kathleen Sullivan, 60, was a young parent, a friend introduced her to Head Start. The national program, which provides early childhood learning, was founded in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. It began as an eight-week program designed to help preschool children from low-income families meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and educational needs. It has since expanded, providing all-day, year-round support for children 5 and younger and their families.

When Sullivan learned about Head Start, she had just moved from California to Maine with her husband, who was working full-time while she stayed home with their daughter. Sullivan didn’t realize it at the time, but the decision to enroll her daughter in Head Start changed her life—leading her toward a career aimed at advancing equality, human dignity and opportunity for all children and families, regardless of their socioeconomic, ethnic or cultural background.

Today, she’s the vice president of programs at Sarasota’s Children First, which provides early education through Head Start. The organization also works to support parents by helping them navigate their careers and connecting them with community and federal assistance. With 15 locations throughout Sarasota County, the organization works with 1,100 local children. “I really understand the value of the program, because I experienced it,” Sullivan says. “When anybody asks me about Head Start, I tell them it changed my life.”

While school readiness is the ultimate goal of the program, it doesn’t just mean socialization and coursework for young children. “We make sure the child is ready in all aspects: physically, emotionally, academically,” Sullivan says. “We also ensure that the parents are ready to steward their child’s learning. Then we ensure the schools are ready to receive the children who come from the Head Start program. It’s not about a child’s individual benchmarks—it’s making sure a whole community is ready.”

One example of this holistic approach is Children First’s parent training program. Spearheaded by Sullivan, it provides career pathways for parents through mentorship and skill coaching, with the hope that those will help families find financial stability.

Sullivan has also been instrumental in expanding Children First’s mental health program, helping to add full-time specialists and contracting with additional mental health professionals. Sullivan herself experienced the benefits of mental health support as a young parent. She says she was helped tremendously by a counselor who helped her learn to navigate children’s behavior, as well as how to think about her own self-worth. That allowed her to “orient myself to the new life that I had, and thrive in it,” she says.

In 2024, the National Head Start Association recognized Sullivan’s dedication by awarding her the Aubrey Puckett Memorial Award, a prestigious honor that’s reserved for former Head Start graduates or parents who now work for the program. “I cried,” says Sullivan. “So much of my work has centered around supporting marginalized communities and ensuring that they have services and educational opportunities.”