NIHSDA

Areas of Expertise: Providing Consulting, Coaching, and Technical Assistance to AI/AN Head Start and Early Head Start programs and grantees. Little Hawk Consulting offers customized consulting plans designed to help your program or organization build a successful foundation and plan for long-term sustainability. With 16+ years of experience in AI/AN Head Start/EHS and Licensed Child Care; Alicia Allard, MS ECE, has the experience to help your program identify, communicate, and reach strategic goals, improve outcomes, and strengthen your organizational systems.

Little Hawk Consulting specializes in the following areas: AI/AN Head Start Program Policies and Procedures, Alaska Native Head Start Programs, Traditional Foods in Early Childhood Settings, Natural Outdoor Play and Education, Head Start Conversion/Reduction Plans, Pre-Service and Ongoing Team Training (Various Topics Available), New/Interim Director Coaching & Advising, Facilities Consulting and Head Start 1302 Planning, Education and Curriculum Coaching, Program Assessments & Strategic Planning

 

Alicia Allard, MS ECE, is a dedicated advocate for enhancing the quality of AI/AN early learning and care, rooted in the principles of place-based education and self-determination. Leveraging her experience as a former AI/AN Head Start parent and Policy Council member, Alicia is committed to ensuring every Native child has access to safe, loving, and supportive early learning. Through training, coaching, and advising, Alicia empowers programs with actionable insights, enabling them to identify and implement positive changes for long-term improvements in quality and sustainability. From optimizing funding for equipment upgrades and facility renovations to addressing systemic gaps in policy and operations, Alicia's keen eye for detail supports your program goals. Alicia's expertise spans strategic planning, project management, organizational restructuring, change management, community needs assessment, and policy and procedure development. Little Hawk Consulting offers virtual consulting, training, and Technical Assistance (T/TA) services across the United States and Indian Country, including Alaska. Visit the website for more information. Alicia is ready to apply her knowledge to help your community achieve its goals and create a strong and sustainable future for children and families.

Areas of Expertise: Early Care, Education, and Management Training / Technical Assistance / Strategic Planning / Grant Applications / Data Management / Child Engagement in Play & Learning / Strategies for Supporting Mandated Reporters / Quality and Compliance Monitoring

 

Alan Guttman has been providing expert education and management consulting services to early care and education programs, including Head Start, for over 20 years. Alan is a former Director of the Region XI Technical Assistance Network that served American Indian / Alaska Native programs in 36 states. He brings over 35 years experience leading, managing, teaching, training, and consulting for public and private early childhood organizations in New York, California, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Oregon, Georgia, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, Maine, Nigeria, Great Britain, and United Arab Emirates.​ He conducted training on strategies for supporting mandated reporters of suspected child abuse for the Cheyenne River Sioux Head Start Program. Most recently, Alan served as the Director of Early Childhood Policy & Systems at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. His consulting services promote, build on, support, and sustain effective organizational leadership, governance, planning, quality monitoring, data management, and high quality, equitable educational practice.

Areas of Expertise: Leadership: Coaching, Coaching Systems
Educators: Coaching, Guidance Strategies/Executive Function Skills, Trauma-Informed practices, B-6 Child Development, Cognitively Enriched Environments.

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Janet Humphryes, M.A. is founder, consultant and coach for Coaching Potentials with 48+ years of experience in the early childhood (EC) profession, 28 of which is in Head Start with 20 as a TA Specialist/Manager with Regions VIII and XI and PMFO. She led the creation of and co-instructs the EC Coaching Certificate Program offered at Metropolitan State University and through Coaching Potentials. She has a M.A. in EC Ed, a B.A. in Behavioral Sciences, and an AMI Montessori teaching credential. Janet’s published articles and books, keynotes/speaking engagements, rich experience, and strong integrity to support developmentally responsive practices with children and adults attest to her ability to connect, inspire and transform lives. Her career focus has been on leveraging human behavior science to maximize human potentials at any age.

Areas of expertise for Lakeshore Professional Services Group (PSG): content-based professional development across multiple subjects in early learning, elementary education, special education, family and community engagement; classroom product trainings; customized learning materials and educational publishing services; quality-improvement services; and conference support for keynotes, preservice workshops and conference sessions. 

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Lakeshore’s passion for supporting teachers, administrators and families doesn’t end with the products we develop. Professional Services Group (PSG) offers personalized, hands-on learning services designed to address what is most important to you—from professional development and conference workshops to quality-improvement services for early learning and school-age programs. PSG staff is comprised of educators and subject-matter experts, top-level trainers, consultants and presenters committed to furthering education goals at the individual level, classroom level and program level. Popular areas of expertise include STEM/STEAM, social-emotional development, before/after school, intervention, family engagement and more. Flexible scheduling options include half-day sessions, full-day sessions and multiday series.

Areas of expertise: Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, Instructional Practices, Leadership, Family Partnerships, Curriculum Alignment and Development, Culturally Responsive Practices

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Dr. Kassy has over 20 years of experience in the field of education. She has been a teacher, director, curriculum coordinator, early childhood mental health consultant, psychology professor, and early childhood education college professor. Dr. Kassy has collaborated with Native American and Alaska Native Head Start programs for over a decade. Currently, she is an ECE and psychology faculty member  at Pikes Peak State College in Colorado Springs. Additionally, Dr. Kassy is contracted with Special Olympics Young Athletes as a consultant to Indigenize the curriculum. Integrating traditional games, language, and food into the fully inclusive program of Special Olympics is groundbreaking work. Most recently, Dr. Kassy started her own early childhood consultation business, where training and support are built on a foundation of social and emotional health. Her deepest passion is to positively impact the lives of children and support the adults who have a direct impact with their learning and well-being.

Areas of expertise: Strategic Planning, Program Evaluation, Leadership Development, Community Assessment, Wage Comp., Disabilities Services, Change Management, Executive Coaching, Educational Consulting , Management Consulting, Non-profit Consulting, Grant Writing, Technical Writing

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I have more than 35 years of experience in the field of education. This includes managing, leading, teaching, providing training and technical assistance, and monitoring for Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care programs. I have worked at all levels of the Early Childhood field including federal, state, tribal, and local levels. Much of my work focused on assisting severely deficient programs move toward excellence. I spent many years working in diverse settings including American Indian and Alaska Native communities, rural communities in Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, and West Virginia and inner city settings. I specialize in working with American Indian governments to build collaborative efforts to create seamless systems of care for all of a Tribe’s young children especially those with special needs. I served in the 1996 Class of Head Start-Johnson and Johnson Management Fellows Program and the 1999-2000 Class of Head Start Fellows. Over the years, I have received recognition for work such as the Certificate of Merit from the US Department of Education, the Distinguished Service Award from the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Indian Head Start Directors’ Association 2000 Indian Child Advocate of the Year.

Areas of expertise: Specializes in play-based educational philosophies, including Reggio Emilia, project-based learning, outdoor learning, and the Anji Play approach. I coach early childhood educators using practice-based and cognitive coaching methods. Proven ability to develop and deliver trainings grounded in research and adult learning theory. Familiar with family engagement techniques for young children to enhance consistent family involvement. I have experience implementing new curriculums and assessments, such as Teaching Strategies, for diverse populations and collaborating with teachers to ensure relevance to students’ lives.

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I’m a passionate preschool educator with skills in training, facilitation, technical support, coaching, and content writing, serving diverse early childhood education stakeholders. I started out teaching preschool in Denver Public Schools. My 10-year in the preschool classroom involved teaching, mentoring, and serving as a role model in multiple school districts. After moving to Kentucky to be closer to family, I spent almost six years at the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) as a Preschool Technical Assistant and Coach in the FACE program. The FACE program serves 54 schools throughout the Bureau of Indian Education. I believe that every child should have a strong preschool education based on their lived experience.

Areas of expertise: Staff wellness for both direct services staff and management; Coaching in home-based and center-based Head Start and Early Head Start programs; Provide training on home visiting topics including boundaries, home visiting safety and parent engagement; Provide training on educational services for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

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Melissa Pickle has 28 years of experience in the field of early childhood education with 18 of those in programs throughout the state of Alaska. Her most recent roles have included those of trainer, coach, mentor and supervisor. She enjoys supporting the growth and development of others to assist them in meeting their full potential while still maintaining an appropriate work life balance and healthy sense of well-being. She is the owner and operator of Firmly Flourishing LLC, a consulting and coaching business that supports individuals as well as Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Regions 8, 10 and 11.

Areas of Expertise: Head Start Facilities: 1303 applications, Federal Interest, Dispositions, SF 429s and SF424s, Owner Representation, Project Management

 

​Scott Samborski has spent most of his career as a General Contractor and Real Estate Developer. He has worked as a consultant to the Office of Head Start training the Federal Staff in all regions of the US in understanding 1303 funding applications and just about all things related to facilities including facility assessments. Most of the consulting was through a grant from the OHS to the University of Massachusetts / Donahue Institute as part of a program called RPFI (real property facility initiative). Scott now works directly with recipients /grantees in all regions to assist in 1303 applications and as an Owner Rep and Project Manager for the construction or renovation of Head Start Facilities.

Areas of Expertise: Qualitative and quantitative research, Child development, Community based participatory research, Indigenous research methodologies, Research career mentorship

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Michelle Sarche, PhD is a Professor and Project Lead at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska.  She has partnered with American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities in research on children's development for nearly 30 years. She has served as a mentor to numerous early career Indigenous and allied child development research scholars and organizes the biennial Native Children's Research Exchange Conference which convenes 100 research, practice, and community partners to build a network of individuals committed to research that support Native child, family, and community resilience and thriving.  Dr. Sarche, along with child development research and Head Start, Home Visiting, Child Care, and TANF partners nationwide, has also directs the Tribal Early Childhood Research Center and helped lead the first nationally representative studies of Region XI Head Start in 2015 and 2019 through the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES).  Dr. Sarche is a citizen of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe Tribe.  She trained as a clinical psychologist at Loyola University Chicago and has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin. 

Areas of Expertise: Community Needs Assessments, Annual Updates, 5-Year Grants, and Application Renewals

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Rebecca Spiridis has been a member of the Head Start Community for over 30 years, previously serving as a Head Start/Early Head Start Director. Since 2016, Rebecca has provided virtual consultant services to Head Start, Early Head Start, and AIAN HS/EHS programs throughout the country. She currently serves a Program of Excellence Consultant for NHSA and is a former Federal CLASS™ Reviewer and Grant Reviewer for OHS.
 
Change in Head Start is inevitable and the increasing pace of change brings an increasing demand on time and staff resources. My mission is to Lighten the Workload for you, so your focus can remain on your everyday mission of providing comprehensive and quality services to children and families. My goal is to always provide a high standard of expertise, integrity, responsive and prompt communication, and personalized services for any project. Reach out to me by e-mail and I will gladly ensure a response within 24 hours.