Our greatest strength is our committed, motivated and
qualified staff. We understand our clients because many of us have
“walked in their shoes.” Forty percent of our staff members are former
Head Start parents. We also provide our staff with continued training and educational
opportunities to enrich their ability to serve families and children and
to ensure that they are equipped to meet the needs and challenges of
the community we serve.
We believe that we must continue to adapt, learn, grow and change
to meet the needs of our families and that if we do not grow, we will
stagnate. We believe that all children share certain needs and that we
can help low-income children and families to fulfill these needs and
improve their quality of life.
Karen L. Willett, Executive
Director
Karen Lee, the newest
addition to the CFCS family, comes to us with thirty-two years of
service in the California public school system. She started teaching in
the late 1960s, served as a school principal and ended her educational
career after twenty-five years as a chief business and financial
officer.
Most recently, Karen Lee served in our
community as CBO/CFO for the Newark Unified School District. Currently,
Karen Lee has full responsibility for all financial matters for CFCS
including purchasing and procurement, payroll, insurances, payment of
our bills, development, maintenance and fiscal reporting to our Board,
community and Region IX.
Karen Lee loves her new position with CFCS,
especially since she can continue to serve the needs of our children
and their families.
Phone: 510.284-4229 Email: Karen_Willett@cfcsinc.org
Sue Story, Program Director
Sue manages the overall program operations and administrative activities of the school program. She provides direction to educational staff regarding the daily care, instruction and safety of students participating in the program.
Sue ensures that Program sites operate in compliance with state, federal, industry and organizational requirements and that all Program staff meet licensing, certification and accreditation standards as required. She also maintains proper staffing levels and work distribution within assigned Program sites.
For over two decades, since beginning as an educator in 1979, Sue has served as a role model to others through her professionalism, appearance, courtesy, conduct, confidentiality, honesty, fairness, personal integrity and respect for the fundamental rights, dignity and privacy of others. She maintains effective communication with students, parents, guardians, other family members, healthcare personnel, colleagues, coworkers across programs and functions, neighbors, surrounding communities and her own supervisor.
Phone: 510.284-4221 Email: Sue_Story@cfcsinc.org
Joe Zanini, Operations Director
Joe Manages Operations, Facilities, Information
Technology and all Physical Support Services. He has spent the last 28
years managing K-12 operations. Joe came to CFCS from the Hayward
Unified School District where he served as Director of Maintenance,
Operations and Transportation.
He is excited about his new role
at CFCS and improving Facilities and Services for the organizations
Children and staff.
Phone: 510.796.9512
Email: Joe_Zanini@cfcsinc.org
Salvador Castillejos, Fiscal Director
Sal was hired by CFCS in March 2008 as a Senior Accountant and after two years became the agency’s Fiscal Director. He has a degree in Accountancy and is a Certified Public Accountant. Sal also has 27 units of CPE from UC Berkeley.
Sal brings more than thirty years of public, government, corporate, and non profit accounting experience to CFCS. For the five years immediately before joining CFCS, Sal gained experience as a Budget Analyst, Fiscal Officer and Controller in Head Start/Early Head Start for both a Grantee and Delegate. He is pleased to be an active member of the CFCS team and wants to strengthen and improve the internal controls and fiduciary governance of the agency in accordance to Head Start and GAAP regulations.
Phone 510 284 2230 Email Salvador_Castillejos@cfcsinc.org
Emma Pena, Special Projects
Emma is responsible for
the day to day monitoring of the CFCS sites and programs. Her
responsibilities include recruitment of educators, enrollment tracking
and reporting in compliance with required state, federal and program
standards.
Since beginning
as an educator in 1973, Emma’s role has changed and expanded as she has
pursued new challenges and opportunities within CFCS. She believes in
the agency’s programs and especially loves learning about the families
and watching them grow. During her years with CFCS, she has also seen
the agency grow to serve more families and provide new services. Emma’s
dedication stems from her commitment to helping people to achieve their
greatest potential.
Phone: 510.284-4224 Email: Emma_Pena@cfcsinc.org