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Who We Are

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Linda K. Smith

Executive Director, NACCRRA
Linda.Smith@NACCRRA.org

Linda K. Smith is currently the Executive Director of NACCRRA. Prior to joining NACCRRA, Smith served as a legislative fellow and then Professional Staffer for the U. S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman. She worked on children and family issues, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act (TANF) and the drafting of the Early Care and Education Act.

Smith retired from the federal government in 2002 after 26 years of service, most recently as the Director of the Office of Family Policy for the Secretary of Defense. She was responsible for development and implementing policies affecting the 2.4 million family members of active duty military personnel. Smith was the lead policy person responsible for implementing the landmark Military Child Care Act of 1989 which led up to the Military Child Development Program being singled out as a model for the nation. She also worked for the United States Army and the United States Air Force. Smith served two years as an Extension Home Economist for the University of Wyoming and spent five years directing early care and education programs on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Southeastern Montana.

Smith was born and raised in Polson, Montana, and is a graduate of the University of Montana.

Fran Simon

Chief of Parent Engagement, NACCRRA
Fran.Simon@NACCRRA.org
703-341-4100 ext. 225

Fran Simon joined NACCRRA as the Chief of Parent Engagement in June 2008. At NACCRRA, Simon is responsible for parent-related initiatives, including Child Care Aware® and NACCRRA's new Child Care Aware® Parent Network. After earning a bachelor's degree and an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction, she began her career as a Teacher and site Director in a multi-site child care organization. Ultimately, she became the Director of Resources and Development, overseeing 60 staff members at six sites. After 15 years, Simon followed her passion for technology, marketing and early childhood education to begin anew. She worked for the next eight years at Teaching Strategies, an educational publishing company, where she became Vice President of Marketing and Technology. An outspoken advocate for children, Simon served as the Vice President of the Technology and Young Children Interest Forum of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and on the board of directors of two adoption agencies and a child care center. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors of a local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency.

Flor Philips

Associate Director, Child Care Aware, NACCRRA
Flor.Philips@NACCRRA.org
703-341-4100 ext. 124

Flor Philips joined NACCRRA in October 2003 as a Consumer Education and Referral Specialist for Child Care Aware® and was promoted in September 2004 as Senior Consumer Education Specialist. She currently holds the position of Child Care Aware® Associate Director. Philips is responsible for providing leadership in implementing the Child Care Aware® program by overseeing efforts to enhance and expand Child Care Aware® services, including recognizing best practices in consumer education.

Philips has 10 years of experience as a preschool teacher and as an assistant director in the same child care center. She is a graduate of George Mason University, holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and has completed the majority of coursework for her A.A. in Early Childhood Education from Northern Virginia Community College. Philips speaks both English and Spanish fluently.

Janine Fetters

Senior Associate of Parent Engagement, NACCRRA
Janine.Fetters@NACCRRA.org
703-341-4100 ext. 160

Janine Fetters is the Senior Associate of Parent Engagement with NACCRRA. She holds a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a master's degree in Leadership in Early Childhood Education from Bank St. College in New York City. Her master's thesis, "Hope for Defiant Children," developed strategies for teachers, parents, schools and communities to decrease defiant behaviors and increase children's potential for success in school. Fetters taught and directed high-quality Hospital, Campus and Head Start programs for 25 years. Parent engagement was integral to her work with infants through 12-year-olds. In Philadelphia, she was the Project Manager for Caliber/ICFI's Head Start Region III Training and Technical Assistance system. Most recently, Fetters was the Project Manager for a Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant, working with the District of Columbia's Public Charter Schools.

Fetters has been very involved in public policy and advocacy work on behalf of young children and their families. She has worked at the local, state and national level with the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the National Head Start Association and Pre-K for all DC. Fetters has consulted in the field of Early Childhood Education, and led support groups for children with cancer and their families for 10 years. She is a passionate advocate for children and families earning low-incomes.

Jessica Dahan

Consumer Education Specialist, Parent Outreach and Advocacy Lead, NACCRRA
Jessica.Dahan@NACCRRA.org
703-341-4100 ext. 175

Jessica Dahan joined NACCRRA in 2007 as a Public Policy and Research Intern. After graduating from college, she became a full-time Junior Public Policy Associate at NACCRRA. In October 2008, Dahan was promoted by the Parent Engagement Department as Consumer Education Specialist, Parent Outreach and Advocacy Lead. Prior to NACCRRA, she worked closely with women business owners and managed the advisory committee membership for a national women's leadership nonprofit. While in school, Dahan worked toward educating women and minorities earning low-incomes on how to start and maintain their own businesses. She has experience doing advocacy at the grassroots level and has spent several years organizing and educating communities on environmental and equality issues. Dahan has also spent time campaigning for various progressive politicians in D.C. and Boston. She came to NACCRRA after working closely with medically-challenged children in a Massachusetts child care setting, and tutoring children from families earning low-incomes in the D.C. metro area. Dahan graduated from the George Washington University with a bachelor's degree in both Sociology and Women's Studies. She has an interest in travel and has studied in D.C., Boston, San Diego and New Zealand. Dahan plans to eventually pursue a law degree to continue her quest for improving the lives of families earning low incomes.