WA-AIMH's New Executive Director
After an extensive, rigorous, and deeply thoughtful selection process from a pool of national and local candidates, Kelli Bohanon will begin as the new Executive Director for WA-AIMH on November 28, 2022. Many of you already know or know of Kelli through her 23+ years of service in partnering with communities to build early childhood and family-centered systems at local, state and national levels to ensure our children, families and communities are thriving and have equitable opportunities to live a healthy and meaningful life.
Just a few examples of her leadership participation include the:
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Development of Washington’s first statewide early learning needs assessment.
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Application of liberatory design and practice to the creation of the newly released 2022 Washington Early Learning Coordination plan.
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Implementation of the Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five grant to embed and make accessible liberatory design and support across sectors in the IECMH landscape.
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Significant multi-year expansion of ECEAP, creation of Early ECEAP, and development of several critical policies for Early ECEAP and ECEAP, including increased tribal eligibility and complex needs fund.
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Most importantly, she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ensuring racial equity, diversity and inclusion are central drivers of systemic and organizational policies, practices and behaviors. At the heart of who Kelli is and at the core of her work is human-centered leadership, collaboration, equity, social justice, and harnessing the power of community. All of this – and more – makes her ready to lead WA-AIMH through its next period of growth. Kelli earned a bachelor’s degree in health education from Oklahoma State University and a master’s in education administration from Central Washington University. Kelli has also served as an Adjunct Instructor for the University of Washington’s College of Education, Department of Early Childhood and Family Studies.
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The Board of Directors and staff are excited to partner with her in building upon WA-AIMH’s strengths and re-imagining the Association’s impact in a changing world. Kelli is excited to dig in and go deep as she brings her creativity and innovation to our vision and strategic priorities.
Kelli was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and has lived in western Washington most of her life. She has a daughter, Arizona, who is 24 and serves in the United States Air Force. Kelli’s personal time finds her enjoying the incredible discoveries that abound in the PNW. Kelli is passionate about hiking and backpacking in the Olympics or Cascades and adventuring around alpine lakes and Puget Sound waterways. She is drawn to the beauty and inspiration of our great outdoors and finds joy in travel, coffee, food, art, yoga, and quiet retreats.
The Board of Directors thanks the Executive Search Committee - Angela Abrams, Elisia Fernandez-Anderson, Nick Flett, Jason Gortney, Chloe Leipzig, Michelle Pollack-Landwehr, Emmanuel Sanchez-Diaz, and Pamela Williams - for their invaluable contribution of time and expertise over the last six months. We would also like to thank Amanda Madorno, our Interim Executive Director and the staff who led and held the Association during this transition.
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We look forward to this next chapter for WA-AIMH and your continued support and partnership.
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Warmly,
WA-AIMH's Board of Directors
Our Vision
Our vision is for Washington State babies and young children, their families, and service providers, especially those from marginalized communities, to thrive and reach their full potential.
Our Mission
We educate, support, and advocate for service providers in Washington State to improve the wellbeing of babies and young children, as we work toward advancing racial equity and belonging for marginalized communities.
Our Values
Relationships: We support, strengthen and grow healthy relationships with service providers, partners, and families.
Humanity: In all we do, we center the needs and voices of communities that are and have been silenced.
Accountability: We maintain transparent alignment with our mission and vision by listening and responding to our communities.
Integrity: We commit to maintaining compassion, dignity, and authenticity in everything we do.
Racial and social justice: We commit to aligning our beliefs and practices to lead by example and transform systems that honor and dignify the humanity of marginalized communities.
Humility: We commit to practicing self-awareness, seeking feedback from communities across Washington State and embracing a growth mindset.
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Kelli Bohanon
Executive Director
