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Board & Staff

Executive Director

LINDA SMITH
Ms. Smith is the Executive Director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) located in Arlington, Virginia. NACCRRA represents over 800 community-based child care resource and referral agencies located in all states and nearly every community. Ms. Smith is an expert in the field of early care and education systems and program development. During Ms. Smith's 25 years experience at the Department of Defense, she served as the Director of Family Policy, where she was responsible for policy and oversight of comprehensive family service programs affecting 2.1 million family members of military personnel. Additionally, as the Director of Child Development Programs for the Secretary of Defense, Ms. Smith lead implementation of the landmark Military Child Care Act of 1989, vastly transforming the program into one singled out by President Clinton and the United States Congress as a "model for the nation."

Prior to joining NACCRRA Ms. Smith served as a Legislative Fellow and professional staffer on the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee under the Chairmanship of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. In addition to testifying before the United States Senate, she has served on numerous National Committees, co-chaired the Federal Interagency Child Care Committee, chaired a White House Committee to examine background screening of child care personnel, and helped plan the 1997 White House Conference on Child Care.

Board of Directors

Duane Dennis, President
Pathways, Los Angeles, CA

Kristen Copeland, MD, FAAP
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Jerry Croan
Caliber, an ICF Company, Fairfax, VA

Leadell Ediger, Vice President
Kansas Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, Salina KS

Lihong Ma
Cleverex Systems, Inc., Reston, VA

J. Lee Kreader, Ph. D.
National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, NY

Jan Maruna
Illinois Network of CCR&R Agencies, Bloomington, IL

Ann McCully
Minnesota CCR&R Network, St. Paul, MN

Ralph Parrott, Treasurer
Fairfax Station, VA

Erin Ramsey
4C Evansville, IN

Tom Rogers, CPA
Rising Point, Rockville, MD

Pam Runkle
Child Care Resource and Referral of Metro Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

Shirley Sagawa
Sagawa/Jospin, Chevy Chase, MD

Elizabeth Bonbright Thompson
Washington State CCR&R Network, Tacoma, WA

Janet Walerstein
Child Care Council of Suffolk, Inc., Commack, NY

Elaine Ward
4C, Ft. Thomas, KY

Key NACCRRA Staff

SUSAN PERRY-MANNING
Deputy Director

Susan Perry-Manning is the Deputy Director for NACCRRA, the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. NACCRRA is a membership association of 800 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) organizations across the country that help families, providers, and communities find, provide, and plan for affordable, quality child care.

As Deputy Director for NACCRRA, Ms. Perry-Manning is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive agenda of programs, professional development, publications, member services, and technical assistance that support CCR&Rs in delivering high quality services, and contribute to improving the overall field of early care and education and family support. In addition, Ms. Perry-Manning oversees NACCRRA's public policy and parent engagement departments.

Ms. Perry-Manning brings 15 years of experience and expertise in the early childhood and CCR&R field at the local, state, and national levels. She has served as a trainer, consultant, grant writer and project administrator, and is the former executive director of a local CCR&R agency. In addition, Ms. Perry-Manning has served on numerous boards and task forces, including serving as President of the North Carolina Child Care Resource and Referral Network.

Ms. Perry-Manning holds a Bachelor's Degree in Women's Studies from Hamilton College, completed a certificate in Early Childhood Leadership Development from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is currently writing her thesis on subsidy management best practices for a Master's of Early Childhood Education at Concordia University St. Paul.

GRACE REEF
Chief of Policy & Evaluation

Ms. Reef joined NACCRRA in September of 2005. She oversees the organization's public policy, research, and evaluation programs. Prior to joining NACCRRA, Ms. Reef worked in the United States Senate for 16 years. Most recently, she was the Minority Staff Director of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families, working for Senator Christopher Dodd (CT), the ranking member of the Subcommittee. She began her work in the Senate working for Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (ME), focusing on economic development and children's issues, and she later worked for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (SD) as a senior policy advisor on children.

Ms. Reef's key legislative accomplishments include working toward the enactment of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) in 1990 and the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. She has extensive legislative and policy experience with child care, pre-kindergarten, and Head Start, as well as other issues - including child abuse and neglect, welfare reform, foster care, and child support - affecting children and families across the nation. Ms. Reef has a Bachelor's Degree in Public Policy from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

OLLIE SMITH
Chief of Operations

Ms. Smith joined NACCRRA in 2003 as Director of Operations, and she is responsible for the Child Care Aware, Military subsidy, and AmeriCorps and VISTA Care programs. She is also responsible for all financial and contractual matters.

Ms. Smith, who had a distinguished career working for the Department of Defense (DoD), began her government career with the Naval Supply Systems Command, where she designed and developed automated logistics systems for the United States Navy. She has military family support experience, which includes DoD child care programs and other family support programs. She was responsible for multi-million dollar logistics and quality-of-life defense budgets, and she also has experience as a DoD contracting officer. Ms. Smith served on the Board of Naval Corrections for seven years, and she has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from National-Louis University.