The following list includes Wake County Smart Start departments, staff and e-mail addresses. To contact a staff member during our closure period due to COVID, please email staff that are working remotely.

Administration

Gayle E. Headen, Executive Director
Nancy Peck, Executive Assistant

Community Relations and Development

Phyllis Barbour, Director of Community Relations and Development
Elizabeth Weichel, Communications Coordinator
Maggie Ortiz, Receptionist

Finance

Gary Carr, Director of Finance
Gabrielle Barnard, MAC Accountant
Sue Bush, Accountant
Amanda Flater, Accounting Technician Payables
Jennifer Hoch, Accounting Technician Payroll

Programs

Anna Troutman, Director of Programs
Sharon Clauss, Program Assistant

Pre-K

Joan Crutchfield, Pre-K Manager
Sabrina McKennies, Pre-K Specialist
Taty Padilla, Pre-K Outreach Assistant
Taushau Wilkinson, Pre-K Enrollment Assistant
Gloria Daniels, Pre-K Program Assistant

System Improvement & Public Engagement

Sasha Gomez, Manager, System Improvement & Public Engagement
Nikki McDougald, Community Outreach Specialist
Marta Maldonado, Community Outreach Coordinator
Caroline Janes, Wake Connections Project Coordinator
Denise Rossi, Program Specialist, Early Literacy

Program Coordination & Evaluation

Bryce McClamroch, Manager, Program Coordination & Evaluation
Alex Setzer, Data Coordinator

Early Childhood Initiatives

Carol Orji, Manager, Early Childhood Initiatives
Lynn Policastro, Healthy Initiatives Program Coordinator
Stephanie Jenkins, Quality Enhancement Specialist
Gina Soceanu, Quality Enhancement Specialist
Gwen Adair, Quality Enhancement Specialist
Kashama Leo-Henry, Quality Enhancement Specialist