Leadership

Kathryn L. McCartney, MS

Chief Executive Officer

Ms. McCartney has an undergraduate degree in social work and master’s degrees in early childhood education and educational technology and has worked in the field for over thirty years.

Ms. McCartney has worked with several research projects targeting Head Start children, including the Preschoolers at Academic Risk: Early Childhood Educators’ Professional Development Research Project, the Texas Head Start Public School Transition Project and the Infant Health and Development Project with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of North Carolina Frank Porter Graham Center. This project served disadvantaged mothers with infants and pre-school children. Ms. McCartney was also instrumental in the implementation of the Language Enrichment and Activities Program (LEAP), a pre reading curriculum developed at Head Start of Greater Dallas that is now in use in programs across the country.

Ms. McCartney has served as adjutant facility for Dallas County Community College District for several campuses, Eastfield, Mountain View and Cedar Valley in the Child Development Department. She is a graduate of the John E, Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA as a Head Start-Johnson and Johnson Management Fellows Program. She just recently served in the Region VI Director/Mentor Program, mentoring new Head Start Directors.

She has held several positions since joining the Head Start of Greater Dallas program in 1995, from the Transition Director, Education Services Director to the Chief Operations Officer / Head Start Director. She has worked closely with all content areas including the Early Head Start Program. Ms. McCartney also works with several school districts in the Dallas Motorplex that partner with Head Start of Greater Dallas.

She is very active in the community; has maintained positions on several boards serving children and families in the Early Care Community.

She currently serves on the Texas Winds Musical Outreach board of directors, the Jubilee Park Board of Directors, and the Eastfield Child Development Advisory Council.

Stephen L. McDonald, C.P.A.

Chief Financial Officer

Stephen McDonald has over 40 years of experience in finance and accounting. In addition, he has over 15 years in a management capacity, with a vast knowledge of supervising across the disciplines of accounting, finance, and public accounting. Stephen is a skilled Certified Public Accountant who has worked in the following industries: health technology, distribution, retail and consumer products, construction, and government. Stephen joined the Head Start of Greater Dallas team in 2024.

Jeffrey Sundberg

Director of Center Operations

Jeff Sundberg currently serves as Director of Center Operations at Head Start of Greater Dallas, where he leads the day-to-day operations of all 16 Dallas area centers. He began his career with Head Start of Greater Dallas in August 1994 as a Social Services Specialist. Leveraging his more than 25 years of experience at Head Start of Greater Dallas, Jeff has been instrumental in delivering quality service to hundreds of at-risk children and their families and has become a well-respected leader in the organization. Jeff has a Master of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of North Texas.

Marcus Saldana

Director of Human Resources

Marcus Saldana currently is the Human Resources Director for Head Start of Greater Dallas, Inc. He began his career in Human Resources in 1988 with the Martin Gillette Company. Marcus has over 30 years of experience as a Human Resources Professional. He became part of the Head Start family in 1997; becoming the second Human Resources Director of the agency. Marcus received his BA/BS degree from the University of Phoenix at Fountain Valley, CA. Marcus has been instrumental in assisting Head Start improve their workforce from 300 in 1997 to the present workforce of 560 employees. Marcus has been a loyal and dedicated employee to Head Start of Greater Dallas, Inc.

Executive Committee

Michele R. Anderson, MA, ECE
President

Courtney K. Seals, CFE
Vice-President

Monica Jolla Jackson, CPA, MBA
Treasurer

Kelly-Ann F. Clarke, Esq.
General Counsel

Jonathan Seth Parker, BS, Finance
Secretary

Rodney O. Burchfield, EMBA
Community Affairs Committee Chairperson

Kim Hunter-Jermany, PsyD.
Policy Council Chairperson

Laura Cobb Hayes, MS, CFRE, PMP
Immediate Past President

Francesca Perkins Austin, Esq.

Justin R. Cajero, Esq.

Sonja Cipriano

Francis DeSouza, Jr., CPA

S. Terrail Fletcher, Applied Doctor of Business

   Admin.- HR Management

Ahmad Garrett-Price, M.D.

Bianca Graham

Mary Alice Gunther-Riemer

Patrick Hunter, BS Computer Science

Chevaughn N. Jackson, MBA

Leah M. Lewis, Pharm.D.

Marketta Nimo

Lawrence R. Price, Jr., Ph.D., PMP

Betty Woods-Reyes

Sara Yunus, MBA, CPA, CMA

David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Education

Yulandor D. Plater, CHW
Family & Community Engagement

Shonika Abney Kwarteng, MBA, RD, LD
Health

2024-2025 Policy Council Officers

2024-2025 Policy Council