I am pleased to join First 5 San Diego and begin a new journey serving the broader San Diego County through our work with pregnant women, children ages 0-5 years of age and their families. I am a proud San Diegan, born and raised and have dedicated the past 20 years to the field of Early Childhood Education in San Diego County. I received my Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in Child and Family Development and through the available professional network, I was introduced to a unique initiative working with families of children ages birth to three. This was the start of my journey in the field as an infant and toddler Master Teacher. My early experience working to create and support pathways for families experiencing adversity to achieve self-sufficiency in direct services helped form the foundation for the work I have been dedicated to for two decades. I also received my Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership Management from the University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences. More recently, I have been dedicated to program administration to the birth to five community delivering Early Head Start, Head Start and the California Department of Education Preschool Program services.

Joining the First 5 San Diego team is an exciting opportunity to continue leveraging the available resources to ensure positive outcomes related to high quality services in the key program areas of Health, Learning, Family and Community. Moreover, the focus continues on the mission of promoting the vital importance of the first five years of life to the well-being of children, families and communities.

By joining First 5 San Diego, I make the commitment to upholding this mission to ensure our youngest children and their families have the opportunities they need to reach their highest potential and are ready to learn and succeed.

I look forward to working collaboratively on all of Frist 5 San Diego’s current and future county initiatives to help better serve the families of San Diego County.

Sincerely,

Alethea Arguilez