Learn about the Local Early Education Planning Council of Santa Clara County
The LPC of Santa Clara County is a 30-member Council who represent various categories within the early learning field. Learn more about LPC Membership and how to become an LPC Member.
The LPC has a membership of 30 individuals from 5 categories: Parents/Child Care Consumers, Child Care Providers, Public Agency representatives, Community Representatives, and Public/Discretionary Members (descriptions are noted below). Committee Members serve three-year terms. All LPC meetings are open to the public.
Additionally, each LPC member serves on at least 1 LPC sub-committee: Communications & Outreach, Workforce, Data, the Inclusion Collaborative, or the Title 5 Providers Group (NOTE: For this committee, you will have to be a state subsidized child care contractor).
Each of the 5 categories represented on the LPC has 6 positions.
- Parents/Child Care Consumers – parents or persons who receive or who have received child care services within the past 36 months
- Child Care Providers – persons who provide child care services or represent persons who provide child care services
- Public Agency Representatives – persons who represent a city, a county, or a local education agency
- Community Representatives – persons who represent an agency or business that provides private funding for child care services or who advocate for child care services through participation in civic or community based organizations, but are not child care providers and do not represent agencies that contract with the California Department of Education to provide child care and development services
- Public/Discretionary Member – persons from any of the above categories or outside of these categories at the discretion of appointing agencies
Community Representatives
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Susana Navarro – Parents Helping Parents
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Sapna Shah – WestEd / E3 Institute
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Christine Thorsteinson – Silicon Valley Community Foundation
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Vacancy
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Vacancy
- Vacancy
Discretionary Appointees
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Melissa Hong – FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
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Wendi Mahaney-Gurahoo – Early Childhood Consultant
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Nancy Newkirk – Sunnyvale Elementary School District
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Melissa Roth – Palo Alto Community Child Care
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Minerva Sarellano – FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
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Vacancy
Public Agency Representatives
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Natalie Allen – Santa Clara County, Social Services Agency
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Shalek Chappill-Nichols – Pacific Oaks College
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Raquel Dietrich – Santa Clara County Office of Education
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Antonio Fuentes – SCCOE / Head Start of Santa Clara & San Benito Counties
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Melissa Luu – County of Santa Clara, Office of the County Executive
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Vacancy
Consumer Representatives
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Heather Elston
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Sandya Lopez
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Kimmy Nguyen
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Vacancy
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Vacancy
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Vacancy
Provider Representatives
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Cathy Boettcher – California Young World
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Kelly Mercurio – SJB Child Development Centers
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Terri Kemper – Mountain View – Whisman School District / Preschool Program
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Lorena Wright – Grail Family Services
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Eduviguez Ramirez – Family Childcare Provider
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Vacancy
Much of the work of the LPC is achieved through our Committees & Associate Committees, as described below. All LPC Members must serve on at least one Committee, though membership to the Committees is open to anyone who is interested. Please contact LPC staff if you are interested in joining an LPC Committee or Associate Committee. Visit the meeting page for the LPC and subcommittee meeting schedule.
Workforce Committee
The Workforce Committee actively supports training, mentoring, and workforce retention programs that improve teacher qualifications and teacher effectiveness.
VIEW MEETINGS
Communications & Outreach Committee
The Communications & Outreach Committee shares information about the state of early care and education in Santa Clara County with a variety of stakeholders, including families, providers, teachers, policymakers, and the general public.
VIEW MEETINGS
Data Committee
The Data Committee collects, analyzes and shares data relative to the mandates of the LPC, and provides a foundation upon which the LPC can make informed decisions relative to child care funding and expansion.
VIEW MEETINGS
Title 5 Providers Group – Associate Committee
The group is charged with problem solving and planning for the stabilization of CDE child care to make the most of CDE subsidized child care monies countywide. Additionally, the goal of the group is to advocate for quality improvement, access, and partnerships among state subsidized child care providers in Santa Clara County. Finally, the group serves all state subsidized child care providers through networking and sharing resources.
VIEW MEETINGS
Note*: Membership is reserved to those who operate a Title 5 State Subsidized Child Care Program in Santa Clara County.
