EARLY LEARNING HUB OF LINN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Coordinated Enrollment Specialist / See Bio
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Director of the Samaritan Early Learning Center
- Lincoln County - Early Childhood Education
Since 2012, Barbara has been the Director of the Samaritan Early Learning Center, a 5-Star Spark rated child development center in Lincoln City. Prior to this position, she was the Director of the Lincoln Commission on Children and Families. She currently participates in the coordination of services to support children and families through her work with the Children's Development Network, Oregon Coast Community College Early Childhood Advisory Board, and the Inclusive Childcare Community Partnership Committee.
Barbara is a mother of three daughters and is lucky enough to have her youngest living with her. She has lived in Newport for over 35 years and loves to cook, entertain, travel, and run races where she can dress in costumes, especially if they are located in Disneyland. During the summer, Barbara spends as much time as possible on her Alsea River property with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Originally from New Jersey, Bryan spent over a decade serving in the Marine Corps and the US Army, having the opportunity to travel to exotic locations around the world, performing all sorts of exciting adventures. Along the way, he picked up a Bachelor's Degree, double majoring in history and political science. After his military exploits were completed, he put roots down in Texas, worked in private industry in the investigative and compliance analyst fields, found a loving wife, and produced an adorable set of precocious twins, who taught him the powers of patience as well as the need of quality, affordable, and plentiful childcare resources. Moving to Oregon in 2021, he jumped at the opportunity to perform a service for his newly adopted three county community to facilitate and create childcare opportunities for others like himself.
Bryan and his family live in Lebanon. His hobbies include history, fiction, cinema, fine dining, and enjoying the outdoors.
Job Titles:
- Coordinated Enrollment Specialist / See Bio
Maria del Carmen Santacruz Rendon (she goes by Carmen) grew up on the border of Mexico and the USA. She went to school in Mexico and got the equivalent of an Associate's degree in Accounting. She moved to the US in 1997. Her first experience as an interpreter/translator came when one of her children's teachers asked her to help a family that needed interpretation. Working with teachers and Family Advocates enabled her to see the need for this service, and she became one for the Early Head Start Family Center of Portland. She was an active parent in her children's education and a member of two Policy Councils holding the positions of State Representative and Co-chair.
Carmen moved to Albany in 2007. In 2009, she started working for Kidco Head Start as an interpreter/translator and in 2013 became a Family Advocate for the same program and held this position for five years. In 2018 started working for LBLESD as an interpreter/translator for the Special Education and Evaluation Services program, helping with evaluations for Spanish monolingual/bilingual children and translations of documents such as eligibility reports and IEPs. Also, in 2018, she began working for LBCC as a GED Orientation Specialist for the ABS program.
Currently, Carmen is working as one of the Coordinated Enrollment Specialists for the Preschool Promise program in the Early Learning Hub. She loves to travel, music, dancing, and hiking. On weekends you can find her dancing to a Zumba class or hiking on a mountain close by.
Job Titles:
- County Commissioner
- Member of the Governing Board
Claire Hall was elected as a County Commissioner in 2004 and re-elected in 2008 and 2012. She was born in Portland, Oregon and attended public school. Claire completed her undergraduate work at Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, earning a B.A. in Communications in 1981.
As a commissioner, Claire represents the county on several local, regional and state organizations. She served on the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Programs and was its final chair. She was co-chair of the Oregon Ending Homelessness Advisory Council. She has been a member of the Oregon Association of Counties' Human Services Steering Committee for the past decade and chaired that committee for four years. She is Lincoln County's representative to the executive committee of the Community Services Consortium, the Community Action Agency serving Lincoln County; she is the county's representative on the board of the Cascades West Council of Governments and currently chairs that board. She is the county commission liaison to the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council.
Job Titles:
- Pollywog Community Alignment Specialist
Connie grew up in California with three sisters and a secret place to hide with a good book. Books and reading have always been an important part of her life, and she was determined to pass a love of reading and learning on to her son. It seemed this was accomplished when he decided to read "War and Peace" for fun in middle school.
After many years spent as a homeschooling mom, Connie earned a Bachelor's degree from Oregon State in Sociology. She is currently learning Spanish as a third language and hopes to earn a Master's degree before she turns fifty. She previously worked as a home visitor in the Healthy Families program, which was challenging and fulfilling in countless ways. Connie was inspired each day by the parents she visited, who taught her more about life and parenting than any book.
When work, or a good book, is not demanding her attention, Connie spends time walking with her dog, napping with her cat, and sewing quilts with her friends. But she most looks forward to and treasures the serious and silly talks with her son.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Diane has been with the Lincoln County School District since February of 2023, as the Early Learning Coordinator.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Superintendent for the Linn Benton Lincoln Education School District
Jason is the Superintendent for the Linn Benton Lincoln Education School District. He joined LBL ESD in the spring of 2020. Prior to joining the LBL ESD team, Mr. Hay has served as an elementary teacher, middle school assistant principal, elementary principal, middle school principal, curriculum director, and superintendent. In addition, he has experience in human resources, facilities development, risk management, and leadership coaching. While his most recent education experience was that of Superintendent of the Dayton School District, much of Mr. Hay's career was with the Greater Albany Public School District. Mr. Hay earned his B.A.S in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and his M.E.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Oregon.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Regional Director for Benton County for Linn - Benton Community College
Jeff serves as the Regional Director for Benton County for Linn-Benton Community College, on the Governing Board of the Linn Benton Lincoln Early Learning Hub, and the Identity Work Group. His professional background includes serving as Dean of Continuing Education and Extended Learning at Lane Community College, and as lead planner for rural Oregon for the workforce investment portion of the Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative (Clinton Forest Plan). He holds a Master's degree in Adult Education and a Bachelor's in Psychology, both from Oregon State University.
Job Titles:
- Coordinated Enrollment Specialist / See Bio
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director / See Bio
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Executive Director of Samaritan House Family Shelter in Newport, Oregon
Lauren (Lola) Jones is the executive director of Samaritan House Family Shelter in Newport, Oregon. Since joining the organization in 2012, Lola has endeavored to honor the community-owned, grass-roots origins of the mission while widening its lens to be responsive to the needs of vulnerable families and children. Through targeted partnerships with ODHS Child Welfare and the Treatment Court system of Lincoln County, she has developed connections to resources and services for parents and children who would otherwise stay separated. This is an approach she has also applied to partner agencies, bringing together the strength of early childhood development, substance use treatment, housing, and parenting support in a way that is uniquely relevant to client families.
Lola was born in southern Indiana and raised in Woodinville, WA. She met her husband at Linfield College, and they moved home to the coast in 2009. Grant is a Sergeant with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, and they have one son, Forrest, and another on the way, Dale. Prior to joining Samaritan House, Lola was an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Lincoln Commission on Children and Families under Barb Dougherty, who continues to be her mentor and greatest professional inspiration. She was identified by the Ford Family Foundation as a Catalytic Community Builder in 2017 and continues to work with the Rural Community Builder program as a consultant, presenter, and advocate for rural innovation and ingenuity. She loves her community, barnacles and all, and is committed to building a world where all parents have the tools necessary to thrive.
Job Titles:
- Pollywog Coordinator / See Bio
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Accounting Specialist
- Accounting Specialist / See Bio
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Benton County - Early Childhood Education
- Executive Director at Strengthening Rural Families
Paul is the current Executive Director at Strengthening Rural Families, a nonprofit that supports prevention and wellness programs for families and individuals. He serves on many local and regional coalitions including; The Parenting Success Network, The Benton County Positive Youth Development Coalition, The Health Equity Alliance, The Oral Health Coalition, and the 4-H Advisory Board. He is the Chair-elect of the Center for Nonprofit Stewardship and the former Chair of the Accreditation Council of the Association for Experiential Education. He has a BA from Lake Forest College and an M.S.Ed from Northern Illinois University.
Paul and his family live in Corvallis. He is an avid surfer, who takes advantage of any meeting at the coast to get in a few minutes of surf-time.
Job Titles:
- Learning Hub / Pollywog Program Assistant
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Executive Director of Kids & Company of Linn County
- Linn County - Early Childhood Education
Stephany is the Executive Director of Kids & Company of Linn County, whose sole programs are Kidco Head Start and Early Head Start. Stephany started as a Family Advocate with Head Start in November of 2007 and took over as Executive Director in August 2013. She was born in Corvallis and grew up in Sweet Home. After obtaining her bachelor's degree in Psychology and an MBA, Stephany returned to Linn County to serve the communities that she grew up in.
In the past Stephany served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for two years, assigned as a coordinator for the SMART reading program in the Mid-Valley. Some of her volunteer work includes LBCC Family Connections, Community Services Consortium, youth sports coach and Big Sister mentor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
- Superintendent for the Scio School District
Steve is the Superintendent for the Scio School District. He earned his B.S. in Elementary Education and M.S. in Educational Leadership at Western Oregon University. He obtained his administrative licenses from the University of Portland. He came to Scio in July of 2019 after serving 20 years in the Dallas School District. He has held a variety of positions, including elementary school teacher, elementary counselor, elementary principal, director of instructional services, assistant superintendent, and his current role of superintendent.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Governing Board