Dear Head Start colleagues,
On behalf of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), I am pleased to announce two key leaders for the Office of Head Start (OHS): Commander Tala Q. Hooban as deputy director and Shawna Pinckney as our first associate deputy director. They join the capable OHS leadership team and staff — along with grant recipients, stakeholders, allies, and partners like you — to ensure a strong future for the Head Start program.
Tala Hooban is a commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a uniformed body dedicated to advancing public health through service in agencies across the federal government. The mission of the Public Health Service closely aligns with the Head Start mission.
As you all know, the Head Start program was founded on the premise that children’s health and well-being are central to early learning. As a public health professional with specialized knowledge of maternal and child health, Commander Hooban brings deep expertise in all levels of how children, families, and systems can thrive — which will be an asset to the comprehensive services that Head Start programs implement in partnership with communities across the country.
Her past work on behalf of children includes spearheading new emergency planning approaches with states to include children, ensuring safe environments for migrant children, and implementing the tribal home visiting program. OHS has benefited from her tenure as acting deputy director, and she’ll start serving as the deputy director effective Aug. 26, 2022.
Shawna Pinckney is a longtime Head Start leader, both in and out of government, who is now serving as the first OHS associate deputy director. As grants division director, Ms. Pinckney led the strategic execution of all discretionary, competitive grant programs. Most notably, she was responsible for the implementation of the Designation Renewal System, the Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships initiative, and other Head Start and Early Head Start expansion efforts. Ms. Pinckney deeply understands the needs of grant recipients in designing strong systems at OHS, having also partnered to equip grant recipients during Head Start grant transitions.
Ms. Pinckney has also worked locally in county government, and at the National Head Start Association, to advance early care and education. As associate deputy director, she focuses on supporting operations and staff in OHS and high-impact projects.
ACF is delighted to share the news of Tala and Shawna’s leadership alongside all grant recipients, communities, children, educators, and families. We know they look forward to engaging soon with you all as we partner together to advance the future of the Head Start program! Please join me in welcoming them to their new roles.