The South Carolina Early Childhood Advisory Council serves the state as required by the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007. Representatives of specific state agencies and stakeholder groups are required to be present on the Council. The Council made up of representatives from state agencies responsible for child care, SC Department of Education, local providers of early education services, Head Start agencies and the state director of the Head Start Collaboration and Children’s Trust of South Carolina. The state director of South Carolina First Steps shall coordinate the activities of the Council.
Members of the South Carolina Early Childhood Advisory Council
Chair, Governor’s Designee: David Morley
Vice Chair: Shelley Canright, Ph.D., Early Childhood Educator
Legislators:
- Representative Terry Alexander, SC House of Representatives
- Representative Shannon Erickson, SC House of Representatives, Education & Public Works Committee Chair
- Senator Greg Hembree, SC Senate, Senate Education Committee Chair
- Senator Gerald Malloy, SC Senate
Agency Directors:
- Mary Lynne Diggs, SC Head Start Collaboration Office, Director
- Constance Holloway, SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Interim Director
- Robert Kerr, SC Department of Health and Human Services, Director
- Michael Leach, SC Department of Social Services, Director
- Edward Simmer, M.D., SC Department of Health and Environmental Control
- Matthew Ferguson, Superintendent's designee, SC Department of Education
- Sue Williams, Children’s Trust of SC, Chief Executive Officer
Appointees:
- Jacque Curtin, Business Community
- John Hayes, M.Ed., Child Care Educator
- Timothy Holt, Business Community
- Jesica Mackey, Parent of a Young Child
- Janie Neeley, Parent of a Young Child
- Alexia Newman, Medical/Child Care Development Provider
- Roger Pryor Jr., Child Care Provider
- Amy Williams, DNP, Medical Provider
- Wes Wooten, Child Care Provider
