Keystone Human Services

Keystone Children & Family Services

Capital Area Head Start: Staff Biographies

Jo Pepper, Executive Director of Capital Area Head Start
E-mail: jpepper @ keystonehumanservices.org
Jo Pepper is the Executive Director of Capital Area Head Start. She received her Masters in Education from Penn State University and has been involved with Capital Area Head Start since 1979. Jo is a graduate of Head Start Management Fellows Program at the University of California in Los Angeles and is a participant on Head Start Program Review Teams. Jo is also a presenter at local, regional, and national conferences.
Kim Smith, Director of Family & Community Partnerships
E-mail: ksmith @ keystonehumanservices.org
Kim Smith has been employed with Capital Area Head Start since 1993, and has been working in the social service field in the Harrisburg area since 1987. Kim holds a Masters degree in Social Work from Temple University. Additionally, Kim serves on the Dauphin County Social Services for the Children and Youth Advisory Board, and on the State Board for Private Academic Schools.
Melanie Heller, Director of Early Childhood Development
E-mail: mheller @ keystonehumanservices.org
Melanie graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology and from Lehigh University with a Masters in Education.
She has worked with children and families for over 25 years - as a foster care case worker, home visitor, kindergarten teacher, preschool teacher and director, and in Head Start supervisory positions. In 1994, Melanie began working for NORWESCAP Head Start out of Phillipsburg, New Jersey and found that she loved being able to combine education and social work background. Melanie also worked with Community Services for Children (Head Start of the Lehigh Valley). Currently, Melanie is the Director of Early Childhood Development at Capital Area Head Start and also works part time as an Adjunct Professor for the Early Childhood Education Department at Northampton Community College, teaching distance learning courses.
Catherine Cornelius, Office Manager
E-mail: ccorneli @ keystonehumanservices.org
Catherine Cornelius has been employed with Capital Area Head Start for the past 10 months, coming to us from overseas. She is originally from the Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago) where she worked in the administrative field for 21 years. As a result of her past experiences, she comes with a wealth of knowledge about administration, human resources, marketing, and industry relations. Catherine presently oversees our main office, located at 3700 Vartan Way.
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This page last updated on:
October 3, 2007