Nancy H. Brown Named Board Chair of NC Partnership for Children
Governor Pat McCrory has appointed early childhood expert, Dr. Nancy H. Brown, chair of the board of The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (NCPC), the organization that leads Smart Start across the state. Brown fills the position left vacant by Dr. Olson Huff earlier this year. In this role, Brown will lead the 26-member board that provides oversight to ensure that Smart Start fully meets all legislatively mandated requirements and operates to the highest standards of effectiveness, accountability, efficiency and integrity. Brown has served as a member of the NCPC Board since 2011.
As Board Chair, Brown brings decades of expertise to NCPC. She has a doctorate degree in early childhood education and has held numerous leadership positions throughout her career, including head of the Child Day Care Section, a precursor to the Division of Child Development and Early Education. Brown also has years of classroom experience having taught in every level of the education system: preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, and higher education. She also has worked for both non-profit and for-profit child care programs and was the first director of the child care program serving employees of the United States Senate in Washington.
Brown has served on a number of boards, including on the Governing Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, as president of the North Carolina and Maryland Associations for the Education of Young Children, the Alliance of Aids Services Carolina, and the National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. She also has authored several articles, book chapters and publications.
“I am thrilled to take on this important role,” Brown said. “The earliest years of children’s lives have such a profound impact on their development. We in North Carolina are incredibly fortunate to have Smart Start Local Partnerships in our communities working to improve the health, well-being and development of our young children.”
